Kami pulled him down and got another quick kiss. "End of summer?"
"End of summer." Skip waved before he jogged away.
They all turned their heads from watching that when they felt the table shift from someone else sitting down.
"Aaron?" Kaley said.
Aaron was an intelligent looking kid with thick glasses, but you could tell he was about to grow out of the slightly goofy phase into a kind of handsome one. "I didn't mean to listen in, but I did ... My parental units are making me go to Paris for the summer, but I want the same deal. With Kaley." He looked at the other girls. "Do I deal with you two?"
Kevin chuckled as they nodded. He reached out and did a nerdy soul shake with Aaron before he confessed to Kaley, "Aaron pays me for intelligence on you Kaley."
That made another round of laughter go around the table before the second end of summer date was negotiated.
****
A week later, the smell of breakfast called out to the four teenagers upstairs in Zoey's beautiful home in the exclusive gated community of Holden Hills. Kami spoke first as the teens came out of their separate bedrooms. "I hot-tubbed it up in the hot-tub in my bathroom."
"I can't believe you got moved in so fast." Kevin smiled a good morning smile at Zoey. The smile came naturally. He liked her morning face. It was a little scrunched and skewed from sleeping on it. It was almost changing as he spoke. That was one of the most fascinating details he enjoyed as he was enjoying his growing ability to notice things like that about other people.
"Everything's fast and easy when you're rich," Kaley said a little bitterly.
Kami shoved Kaley from behind. "If you don't get that chip off your shoulder, I'm gonna knock it off."
"Sorry." Kaley looked truly sorry.
They got to the top of the big staircase and all followed Kevin's lead sliding down the banister.
Kevin put up a palm and stopped them before they stepped into the short hallway that led to the spacious kitchen that flowed into the enormous family room.
They all kept quiet to hear a conversation between Kate, Beth, and Taylor.
"I can't thank you enough for watching my kids while I go back to work," Kate said.
"We can't thank you enough for letting us," Taylor said.
"And they're all so inseparable, it would be a shame to separate them," Beth said.
All four listening in smiled because they knew why they were inseparable.
"I feel bad leaving them, but I feel like I need to get my business going again," Kate's tone confirmed what she said.
"They understand that honey," Beth said supportively, "I think it's smart for you and good for you to get back to work."
"Getting back to work got me over losing my father last year," Taylor said.
There was a moment of silence and Kami was about to walk in, but Kaley stopped her.
"Is this suit alright for the country club mixer tonight?" Kate asked.
"It's perfect Kate, and don't be nervous about that," Beth said.
"You know I'll be doing more real estate selling than mingling and mixing." Kate laughed a breathy laugh. "I can't even think about another man."
"And we'll be selling you right along with you," Taylor said.
One more lull in the conversation made Kevin take a step, but Zoey pulled him back.
"Kevin's tutoring Zoey through her online courses," Taylor said, "I'm paying him for that."
"The online courses just to keep her in the eleventh grade, after she was already held back a grade," Beth said with a mix of sad and angry.
"I really am dumb," Zoey whispered.
"No, you're not," Kevin whispered, "you just never gave a crap."
Zoey nodded and seemed to accept that.
"And those two girls of yours are in the pool so much, I taught them how to maintain it, so they're making a little extra money," Taylor said.
"A Benjamin and a half a week," Kami whispered.
"I don't know what I'd do without you two," Kate broke into crying.
"Ditto," Taylor said.
The sound of soft patting preceded Beth's words, "Right back at you, girlfriend."
The four in the hall gave it a moment for the tears to subside before they walked in together.
Taylor looked right at Kevin. "You want to go do some investing with me?"
Beth looked at the girls. "You want to do some shopping with me?"
The resounding chorus of "Hell, yes!" from the teenagers wasn't planned or practiced, but it sounded like it was.
****
Just before noon, Zoey walked through her father's office to find the cubicle Kevin was in. Kevin looked up at her with excitement in his eyes. He pointed at the computer screen. "Hey, your old man hooked me up with this game where I can buy and sell stocks, bonds, options, derivatives, and what-not like a real day-trader."
"Old man?" Taylor's head appeared over the side of the cubicle.
"Old handsome man I hope I'm as handsome as when I get older," Kevin said playfully.
"Nice save," Taylor said after a short chuckle.
Zoey pointed at the screen. "That's not a game, is it Dad?"
Taylor laughed. "Looks like I'm busted too." He walked around the cubicle and gave his daughter a kiss. "I guess you came to steal him for lunch?"
"That, and I had to get away from the shopaholics," she said.
Taylor chuckled at that before he leaned over and looked. "Who gave you that file, Kevin?"
Kevin thought he messed up, so he sounded worried. "It was on the desk. I thought you wanted me to do a work-up on it."
Taylor picked up the file and looked. "It's okay, that company was a pass for me."
"I don't think you should, Taylor." Kevin had meant to use first names for her parents, but he didn't think that was a good time.
Taylor shared a smirk with Zoey before he sat down in one of the chairs jammed into the cubicle. "I'll hear you out."
Zoey sat next to him.
