Jill's mournful expression wasn't helping any as I crossed to join her and Rosebert, those two closing ranks and glaring at me like this was my idea.

Let them. I had a job to do. And no way was I doing it with this crew. Ack. Bad choice of words. I whipped out my phone as I stopped beside Jill and dialed a familiar number, knowing there was a 50/50 chance he wouldn't answer if he was already distracted.

To my surprise, Dad picked up almost immediately. "I ...