“No, stay,” Handshake said. “She’s . . . she’s in the same situation as you.”

Emily looked over to the woman and tried to see any signs that she was in any way special, but she couldn’t spot anything obvious. If she had powers they were the more subtle sort. “Oh,” she said at last.

“Dammit, Dave, she looks like she’s a teen. And that one can’t be older than fourteen.” She pointed to Teddy.

Handshake shrugged, then winced as the motion moved his shoulder. “You know how it is. Trust me, my life would be easier if I’d never contacted her to begin with.”

The woman scoffed. “Yeah. I’ll bet. Want to fill her in on all the embarrassing details?”

Emily shifted. That was why she was here. Getting things out of the way sooner meant getting back home sooner.

“Yeah. God knows I’m going to have to explain this one a few more times. Do you have a phone that’s on?” he asked Emily.

“Uh,” Emily said.

“Yank the battery out,” he said. “Or go drop it by the woods.”

Emily stared at him.

“Look at her, you idiot,” the woman said. “You can’t just tell a girl to ditch her phone. Next you’ll be telling her there are puppies in your white van.”

“It’s for security,” he said.

“I will disappear your jewels,” the woman argued right back.

Handshake blanched and looked over to Emily. “Never mind then. Look . . . what do you know about the Try Hard gang?”

“Um,” Emily replied. “Nothing?”

He sighed. “Great. In that case, I’ll have to start from the beginning.”

“You can skip some of it,” the woman added. “And since when do you hand out info for free?”

“Since the info dislocated my arm and punched three of my teeth in,” he growled. “There are rules, and if those jackasses won’t follow them, then they ought to suffer the consequences.”

“So who messed you up?” Teddy asked.

Handshake shifted on his stone bench. “Let me tell you a bit about Homie and his crew.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Homie and the Try Hards

Homie?” Emily asked.

She didn’t mean for it to sound so surprised, but the word was just not one she’d associate with such a straitlaced-looking person as Handshake. He looked more likely to complain about anyone using the name than anything else.

The information broker nodded. “Yes. You might want to take a seat, I have a lot of information to deliver.”

“You, um,” Emily said with a look around, “you won’t charge for it?”