Kevin took the file and opened it. "Kapler Aircraft can't compete with the other small private aircraft manufacturers. They used to compete by making small luxury planes. They even got away with buying and assembling a lot." He saw Taylor nodding. "But, you already knew that." He saw the nod again. "Anyway—" He turned and worked the computer mouse. "They put the planes together in these huge hangars. All that goes down on just under two hundred acres." He turned and looked the powerful man in the eye and forced himself to hold his gaze. "That city is starved for developable residential land."
Taylor leaned forward, and Zoey followed his lead reflexively.
Kevin went back to the computer and used the mouse and the keyboard almost manically. "Now, we all know how drones are kicking ass in the war. Most of those are armed, but there's a new government request for bids going out for cheap reconnaissance drones and drones for other uses like weather, mapping, and other things." He turned to look again. "It's a way to get your foot in that military door ... And there are separate companies that make the guns and rockets for them."
"I like that," Taylor said.
"Dad, that would kill people," Zoey said.
Kevin leaned toward her. "You have to kill people to save people sometimes." He looked at Taylor. "Besides, it's so cool."
Taylor laughed at that exchange.
Kevin pulled up another browser tab he'd tabbed. "Now, the private drone market is just hobby now, but more people want them. I'll bet my ass that food, packages, mail, all kinds of stuff will be delivered by drones." He went to click some more but turned back around with a thought. "And movie directors can use them."
He saw out of the corner of his eye that they smiled at each other over that. He didn't want it to go down like that. He was sure she liked him. A lot. He was certain her father was fond of him. He didn't want them to pity him or humor him. He didn't want them to treat him any differently just because of what he had. He dug deeper and went for his last point. He turned around and faced her father.
> Taylor sat back more in a thinking position than a critical one.
"One more thing," Kevin said confidently and purposefully slowly, "the old marketing niche could come back. One decent plane could be tricked out. It gives the guys who can afford a private prop plane the feeling they own a private jet."
"What would you do if you bought the company, Kevin?" Taylor asked.
That sounded like what his mother called a buying question in the real estate business. Kevin suppressed his urge to smile. "Residential in that city is really booming, but they're way overbuilt for manufacturing and warehouse space. Move the company across town. Sell the whole land parcel or subdivide yourself and make more. There's a company in town that customizes busses and limos for rock stars. Get back to the plane that made money. Get into the small drones for the public. Pitch bigger drones to the government." He thought on that. "That's what I'd do."
"Go back to that land, Kevin."
"You know more about that than me, but you might be able to leverage the land to buy the company."
Taylor stood up. He put up a hand to help Zoey up.
Kevin stood up slowly. He felt his leg shaking and wondered if that was from nerves or sitting down for too long.
Taylor pulled out a bill and handed it to Zoey. "Go get your man something to eat and get him back quick." He turned and smiled at Kevin. "He's going to pitch this to my partners this afternoon."
Kevin's face was filled with excitement.
Taylor put a hand out. "Two-percent okay?"
"What?" Kevin looked as perplexed as he could.
Taylor looked at Kevin shrewdly. "It's a good-sized company and it's going to get a hell of a lot bigger if we follow your plan. Two-percent is a decent back-end."
"He'll take it," Zoey said.
Taylor looked at the young couple before he patted them both on the shoulder. "An hour and a half tops." He leaned over, got the file, and walked out briskly.
Zoey gave Kevin a kiss on the lips. After the kiss, she put her hands on his shoulders and looked at his handsome face. "When we get married, we're going to be so rich."
Her eyes and his eyes both opened wide.
She pulled in a frantic breath to revise that, but he didn't give her time.
"You know another perk of us getting married, Zoey?"
She was still in the same wide-eyed state, but it also covered an excited emotion. "What?"
"Husband and wife privilege. We'd never have to testify against each other in court."
She looked like she had her excitement under control and her wits about her. "Those perks are piling up pretty fast my pretty man. How long do you think before we could get married?" She looked nervous after putting that out there.
He stroked his chin. "Until I'm eighteen I guess."
"Two years." She held up two fingers and smiled when he gently bent one finger down at the knuckle. "Almost two years."
He stroked his chin again. "Or, until I make my first million."
Her eyes and her mouth opened, but she was fast to overcome that and speak. "I have enough in my trust—"
His shaking head stopped her.
She took his hand and got him walking but kept talking. "Okay, so you want to be a man and make your own way."
"I do," he said.
"I think the figure's too arbitrary, Kevin."
"I'm open to a counter-offer," he said.
"One-hundred," she said.
"I'm feeling kind of cocky, so a hundred-thousand is kind of low." He looked at her as he opened the office door to go out. "You meant a hundred-dollars, didn't you?"
He laughed, and she giggled as they waited until the big door swung shut to kiss again on the other side of it.
****
Kevin was flying high after he pitched to Taylor's partners and they seemed to like his plan a lot. Zoey pulled the big SUV into the driveway of the big home and leaned over to give him a long victory kiss before they went in.
They got to the front door as their mothers were walking out.
"Wow, Mom!" Kevin always knew his mother was a pretty woman, but the subtle touches he guessed Beth had done to her hair and makeup made that fact stand out.
