After he plants a small camera on top of the door to keep watch on the hallway, Ryker follows me inside.
“Check the room for open terminals,” I whisper. “On the off chance…it’ll save me a ton of time.”
Weaving among the server racks, we find nothing, so I choose a terminal at the back of the room where no one can see me from the door and pull out a keyboard on a swinging arm. “Okay. Are you ready, Inara?”
“I have a visual,” she replies.
Plucking another adapter from my bag of tricks, I lean my tablet against the server monitor, plug it in, and let the two machines handshake. Lines of Cyrillic flash across the main screen, and Inara translates.
“You need an employee access code and PIN.”
“Got it.” This information takes longer, and with each minute, Ryker’s tension ratchets up another notch. By the time I’m in, we’ve been in the building for ten minutes, and the hard stone sitting on my chest feels like it’s about to suffocate me.
“Help me find the right directory.” My code only works if I install it somewhere no one will find it. A utility folder is the best spot, but if I can’t find one, I can try to hide it in the server’s boot sequence.
We go back and forth with Inara providing a running commentary of folder names.
“How much longer?” Ryker growls as I seize on a good folder and launch my trojan.
Inara sighs. “Stand down, Ry. She’s doing just fine.”
“This program will allow me to access everything on the network from the safe house. But it takes a few minutes to install.” I glare up at him. “And no amount of pacing is going to speed it up. Go wait by the door.”
“Not letting you out of my sight.”
“You’re slowing me down. Go away.” I try to ignore him and focus on my task, but I can hear him breathing just behind me, and I send an elbow gently into his side. “Go. Away.”
“Ry. Listen to her. Go check the door camera.” Inara sounds as frustrated as I am, and as the program runs and he stalks away, I send her a quick chat message.
Thank you. Is he always this overprotective?
A low, husky laugh accompanies the quiet sound of typing, and I have to stifle my snort when I see her reply.
He doesn’t like anything he can’t control.
While the trojan’s final checks scroll across the screen, I run my fingers over the bracelet hidden under my black shirt.I’m here, Z. And we’re going to get Elena and Semyon out. I promise. If they’re still alive, we’ll find them.
“How much longer?” Ryker asks over comms.
Annoyance prickles over the back of my neck. “Two minutes. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
“Not wearing any, sweetheart.”
Inara clears her throat. “Um, you know I’m still here, right?”
“Fuck.” Ryker lowers his voice, muttering, “I knew this was a bad idea.”
“Focus, you two,” Inara snaps. “I got out of a very warm bed to help you on this op, and it’s fucking snowing here.”
“Done.” I disconnect my cables and shove everything back into my pack. “Coming to you, Ry.”
As I reach his side, he wraps his arm around my waist for a moment, holding on like he thought I’d disappear. “Remember—”
“Stay behind you. Got it.” Resting my fingers over his, I squeeze once. “Get us out of here safely, soldier.”
So many emotions play over his rugged features: pride, relief, concern, caution… He’s one of the most expressive men I’ve ever met, but he thinks he gives nothing away. He does, to those who understand how to read him. Or at least to me.
“Back the way we came,” he mutters as he cracks the door. Grabbing the little camera, he creeps down the hall, gun at the ready. Compared to him, my footsteps sound like a herd of elephants, even though we’re both wearing soft-soled boots.Almost there. Almost safe.
