Russell steps away, then points a steady finger at me. “And you,” he snarls, “you’ve been on a good streak recently, do not fuck it up now.”
I give him a salute that’s one hundred percent sarcastic. “Aye, aye, sir.”
Russell just groans and rolls his eyes, leaving the house again.
Caden looses a breath so long it’s like he’d held it through that entire encounter. “Fucking hell.”
I nod. “Fucking hell, indeed. At least you got a few days off, though.”
He groans. “I’d rather have the distraction. I’d rather not be stuck in this house with that woman.”
I chuckle, give him a gentle slap on the back. “Just focus on sleep and rest. Don’t worry about that woman.”
“I’m always worried about that woman.”
Yeah, I gathered that, I think, and maybe that’s something for me to be concerned about. Maybe she was the reason Caden’s head’s not in it. Maybe I need to watch him – and her – a little closer now.
CHAPTER 33
FIZ
Iget back from my job of the day and after feeding Bob, I set out to go check on Caden. I see a couple dudes from work in the computer room, screwing in a little device in the top corner. I smirk to myself as I move through the mansion. I’ll have to get the login from Caden so I can watch Elodie whenever I want. Preferably when she bathes.
I find Caden in the office going through some papers.
I’m not surprised, but I still say, “Should you not be resting?”
“Need to keep stimulated,” he says, not looking up from the desk, “being alone in a house with Elodie is enough to send me off the rails. God help me if I break my celibacy this close to the finish line.”
I chuckle, knowing I’d be exactly the same. Cade doesn’t have Alfie as a buffer today; he’s still out doing whatever job he was sent on.
I sit with him until one of the Blackwood employees knocks on the open door.
Cade waves him in, and we listen to him explain how the camera app works, how we can save footage or delete it. Caden didn’t opt for audio with it, too paranoid about the conversationswe have within these walls. We do have a very good hacker living in this house, after all. But it’s not that much of a worry. If we ever go down, we’d take her with us, but it’d probably only take her a couple of clicks to send one piece of audio to the police and get us shut down and sent to prison for a dozen lifetimes. Despite our connections with the police and justice systems, we don’t have sway over the entire service. So, we had to take some precautions.
Caden thanks the man, and after he leaves, he swivels round in his chair, scrubbing a hand down his wan face.
“Better go tell her the good news. She’s got another job to do anyway.” He pushes up from the desk. The guy looks fucking knackered.
“She hasn’t done it yet?”
“I have to supervise her. I couldn’t be alone in a room with her, man.”
Gees, this is a man teetering on the edge of risking it all. Wounded, exhausted, and he still wants to rip into her. He’s got it bad.
“Alright, let’s go.”
He sets the pace down the hall, which is pathetically slow and limped. He says he’s eaten; Maggie’s kept his plate full of protein and kept him dosed up on painkillers. Now I’m here, hopefully he can get some rest.
We get to his bedroom and walk round to the side of the bed. Cade perches on the end like he’s desperate to take any little break.
She’s lying on the floor with her arms flung over her face.
“Time to clock in, Sleeping Beauty,” I say, clapping my hands.
She groans and drops her arms, fixing us with those evil blue eyes.
“Come on,” Cade says weakly, “I don’t have the time nor the patience to deal with your defiance today. Just come get the transaction done and you can come back here.”
