For now, though, we had a narrow window of time to get in position. The motion sensors in the MineCorp offices would be turned off while the cleaning crew worked. Working at the same time as the cleaning crew carried its own risk, but it meant I didn’t have to spend time overriding the security system.
Ada and I commandeered one of the bedrooms to change into T-shirts, pants, and boots. “Are you sure I can’t persuade you to wait here?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes and shot me an annoyed look. “I’m sure,” she huffed.
I nudged her shoulder. “You’re my little sister. I don’t doubt your skills; I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
She turned to me, her eyes solemn. “And who will keep you safe?” she asked softly.
I purposefully misunderstood. “I imagine Ian is going to be glued to my ass,” I said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
“So, you and Ian, huh?” she asked with an impish grin. “I thought you said he wasn’t interested?”
I bit down on the instinctive denial. This morning’s kiss hadn’t felt uninterested, but then he’d gone and ruined it by apologizing. I didn’t know where we stood, only that we needed to talk.
“He wasn’t, but now I don’t know. He kissed me this morning, then apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again.”
It was harder than I expected to open up to Ada. Before my marriage and her escape, she’d been my closest sibling. But I’d been keeping secrets for so long that I almost didn’t remember how to share pieces of myself.
“He kissed you?” she hissed excitedly. “Why didn’t you lead with that? How was it?”
Heat suffused my cheeks. She took one look at my face and dissolved into quiet laughter. “That good, huh?”
I also had forgotten the pure joy of laughing with my sister. Ada would always, always be on my side. So I gave her an honest answer because I could use her advice. “It was incredible. But then he ruined it by calling it ‘a lapse’ and apologizing.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t interested before?” she asked gently.
“When he first became my bodyguard, I expressed interest. He called me an ‘empty-headed princess’ and said in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t let me derail his career.”
Ada winced then scowled toward the door. “Can I kick his ass now?”
Emotion overwhelmed me and I pulled her into a hug. She silently hugged me back. Ada had always been good at knowing what I needed, and after years of Gregory’s callous disregard, I was starved for simple physical affection. When I let her go, she said, “I’m glad you’re here, Bee. Now tell me why you won’t let me kick his ass.”
I smiled at her tenaciousness, but the smile died when I returned to the subject at hand. “I think he had a reason to dislike me.”
When I didn’t continue, Ada prompted, “Why do you think so?”
“I have no proof, but I think he’s a member of the Genesis Project. You know how the Consortium treated them.” It felt strange to say it out loud, even to my closest sister, the one I’d helped find data on the Genesis Project in the first place.
Ada didn’t scoff. She tilted her head, considering. “Loch hasn’t said anything,” she said at last. “But I could see it. Have you asked him?”
“Not in so many words.”
“Loch didn’t tell me until we decided to give a relationship a shot. Give Ian time. It can’t be an easy thing to reveal.”
“I don’t have the best track record with relationships.”
“And you think I did, before I met Loch? Remember my first season?”
It seemed that all of the von Hasenberg women were destined to have disastrous first seasons. Ada had been lucky, in the end, but it had killed me to watch her heart break.
“When you’re ready to talk about what happened while you were with Gregory, I’m here,” she said.
I flinched and wavered. Ada could read me better than anyone else. Of course she’d noticed that something had happened. Would it be so bad to tell her?
Before I made up my mind, she continued, “But don’t let Gregory’s ghost ruin the rest of your life. I’m biased against Ian because of the last two years, but even I can see that he’s a good man. I think you should give him a chance. Kick his ass for being an idiot if you need to, but give him a chance. You may not see how he watches you, but I do. You’re not just a job for him. I saw it when we were in Serenity.”
“He has a funny way of showing it,” I complained.
“Let me guess, he’s trying to protect you and you’re making it difficult for him.” She grinned at my incredulous expression. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m not taking his side. I’m just pointing out that both of you could be looking at the same situation and seeing different things. Loch and I bang heads occasionally because we each want to protect the other.”
Hope bloomed, as fragile as spun glass. I warned my heart against it, but it was no use. It had sprouted roots and clung tenaciously. Ian truly did have the power to hurt me now. I half hoped he never found out.
Loch and Ian were staring at the blueprint and speaking quietly when we joined them. “Changing the strategy?” I asked.
“No, just checking the exits,” Ian said with a knowing grin.
My cheeks heated, but I refused to rise to the teasing. “So we’re still going through the housekeeping closet?”
Ada had failed to mention that the hotel didn’t have direct access to the maintenance areas. From the suite, we’d have to go through the floor, which would be difficult to hide. But the housekeeping closet next door backed to the metal sheeting surrounding the crawl space. It should be fairly easy to cut a hole, then tack the cut piece back in place after we were done. By the time it was discovered, we’d hopefully be long gone.
“Yes,” Ian said. “Loch and Ada will cut the hole while you and I serve as lookouts and a distraction if needed. Once we’re in the office, the roles will reverse. You’ll have approximately twenty minutes to find what you’re looking for.”
I would need every one of those twenty minutes.
“In case things go wrong, the northwest stairs lead to the building’s ground-floor service entrance. That’s the primary means of quick escape, but the main stairs, maintenance crawl space, and elevators can be used if needed. Be prepared for resistance, but try not to kill anyone.”
We nodded and geared up in silence. I had my main com, two secondary coms, various connection cables and transmitters, a small tool pouch, a pair of stun pistols, a codebreaker, and my smart glasses. I touched everything a second time to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.
We all had transmitters and earpieces in addition to our smart glasses. We tested the communications before Ada and Loch left the room. Thirty seconds later Ada murmured, “We’re in and the hallway is clear. No surveillance in here. Cameras are planted.”
I used my smart glasses to pull up the video from the tiny cameras Ada had attached to either side of the housekeeping closet door. The first video showed the empty hallway. The second video showed Loch sprawled under a shelving unit, cutting a hole in the back panel with a portable plasma cutter. Various buckets and bottles of cleaning supplies had been pulled out to make room for him.