Page 4 of The Honeymoon Hack

It’s the best choice. You can’t keep taking care of her. Even your sister said that.

“Did you read Rav’s email?” Brie asked, a step ahead of me. Straight to work. Exactly what I needed.

“I did.”

“It came through the email we set up for emergencies, so I’m assuming there’s a problem.”

“Sounded to me like he was saying the network’s monitored and he can’t get a cell signal to call us.”

Brie hummed as she climbed the steps. “You don’t think there’s more to it?”

I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see me. “I think this job has you on edge, and you’re reading too much into it. You should email?—”

“Gideon?” she said as she crested the top step. “Already did.”

Of course, she had. Because it was the first thought I’d had, too.

The mezzanine office looked almost exactly as I remembered it. Brie’s desk with its array of monitors, the worktables in the middle, the stacks where my 3D printers—currently in transit—used to sit. But my desk had a laptop I didn’t recognize, surrounded by neatly arranged notebooks and a small stack of papers.

A twinge of something pinched inside my chest. Someone else’s things on my desk. In my space.

You’ve been gone for over a year. Things change. Don’t be so territorial.

Ashley had been doing work I couldn’t do from London. But seeing physical evidence of how much life had continued without me stung more than I’d expected.

Brie’s gaze followed mine. “I told you it was a mess! Ashley’s almost done moving everything back downstairs.”

My backpack hit the floor as I surveyed the desk. “At least my plant survived.”

Brie stuck out her tongue. “We watered it every Monday.”

“Better than I ever did. Pretty sure I killed three succulents in London through sheer neglect.” I touched one of the healthy leaves. “You’ve turned my sad little plant into something thriving. Show-off.”

I picked up one of the photos, a framed shot of us at high school graduation—Brie’s cap askew, my arm around her shoulders. My chest tightened. Easier times. When I still had two parents.

Before Brie and I tested what our relationship could have…

Deep breath. Focus on the moment.

“Back to the email.” Brie leaned against the edge of my desk. “Rav hasn’t called either, so I’m guessing the security’s tighter than we thought. I think you should take that prototype of the mini satellite phone.”

“It’s still in beta.”

“But if you and Ashley can’t—” She halted at the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

A woman with a short blonde bob appeared at the top, tablet in hand. Ashley Bradford. “Will Reaney, in the flesh.” She crossed the room with quick strides and extended her hand. “Nice to finally meet my husband in person.”

I put the photo down and shook her hand, her grip firm. I’d been working with Ash remotely for six months. She was Brie’s right-hand hacker and my partner for the upcoming mission.

“Likewise, but don’t you mean Will Stone?” I replied with a half-smile, using our undercover surname. “Guess we should probably get to know each other before we leave?”

She laughed, moving past me to collect items from the desk. “Two days isn’t much time to construct a convincing romance, but we’ll figure it out.”

“The work cover story’s solid,” Brie added, crossing to her own desk.

“I know, I know.” Ashley stacked papers on top of her laptop. “I’ve been brushing up on network administration procedures. I had a dream last night. In it, I was speaking in IP addresses.”

Brie snorted a laugh.