"You do look hot Kate." Zoey turned and grinned at her mother. "And you clean up nice too, Mom."
The older women laughed pleasantly at that.
Beth filled them in, "Taylor's meeting us at the country club. The girls are bringing food home." She aimed her look only at her daughter. "Be gentle, be kind, be good."
"I will." Zoey waited until the mothers left before she explained to Kevin, "That was a brainwashing thing they invented when I was stealing a lot. I thought it was stupid at first, but whenever I'm about to do something stupid, it kicks in."
"Do you still steal?" He cocked his head and repeated that under his breath since it sounded odd. "Still steal, still steal."
"A little," she whispered though no one but him could hear.
"I already knew that." He took her hand and held it to his chest. "You stole my heart."
She snorted into a laugh at that, and he laughed along.
Her cell phone rang, and she listened for a while. "Sure."
"Who was that?" He wished he hadn't said it like that. It sounded like he was nosy. Jealous. Controlling. Maybe it was a girlfriend. Or even a guy-friend. She could have either and he should be alright with that, right? He wasn't alright with that and he could tell she could tell by the tell on his face.
"It's your sisters, they want us to meet them," she said after she read his face.
He pointed at the door. "Meet my sisters or have you alone in a big house all to myself. That's a tough one."
She laughed and pretend slapped him on the chest before she gave him a kiss that wasn't pretend at all.
****
They spotted the old car his sisters shared in the parking lot where the big discount store was anchored. Kevin grinned as he pointed at the big store. "Have you ever shopped there?"
"Don't give me that rich girl crap." She nodded her head at the store. "That place is the bomb and it's my jam."
He arched a brow like he didn't believe her, but he didn't argue.
Zoey pulled up next to the girls.
Kaley rolled down the driver's window. "Get in."
They got out of the SUV and got in the old car.
Kevin saw they were driving in a part of town that wasn't the best part of town. He remembered they lived around there when he was little. Before his mother started making good money selling houses.
Kami looked straight ahead and explained as they drove. "While you two have been making goo-goo eyes at each other lately, Kaley and I have been talking about killing."
Kaley took over, "You remember how I talked about being a hunter hunting the hunters who prey on people."
"Yeah, it was like preying with a purpose." Kevin rubbed his face and thought of a better way to say that. "A hunter's hunter. A victim's vigilante."
"That one Kevin," Kaley said.
"Yeah, the last one," Kami said.
"I like the way it feels to kill." Kaley didn't sound crazy at all.
"I love it," Kami said like she was talking about a dress, "I really love it."
"How about you, Kevin?" Kaley asked.
"I didn't feel much." He saw them all getting quick looks at him. "Good or bad."
"And you, Zoey?" Kami asked.
Zoey looked at Kevin and hesitated before she answered. "I liked it." She watched his face and focused on his eyes. "That's a lie. I loved it."
Kevin looked out the window in the silence that followed. He took Zoey's hand when he felt it. He spoke as he kept watching the scenery go by that let him know they were in a rural area of town. "If we're going to keep killing, we have to get smarter about it. There's so many loose ends to tie up. No way to think of all of them."
"You did a damn good job thinking on your feet," Kami said.
Kevin felt Kami's eyes on him, so he turned, gave her a quick no
d, and returned to looking out his window. "We need to pick the—" He thought for the right word. "Targets carefully. Selectively. Then, we need to plan." He pulled in a breath and let out a sigh. "I'm worried all the time that something I forgot will come back to bite us on our asses." He turned and gave a sadly loving look to Zoey before he leaned to stick his head between his sisters and give them the same look. "Can you imagine what it would be like to spend the rest of our lives in prison?"
He sat back and there were several moments that were filled with only the road sounds.
"I'd become a great jailhouse lawyer." Kaley nodded at the road ahead like she was seeing that future. "No bitch will lay a hand on me if I write appeals for the baddest bitch in the slammer—"
Kevin chuckled. "You watch way too many movies."
They all laughed, and the laughter eased the tension.
"I could steal stuff and get enough contraband no one would mess with me." Zoey's serious look left for a smile when Kevin gave her a look.
"You and me Kevin." Kami turned and gave him a look.
He didn't understand what the look was.
Zoey patted his hand and explained. "As pretty as you both are."
"We could turn it around Kami if we turned gay." Kevin shrugged like that wasn't a big deal.
Kami giggled more than the other girls. "I might get a badder bitch than my appeal-writing sister."
They laughed a little more until Kaley pulled the car into a wooded area and motioned for them to get out.
****
Kaley and Kami directed Kevin and Zoey to sit on the hood of the car. Kaley pointed. "See that mobile home?"
Kevin nodded.
"This involves a pure innocent victim who's been waiting for a victim's vigilante for years." Kaley gave Kevin a sad look that carried more emotion than her face usually carried.
"I like you using my slogan." Kevin could tell his face was showing that. The pressing question hit him after that graciousness. "Who's the victim?"
Kami stepped forward and she wasn't sad. She was angry. "You!"
Kevin looked like he had no clue what they were talking about.
"Do you remember your babysitter Nonie?" Kaley asked.
Kevin shook his head to say he didn't.
The Killing Rileys- First Love, First Kills Page 7