Once they realized what Darby was after, everything with the missing kids had fallen into place. In one way or another, their parents were all involved with planning, security, or logistics for tomorrow’s Bilderberg meeting. In addition to Evie being responsible for rooms and meeting spaces, Jack Phillips was in charge of the liaison between MI5, the local police, and the society’s private security, while the other parents had been connected to hotel security, transportation routes, and catering.
Even without Evie’s cooperation, Darby still had access to the meeting agenda, attendee list, security procedures, passwords, security badges, radio frequencies, floor plans, police response protocols, details on the society’s security teams, and info on the exact routes the Bilderberg members would take into and out of the hotel. If Darby’s intent was to give himself the best chance to slip in and grab a handful of the richest, most well-protected people in the world, he’d put together a damn good plan to pull it off.
“Did you run into problems with the hotel’s security system?” Harley asked Misty. “You were in there for a long time.”
Misty looked up in surprise before glancing at the watch on her wrist. “Really? It felt like a few minutes for me. I guess I got wrapped up in all the information available in their system. And I do so love free Wi-Fi. Especially when you can access it from across the street.”
Jes shook her head, still amazed Misty had been able to slip into the hotel’s computer system through their own Wi-Fi modem from a coffee shop all the way over here. It made her glad Misty was on their side and had her wondering if there were other people in the world who could do what she did.
“Any indication hotel security is planning to change anything because Evie suddenly went on vacation?” Harley asked, spreading strawberry jam on her scone, apparently able to focus on the job and not Misty’s bizarre abilities.
“No, nothing like that,” Misty said. “No change in meeting locations or in the schedule. I’m not even sure they’ve noticed all that drama last night involved one of their employees.”
“I still can’t believe McKay wouldn’t let us at least warn the hotel,” Harley muttered, looking over at the Lanesborough like she was considering stomping in there to tell them herself. “Or the Bilderberg Society people. He has to know how risky it is using their members for bait like this.”
Jes silently agreed. She’d been the first one to argue with their boss that they should push to cancel the Bilderberg meeting altogether, now that they knew Darby was going after them. But McKay—and the powers that be back in DC—insisted it was worth the risk. They had faith in her and the team to stop Darby and the other creatures with him. They felt ambushing them at the Lanesborough would be the best way to do that since they’d most likely all be there together. While they were probably right, Jes still couldn’t help but think they were being cavalier with people’s lives.
“I was able to slip in and put you and Forrest into the employee database, Harley,” Misty said, going back to her notepad. “I got Forrest a position with the maintenance staff, so he can roam around the corridors and the loading dock areas without raising suspicions. You’ll be with the waitstaff, so you’ll be able to slip in the meeting rooms with the Bilderberg people.”
Jes didn’t bother to ask about where the rest of them would be. Since they still hadn’t figured out where Darby was hiding the missing kids, there was a lot of their planning left unfinished. There was a good chance they might have to hit both the hotel and the hostage site at the same time, which meant splitting the team was looking more and more likely. That idea worried her more than she cared to admit. While she trusted everyone on the team to do their jobs, she didn’t like the thought of not being there to watch Jake’s back.
Something she never would have given a second thought to before that kiss they’d shared last night.
Well, technically, it had been more than a kiss. There’d been a good bit of grinding involved as well and some groping. The scary part was that she could barely remember why she’d jumped him like that. Even scarier? She wanted to do it again.
“Have you known Jake long, Harley?” Jes asked, trying to sound casual.
Harley shook her head as she started in on her second scone, slathering it with more jam. “Not really. We met when McKay hired us.”
Jes sipped her coffee, surprised by that answer. Yeah, it had almost been a throwaway question, but truthfully, she’d been curious about how a werewolf pack operated. “Oh. Since you’re a pack, I naturally assumed you guys had been together a while.”
Harley regarded her thoughtfully while she chewed. “Sometimes it feels that way since Jake and Caleb are easy to be around. But no, it’s only been a few weeks. Why do you ask?”
Jes shrugged. “No reason. Just curious.”
“Uh-huh.” Harley said, a smile curving her lips. “And does this sudden curiosity with pack dynamics have anything to do with the fact that you and Jake are having sex?”
Jes felt her face heat. Her head snapped to the left and right, worried that everyone around them—and most of the people on the street—had heard what Harley said. “We are not having sex!” she whispered. “Why would you even think something like that?”
Harley’s grin broadened and a quick glance at Misty revealed she was close to cracking up, too.
“Caleb said he saw you kissing,” Harley said in a casual, matter-of-fact tone.
Jes gaped. “I can’t believe he told you!”
“Of course, he did,” Harley replied. “Like you said, we’re a pack. Besides, it’s not like he had to, since I could smell your scents all over each other this morning.”
Across from Jes, Misty’s eyes went wide. “Hold on! You can tell when two people have been sleeping together? Just from their scents?”
Harley nodded. “Yeah.”
Misty went pale. “So you know about Forrest and me?”
Harley nodded again as Jes blinked in confusion.
“Wait,” she said. “You and Forrest are a couple? Since when?”
Misty chewed on her lower lip for a moment before answering. “We’ve been together since I joined STAT, but no one knows. Especially not McKay. And you can’t tell him. I know he takes care of his people, but I’m afraid he’ll put us on different teams if he finds out.”
