“Then let’s do it because we’re not leaving until early in the morning.And when we do, we’re checking out.You can get a different hotel room as needed every night.Don’t stay in the same place twice.”
She waited until after the food was delivered and she finished eating to call Ken on her work phone via the secure app.That was SOP, and would reduce her digital footprint there.“Hey, stranger.How’s life?”
“Is everything okay?”he asked.
“Yep.Trip’s going well.Hopefully, I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“That soon?”
She laughed.“I mean, Icanstay away longer if you?—”
“No, that’s not what I meant.Of course I want you back here, sweetie.I just thought you’d be gone longer.”
“We’ll see how it goes.And I promise that, barring emergencies, I shouldn’t need to travel again for work until after the baby’s born.How’s Lyssa…”
Ten minutes later, they ended the call, and she stared at her phone for a moment.Her lock screen was a picture of Ken holding Lyssa, a gorgeously handsome smile on his face as he looked down at the baby, with the baby grinning up at him.
Alvarez slowly shook his head.
“What?”she asked.
He shrugged.“That was some expert-level verbal dancing, boss.”
“I didn’t lie to him.And if you think I enjoyed that, think again.”She dug her charger cord out of her bag and plugged the phone in.She’d traveled even lighter than usual, knowing she wanted this to be a quick trip, and using her laptop bag as her purse, in addition to a small carry-on.
“Do I even want to know what might happen?”he asked.
“Probably not, because I don’t know.If I’ve read this situation completely wrong, then yay, you can catch the flight with me.”
Doubt filled his face.“Really?”
“Really.Contrary to popular belief, I prefer to settle things as quietly as possible.My gut tells me this won’t be one of those cases, but a girl can dream, right?”
“I hope so, boss.”
ChapterThirty-Three
Dewi
They leftthe hotel at daybreak, taking everything with them and checking out through the app.They didn’t pull into the parking garage at first when they arrived.Dewi had Alvarez make several laps around that block and the surrounding ones, so she had a solid mental map, just in case anything unexpected cropped up.
On their fourth lap, she pointed at a parking lot by a fast-food restaurant two blocks from the office building.“If something happens and I boogie, or you need to leave, I’ll wait for you there, got it?”
“Yes, boss.”
She pulled on a plain black hoodie, a plain black baseball cap, and held large, dark sunglasses.
“What’s with the getup?”he asked.
She showed him a switch in the hoodie.“Called a ‘camera-shy’ hoodie.IR lights around the edges.”She showed him.“If I’m in the dark or dim light, it’ll obscure my face from cameras.Doesn’t work in daylight or regular light.”
“Uh, can I ask a stupid question?—”
“In case something goofs up with the video being erased.If I’m in the parking garage or in the stairwells, it’ll help screw with the cameras.Hopefully.”She tucked her phone earpiece in.“Next lap, drop me at the front lobby doors.Circle around different blocks for about fifteen minutes.Then park somewhere on the street and come into the lobby.Pretend to get involved with a phone call and take up a position somewhere you can see the elevators and front doors, if possible.”
“Roger roger.”
She left the hood down for now and tucked the sunglasses into the pocket of her hoodie.With her phone in her back pocket, she stepped out of the car and walked into the lobby.
