“I agree,” Talia said. “How do we find proof though? It isn’t like we can ask Maria to hide a camera in her father’s office.”
“Actually,” Kyla said slowly, “I was thinking you could just sneak into Rybak’s office and find something incriminating while Katrina does the same thing in Mr. McDaniel’s office.”
“Um…” Talia started.
Beside her, Lennox cursed under his breath. “No way! Snooping around was the thing that got Anna into trouble.”
“Unfortunately, Mr. McDaniel doesn’t do any of his work from home because of all the proprietary design information he deals with, so I couldn’t do it anyway,” Katrina said.
Everyone looked at Talia, including Lennox, who had a worried look on his face. She took a breath. Could she sneak into Bogdan’s office and dig around? Would she know what she was looking for? Even if she could find the courage to try? But then she thought of Anna. If her friend was still alive, she wasprobably alone and terrified. Talia couldn’t do nothing if there was a chance this could help find Anna.
“I’ll do it, though I’m not sure how good I’ll be at it,” she finally said, then looked at Lennox. “I have no doubt that Anna would do the same for me if the situation were reversed.”
Lennox sighed. He didn’t look thrilled but at least he didn’t tell her how reckless she was being. Instead, he reached out and took her hand under the table. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Yes, though I have no idea how I’m going to get into his office. Not that I’ll know what I’m supposed to be looking for even if I do manage it.”
“Just promise me you won’t take any chances,” Lennox said softly.
“I won’t,” she promised. “But what if the information we need is on Bogdan’s computer? I don’t know his password.”
“That’s not a problem. I can walk you through hacking into it over the phone,” Kyla said matter-of-factly, then looked at Katrina. “If McDaniel brings his computer home with him, I can help you do the same thing.”
Katrina didn’t look like she was too sure of that idea. Talia was right there with her.
Over second cups of coffee for all of them, Kyla gave Talia some idea what she should look for in Bogdan’s office while Lennox and the other guys advised her on being stealthy. She knew they meant well but wasn’t sure their tips applied to sneaking around her employer’s office and only hoped she didn’t get caught.
“I know you drove over with Katrina, but I thought I could give you a ride home,” Lennox suggested when they were getting ready to leave a little while later.
Talia smiled at him. “Okay.”
“So, how’s Maria?” he asked once they were in his pickup and heading toward the Rybaks.
“Other than spending way too much time eavesdropping, you mean?” she said with a laugh. “Adorable as always. Though she did remind me that we’re supposed to take her back to Legoland.”
Lennox chuckled.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she said, the words coming out in a rush. “And that you’re safe.”
She almost added that she’d missed him but chickened out at the last minute.
He glanced over, flashing her a grin. “Me too.”
Deciding to stick to safer topics, she spent the rest of the drive to her cottage at the Rybak’s talking about Maria and what they’d done that past week.
When they got to her place, Lennox came around and opened the door for her.
“I was thinking that maybe we could grab dinner tomorrow night,” he said, gazing at her expectantly. “If you’re cool with that, I mean.”
Talia’s first instinct was to turn him down. Getting closer to a man who was prone to frequent unannounced and dangerous travel was only asking for heartache. The last week of misery was proof of that.
But as she opened her mouth to tell Lennox that dinner probably wouldn’t be a good idea, she remembered Katrina’s advice about not looking at every situation as some kind of problem to be evaluated and solved. That sometimes you needed to take a leap of faith so that magic might happen.
“I’d like that,” she said.
Grin broadening, his shoulders relaxed, like he was relieved. “Great! I’ll text you and we’ll figure out the details.”
Talia smiled and nodded, excited about their date despite herself. “Thanks for the ride.”
