I memorize the layout, then sit back and close my eyes. Front door. Living room to the right, hallway to the left. Ten feet. A right turn. Basement door at the end of the hall. Down the stairs. Two rooms. Q’s in the room on the left.
“We need eyes inside,” West says. “Probie, you’re up. Take that old beater that came with this bucket of bolts and play the lost damsel in distress. Ask to use his phone.” Gesturing to the surveillance equipment strewn across the table, he adds, “Take audio and video in there with you.”
Raelynn snorts. “Damsel in distress? Why doIhave to be the fucking damsel?”
“Because Inara’s going to be covering your ass from that walnut tree at the edge of the neighboring property. Unlessyoucan guarantee a kill shot from a mile away, you’re the damsel.”
She huffs. “Fine. I need ten minutes.” Disappearing into the bathroom, she bangs around, opening and closing the cabinets, cursing as I keep my eyes glued to the computer screen. Q isn’t moving, and the longer I sit there, more worried I get.
“Fuck. There has to be another way…a faster one…” My stomach twists into one giant knot.
“Graham, listen up.” Ryker towers over me, hands on his hips, murderous rage simmering in his eyes. “That piece of human garbage disguised as a man isn’t going to see tomorrow’s sunrise. Neither is his partner. Let the Probie do some recon. We need to know if he’s armed. If he’s rational. Who this other shitstain is and whether he’s there willingly. We willnotlose Quinton unless we get sloppy about it.”
I’m about to protest—or at least tell him he can’t promise we’ll be successful—when Raelynn stalks out of the tiny bathroom. The entire camper is nothing but silence and hanging jaws for a full minute until the newest member of Hidden Agenda swears under her breath.
“Don’t say a damn word. Any of you,” she drawls. “This is a one-time-only view.”
Her blond hair is pulled into two pigtails below her ears, shining golden waves trailing towards her chest. Her ass-hugging jeans are now cutoff shorts, and she dumps the extra material in her go bag. Long, lean legs go on for miles, and if I had a straight bone in my body, I’d probably be drooling.
The tank top barely contains her breasts, and several new—and very strategically placed—rips enhance the look. “If I had anything other than a ball cap, I’d feel better about this get-up. But this’ll have to do for now.”
“Um...yeah,” West manages, snapping his jaw shut and tossing her the keys to the car. “You do realize Harrow’s gay, right?”
“That’s how he’s presentin’ now,” Raelynn shoots back. “Am I the only one who read his whole fucking file along with the dissertation on ASPD? His first victim was a woman. He’s either bisexual or doesn’t give a lick about who he sleeps with as long as it gets him what he wants. Either way, you want me to get in there? This’ll do the job.”
After she gears up with a tiny camera hidden in a pair of sunglasses and several of our newest—and smallest—surveillance devices in her pocket, she smooths a hand over one of the pigtails and plasters on a sweet smile. “Now, wish me luck, boys,” she says, her Texas drawl so pronounced, she sounds like a different person. “I’m just so lost, and if I can’t find my way back to town, well, I just might cry.”
The RV door slams, and Inara lets out a long, low whistle as she slings her rifle case over her shoulder. “Damn. I’m not sure if I should be disturbed or impressed.”
We all nod, except Ry, who’s smirking like he knew it all along. The value Raelynn would bring to this team. This family.
“Impressed.” He peers out the window, watching the wheels of the old beater kick up dust as she drives away. “Definitely impressed.”
* * *
Raelynn
This piece of shit hatchback hasn’t seen a shock absorber in years, and the stench? Something died in here years ago. I roll down all four windows and hope the breeze doesn’t wreak havoc on my hair. Getting it to behave at a moment’s notice? That was the true miracle. Straight out of one of the pamphlets those televangelists send Momma once a month like clockwork.
I liked those jeans, though. I wonder if McCabe will let me expense a new pair?
The dusty road and early October heat remind me of home. Or...what used to be home. I’ll never go back to Texas again unless someone drags me hogtied and screaming.
Playing the part, I stop the car outside the long well-worn approach to Harrow’s house, look around, and pull out my phone, holding it out the window like I’m searching for a signal.
That part isn’t an act. We’re so far out in the middle of nowhere there isn’t a signal for miles. I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Inara’s wearing beige fatigues from head to toe, and I only spot her because I know where to look.
If this Alec asshole is as paranoid as McCabe thinks he is, he’s already watchingme, and everything I do from now until I get back on the road needs to be completely in character. I swipe at my eyes and rest my head on the steering wheel for a count of five, then straighten, square my shoulders, and fix my gaze on Harrow’s house.
Two minutes later, I park at the end of his drive, and tuck one arm of the sunglasses between my breasts when I get out of the car. The team should be able to see everything through the camera on the frame without me keeping them on inside.
I wish I had comms though. But it’s too risky up close. Even as small as these damn earbuds are.
Harrow answers the door before I’m done knocking, looks me up and down, and Christ on a cracker, practically salivates. “Well, this is a surprise. Don’t get many visitors way out here.”
“Oh, bless your heart for answerin’,” I say, raising the pitch of my voice and falling into that distinctive Texas twang I grew up with. “I’ve gone and done it now. I’ve driven all over hell’s half acre, and if I can’t figure out how to get back to State Route 24 soon, I won’t be good for nothin’ because I’ll be out of gas.”
“I can help you, sugar.” Harrow steps over the threshold, close enough I can smell his cologne. Ugh. Pretty sure you’re not supposed to bathe in the stuff. “You see, all you have to do is turn left at the main road,” he points as if I’m too dumb to be able to figure that one out on my own, “then go about ten miles until you see a big ole rock formation with a hole in the center. Kind of like a horseshoe. Make a right, go another five miles, and you’re there.”
