“Mmhm.” Harlow took a half step back, chomped on the burnt bacon, and chewed thoughtfully. “Sometimes, life’s going to burn your bacon. Whether you throw it out or learn to enjoy it is up to you.”
“I—”
A sound interrupted their conversation—Harlow’s cell phone. It jolted Harlow from his banter and snapped him back to work mode. The custom ringtone revealed that Brad, one of the men from his private security team, was calling.
With everything that had happened yesterday, and all the other phone calls he’d made, he’d forgotten to check in with his men.Shit.
“I’ll be back in a second,” Harlow said apologetically. “I’ve got to take this call.”
“It’s okay,” Simon promised. He smiled, but it wobbled. “Go for it.”
Making quick work of the half-eaten bacon, Harlow retreated back to the living room. During the night, his phone had slipped into a crack between the couch cushions. He fished it out and answered the call. “It’s H.”
“It’s B,” Brad replied. “Are you doing okay, H? Fuck. All of us have been keeping an ear on the news, hoping to hear she’s okay.”
“I’m… I’m okay.” Harlow could lie to them, and he considered it in the split second he had between when the question was asked, and when he could reply without looking suspicious. “I have things under control here. Evie is safe.”
“You found her?”
“It’s complicated.” Harlow hesitated. “Just know she’s okay. We both are.”
“Holy fuck, H. We were worried all night.”
“I’m sorry.” Where could he go? Simon was in the kitchen and Evie, Shep, and Simon occupied all of the apartment’s bedrooms. Harlow was sure his voice would carry to Simon, and while he didn’t think Simon was up to anything nefarious, he needed to have this conversation in private. Harlow headed for the bathroom, turning on the exhaust fan, and leaned against the counter with his back to the sticker-decorated mirror. “The last sixteen hours have been hell, B. You’ll have to forgive me on this one. I’m still trying to get over it myself.”
“I have no doubt that you’ve gotten yourself in and out of all kinds of trouble by now. We’ve been working hard, too.” Brad cleared his throat. “We called in some favors, asked if we could have the video footage from the security cameras… only there was none.”
“What?”
“There was nothing at all,” Brad said. “The footage was fried or something. I’m not a tech guy, H. All I know is that fifteen minutes before the lights cut and fifteen minutes after, no footage exists. Poof. Gone.”
“That’s not right.” Harlow pushed off the counter and paced to the shower stall. The bathroom was small, frustratingly so. He turned and paced back to the counter and looked at himself in the mirror. The stickers haunted him. “It was just Evie and…”
“And?” Brad asked. “H, what the hell is going on where you’re at? Evie’s with someone?”
“Like I said, it’s a long story.”
“Well, with her missing, we’ve got time.” Brad let silence lapse between them, seeming to expect an answer. When none came, he sighed. “Well, your business is your own, H. All I can do is tell you what we found. The footage is gone, and according to what we heard from the technicians on site, the power shouldn’t have cut like it did. Whatever happened even knocked out the backup generators—it fried everything. No one we talked to, none of the techs, hadeverseen anything like it before.”
Harlow frowned. He reached out and tried to smooth the curling corner of a steamroller sticker. “So you’re saying that this was an inside job.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t,” Brad said casually. Harlow imagined him shrug while saying it. “But…”
“I understand.” The sticker refused to lie flat. Harlow tried several more times, but never achieved success.
The escape had been orchestrated. It wasn’t news, but it was troubling all the same.
Evie didn’t have the know-how to cut the power and the backup generators, and Shep was just a kid. While it was true that they’d been planning Evie’s escape for a while, how had they been able to breach the conference’s security in order to perform a feat like that?
They would have needed a professional.
Someone like—
“But I guess you already know who’s behind it if you’ve found her,” Brad said. “Are we good, H? Do you need us to investigate anything else? We’ll keep at it if you need us, but if not…”
“You’re fine. Thanks for your hard work. Why don’t you guys head home? Consider it a paid vacation. If I need you back on the circuit, I’ll let you know and fly you back.”
“You got it, boss. Whatever you’re doing… good luck.”
