Lars is shaking his head. “If you want something from someone, you probably shouldn’t insult them before they’ve agreed.”

“I wasn’t insulting her!” Perry’s mouth drops in offense. “It’s not an insult if it’s true.”

“Well, that’s definitely incorrect,” I point out.

Perry shoves his phone deep into his bag. “We should probably go.”

“Wait.” Lars looks between us. “As much as I’d love to see your sister go off on you, you’re not going anywhere.”

“Of course I am.” Perry picks himself up off the ground and pulls his backpack on. Then he throws me under the bus by waving his finger between us. “We have a deal.”

“A deal that we haven’t finished working out the details on.”

“What deal?” Lars asks, sounding very much like a dad dealing with toddlers. I’d resent the tone, but in this instance, it’s probably fair.

I jump in to explain before Perry … can be Perry. “We’re taking his sister dinner, telling her he’ll be gone for a few days and that she should probably lie low too, then we’re supposed to be going somewhere safe to work out what the hell we do next, but we haven’t figured out where.”

“And that’s why we need to get moving,” Perry says. “We’ll feed them up, make them happy, and then Elle will have the solution for us. She’s very smart and very rich. I’ve never cared much about the rich thing myself because she’s not one of those asshole rich people, but it makes things easier in a pinch. And if you ask me, we’re in a bit more than a pinch.”

I look at Lars because it’s not like we have a whole lot of options here. Perry’s right. This is definitely more than a pinch.

“Maybe you should call her back,” Lars says.

Perry looks at Lars like he’s lost his mind, and seeing him give anyone that look is … a choice. “This isn’t the kind of conversation you have over the phone. Over the phone is for things like what did you want me to grab for dinner or hey, your parents have died in a car crash. It’s not for warning your sister you’re potentially highly wanted and need a safe house.”

There’s so much there that I really don’t know what the fuck to tackle first. Lars apparently doesn’t share my confusion.

“You can’t tell her you’re wanted or that you need a safe house.”

“Well, not in those specific words⁠—”