Page 51 of Breakaway
I’ll get you back, though. I’m not telling you my secret plan now.
Suze
Good luck at the game tomorrow
Henley
You too!
I checked the time and stood as I rushed to pull on a pair of jeans and stole Dax’s hoodie this time, throwing my hair up into a topknot on my head. Slipping my feet into my tennis shoes, I skidded into the kitchen to find Fletcher and Reed talking. Their eyes lifted at my entrance.
“Ready?” I asked like I hadn’t been the one running late.
They both smirked but didn’t comment. Fletcher grabbed the keys, and the three of us climbed into his Jeep. Reed had decided to go when he realized he’d be alone for lunch.
We met Macy at the pizza place a few minutes later, the hurricane of a woman waiting for us outside.
“For such a tiny thing, she scares the bejeezus out of me,” Reed mumbled, his body shuddering.
“There’s my favorite client!” Macy said, grinning from ear to ear as she stood. “I feel so posh right now. You’re paying me enough to make me feel like I’m your inside guy. You know, like the PI on your payroll, Mr. Secret Job Title,” she teased, nudging Fletcher. “You got that one over on me.”
Fletcher’s face flamed, the red an unnatural color on his. He shuffled his feet, scratching the back of his head as he stared at Macy. “Um, yeah. I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Not denying I’m your PI. Yes!” Macy’s fist pumped, winking at me as I neared. She looped her arm in mine as we headed into the restaurant.
“So cock wrangler, do you have any tips to share on managing more than one?”
“Cock wrangler?” I choked, coughing as I tried to catch my breath.
“Dick wrestler better? What about penis shuffler? One-eyed willy minx?” She shrugged, like what she was saying wasn’t completely absurd.
“Your usual booth, Macy?” the hostess asked when we neared.
“Please,” Macy answered, not turning away from me. “So, do you? Did you collect them all simultaneously, or is it more of a one-at-a-time thing?”
“Um.” I narrowed my eyes in thought. “Both?”
Macy sighed like I was personally offending her by not sharing my secret.
“It just happened. I met them all at different times, but then we all arrived here together, and things developed,” I said, hoping that sufficed.
Her eyes lit up as she sat in the booth next to me. “So there is hope. Hmm.”
Fletcher and Reed took the bench across from us, looking at me with big eyes. “Thanks for rescheduling our lunch. The other day was madness.”
“No prob, Bob. Did they find anything out on who did it?”
“Nothing definite,” Fletcher sighed, feeling responsible for some reason. “They wiped everything and deleted all traces. It was too good not to be someone with power.”
We ordered pizzas and drinks when the waitress arrived, waiting for her to drop off some breadsticks before I launched into my questions.
“Were you able to find anything on Pippa?”
“Yep.” Macy picked up a breadstick and tore it in half before dipping it into some sauce.
“And?” Reed asked, surprising me that he’d been the one to speak up.
“She’s clean. Played four years in college and then ten years in the league. Made one Olympic team, and they came away with a bronze. From what I could tell, there were no arrests or skeletons in her closet. She’s worked hard to get where she is. I kind of admire her. She reminds me of you, actually.”