Page 96 of Nowhere to Hide

I should have seen it.

It had been my job to assess the threats.

“Got what you need?”

Mason’s voice dragged me back into the now. I’d been staring at the locker of weapons without seeing a single one. I wiped my damp hand down my thigh before opening the cage. I lifted a Glock 19 out of the rack. The familiar weight of it eased something inside of me. I took two magazines and a box of ammunition as well as a pair of knives that I usually kept in my belt.

When I’d taken off after Milligan’s death, I’d left everything behind.

Unlike me, but I’d been such a goddamn mess that the idea of a weapon on me had been nearly as terrifying as the thoughts I’d wrestled with. When I turned back to Mason, he had a black case open on the table.

“This should help with some eyes on the boat.”

I unhooked a weapons belt off the door of the locker and slid it around my waist, frowning down at the series of cameras. “Not sure she wants to be watched like that all the time.”

“These are mostly for off the boat for you.” He lifted out a trio of slim disks. “You can put these on the side of the boat. Waterproof and has night vision.”

“Okay. That works.” I nodded to the rest. “What the hell is that?”

“Prototype.” Mason dug into the foam lining the case. “Figured you could test it out for me.” He held it over the table, and a stand came out of the bottom. The top opened and four mini drones hovered out. They were little more than the size of dragonflies. They lifted into the vaulted ceiling and spread out to the four corners of the room. Mason handed me a tablet.

Each of the drones had a bird’s-eye view of the room.

I’d used drones for aerial views of a large home before, but nothing as specialized as these.

“Works just like the larger ones we use only these can get into smaller spaces. They also are a bit smarter and work with an AI interface I designed. I thought it might work for you when you are on open water and need to see who is around you.”

“What’s the distance?”

“That’s the prototype portion of it. They feed off one another to give increased distance. It doesn’t have military grade function, but for surveillance it could be a game changer. No blind spots for this on whole house security.”

“Impressive.”

“Thanks. I’ve been working on it for the last year. Might be exactly what you need.” Mason took the tablet from me and hit a few keys, and the drones came back and filed into the small dock. The whole thing folded up tight into a cube that fit in the palm of a hand.He tucked it into the case. “Instructions are in the tablet if you want to play with it.”

“Appreciate it.”

“Any bugs let me know and I’ll work on the programming here.”

“Got it.”

Mason took the ammo and clips and tucked them into the slots in the foam. “I also added one of our new Tasers and charger. Anything else you need and I’ll get it to you.”

“Appreciate it, Mase. This will definitely help. I want to keep her on the boat until she’s healed up enough to be mobile.”

“Sure that’s the only reason you want to keep her to yourself?”

“Don’t listen to Leo.”

He grinned. “Nyx just messaged me actually.” He leaned a hip against the counter. “She was very interested in our newest client.”

“She’s not a client.”

“Even better.” Mason gave me a sly smile.

“It’s not like that.”

“Sure.” He straightened. “Totally like you to selflessly help a stranger.”