“Louisa’s moral compass would kick in. She’d help the best she could. Meanwhile, me and you would be staring at polished iron bars and cracked concrete walls until they gave us the injection.” I huff a laugh. “Well, me at least.”
She runs a hand down her face; I can see this is gnawing away at her. She’s stuck between letting me go for it and wanting to believe there’s a better way for Callum.
Then she lets out a groan that fills the entire car. “You’re right. I’m just worried about you. Let me come with you.”
I baulk back. “No way! I can’t risk you, Gina. I’d never put you in harm’s way.”
“But it’s okay for you! You’re always out there alone,” she snaps back at me, eyes watering at the corners.
“Hey,” I say softly, reaching for her hand and squeezing it. “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m never alone. I have you keeping me safe, my all-seeing eye always watching my back.”
I watch her eyes darting around my features, reading my expression.
She’s looking for any hints of worry, that I’m lying.
She won’t find it.
I’m an open book when it comes to her. She lets out a breath.
“I suppose I’m more useful behind a screen.” She gives me a weak smile.
I squeeze her hand as a warning this time. “Don’t you dare put yourself down like that, Gina. You’re insane at what you do. Fuck, I bet if we ever did get caught, they’d give you a deal and ask you to work for the FBI.”
Regina’s brain is like a sponge; she retains information and learns technology at an alarming speed. She’s a breathing cyber nightmare. She could have easily chosen a different career path, but she chose the morally grey one with me.
A ding tone sounds from the laptop, and I release her hand to let her get back to work.
“Okay, there’re only two cameras. One in the driveway and one facing into the back of the cabin.” She turns the screen to show me.
It’s really not ideal; there’s a tough sweet spot to get with surveillance. Too many means Regina needs to focus on multiple screens at the one time.
Not enough leaves me vulnerable to surprises.
We could have used an extra couple for the perimeter, and most importantly the cabin’s interior. It’s not exactly like this is the luxurious type of home we’re used to dealing with. It’s pretty basic.
“I’ll send the drone out.” She reaches into the back, pulling the micro-sized toy out of her backpack.
Regina dips out of the car, placing the device at the driver’s side and controlling it as it whizzes into the air.
Once she’s back in, we huddle together and watch the live feed from the laptop, resting it between us on the centre console. It scours across the peaking hemlock trees as Regina guides it, just over a hundred feet in the air, before the feed opens up to the clearing.
The A-frame cabin comes into view, its front exterior made up of a stretch of bay windows on the bottom floor. It looks like your average weekend getaway spot, nothing like someone in the elite would be caught dead in.
I suppose that’s the lengths you’ll go to to remain hidden.
Thankfully, it looks like there’s only one bedroom on the upper floor, and the stairs leading to it are able to be seen from the backyard.
“I’ll be able to get in from behind that second camera.” I tap the laptop screen.
She nods. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s there right now.”
The cabin has definitely been recently occupied; the top window is left open, the faint glow of a lamp someone’s kept on, and there’s a pair of muddy boots lying on the porch.
This could be my only opportunity to take a look around. We give each other a knowing look, and she reads my mind instantly.
“I’ll block the cameras and the driveway. Now, move your ass.”
11
