Chapter 16
Devon knocked on Paige and Graham’s door and glanced at Addison again while they waited. She’d been quiet the entire time they’d cleaned up and gotten dressed. Oh, she’d kissed him back when he kissed her, but he knew she was holding herself back. He just didn’t know if it was because she had her head on the mission and her brother, or because she was regretting what they’d done.
The only regret he had was that it had happened under these circumstances. Any other situation, he’d still have her in bed. But they both had roles to play.
The door swung open, and Graham filled the opening. He scanned Devon up and down.
“Well, you don’t look any worse for wear. I hear I missed quite the show,” he said, stepping out of the way.
Devon gave a short nod and ushered Addison into the room. If that was all the grief he was going to get, he’d take it.
Connie and Paige sat on a love seat across the room. Connie gave him an appreciative once-over and raised her eyebrows suggestively. Paige refused to look at him.
“What?” he asked.
She actually held up a hand and turned her head. “I can’t look at you right now. I probably won’t be able to until I bleach my brain. I need to find a Man in Black to erase my memory. Preferably Chris Hemsworth.”
Addison sat in one of the chairs across from the loveseat. “What’s the plan for the rest of the afternoon?”
He could kiss her for getting right to the point. Actually, he could kiss her period.
“I’ll ask to use the computer after lunch,” Paige said. “Angie put some dummy files on the thumb drive for me to send to an email she set up. No doubt Tsarevna will check the computer to see what I did on it.”
“Is she going to find the program?” Devon asked.
Graham shook his head. “According to Angie, the program will run automatically in the background as soon as the thumb drive is inserted in the computer.”
“How will we know if she gained access?” Addison asked.
“Through an app on my phone,” Paige said. “It looks like a game, but it’s a hidden messaging program.”
“Like that calculator app kids used to hide photos?” Addison asked.
“Basically, yes.”
“Cool.”
“Once Angie verifies she can access the security system, she’ll send an update through the app,” Graham said. “Christian, Jeremy, Turner, and Harrison will get the same update. We’ll be able to coordinate the extraction with everyone. They’re on standby so, if all goes well, we’ll get Braedon and Michael out tonight.”
Addison leaned forward and rested her head in her hands.
Devon sat on the arm of the chair and rubbed her back. “What’s the plan for the rest of us while Paige is sending emails?”
“We’re going to scope out the perimeter of the castle—as much as we can,” Graham said. “If we can find the entrance to the tunnel, we’ll mark it to make it easier for Tinker and Jane to find.”
“What about after?” Addison asked. “How are we getting out of here?”
“All we have now are the basics,” Graham said in a low voice. “Get Braedon and Michael out. Exfil through the tunnel, if possible. Boat back to Odesa, plane to Germany.”
“That sounds like a gross oversimplification of the mission,” Addison said.
“It is,” Paige said. “Right now, there are a lot of unknowns. I haven’t seen any armed security, but that doesn’t mean Tsarevna’s ‘staff’ aren’t carrying. I’ve seen a few cameras, but there could be many more that we don’t know about. We don’t know if there is security on the perimeter.”
“So, we’re going to wing it. You can say we’re winging it,” Addison said.
“Not if we can help it. That’s why Paige needs to get access to the computer and why we need to do recon this afternoon,” Devon added.
Her back rose and fell under his palm, and she nodded shortly.
