Page 56 of The Honeymoon Hack

“Secure for now,” I replied, pulling out my phone and positioning myself next to Will as though taking a selfie. “Any updates on the VIP tour?”

“Approved for tomorrow at four p.m.,” Drew confirmed. “Gideon had to twist a few arms. These tours are rare, given the facility’s secrecy, and with the hurricane heading your way? The fact that she’s already at the resort made security fold on it.”

“I’ll be entering as a potential client interested in their highest security tier,” Scarlett added. “Gideon advises that I’ll be given a temporary access badge.”

“Perfect. I’ll be working at the security desk tomorrow afternoon.” The cadence of Rav’s words matched his long stride. “And I have an idea.”

I held up my phone as if framing the horizon for a photo, while Will pointed toward something in the distance—maintaining our cover as excited greenies who were thrilled to be at Mnemis, in case anyone wandered by. He leaned close to me for a staged photo, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

The mixture of his spicy cologne and coconut sunscreen washed over me. Suddenly, I was back on my beach lounger, his weight pressing me down, his lips moving against mine. A fantasy about his tongue dragging down my neck morphed intothe memory of waking up in his arms yesterday morning, feeling his hard cock against my?—

“Brie?” Scarlett’s voice snapped me back to the phone call. “Does that work for you?”

“Um, yeah?” I cringed internally. This entire job was a mess. This was exactly why I’d suggested biking instead of lounging on the beach—to avoid these distractions.

And it wasn’t working!

Like the best friend he was, Will must have noticed I’d spaced out, because he said, “Brie and I will figure out our plan tonight.”

“But we identified a potential issue with one of the employees,” I added.

“Issue?” asked Scarlett, and I could almost feel her eyebrow raise from here.

Will stretched, looking all around us—up and down the path, over the bushes, down to the beach—making sure we were truly clear. “Claire Lawson. She’s asking pointed questions that don’t make sense.”

“She’s my shift lead, and we’ve heard things that make us wonder if she might be government oversight or corporate espionage or something.” I had to keep it brief. The longer we stood here, the higher the chance someone would come by on a walk, a bike ride, or a jog. “She’s got access to the whole site, so maybe I can leverage that, but I’m worried she’s watching us.”

“Tabarnac,” muttered Rav. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“And I’ll talk to Gideon,” said Drew. “He may have some details. Or if she’s up to shady shit, maybe we can get her suspended.”

“In the meantime,” said Scarlett, “maintain your covers. Don’t avoid her, but don’t give her anything.”

“Understood,” I said.

“We’ll discuss this more tomorrow,” Scarlett added. “Stay sharp.”

When the call ended, we took a few more pictures, then mounted our bikes to continue our circuit of the island.

By the time we returned to the Mnemis entrance, the sun was high overhead. The guard barely glanced at Will’s backpack as we passed through security, and soon we were back at The Grotto.

“I’d ask if you want to grab lunch,” Will said as we reached the entry to the cafeteria, “but Ronnie wants me to start at eleven instead of noon. Says he wants to show me the hurricane prep procedures before we actually start them.”

Was that true, or was he avoiding me right back? Guilt curdled in my stomach. This was Will, not some stranger. Why couldn’t I just talk to him about what happened? He obviously wanted to rehash the event.

But what if he said he wanted to do it again?

The sick churning in my stomach amped up.

“Are you going back to the room first?” I asked. It was almost eleven already.

“Just to grab my phone and get changed.” He studied me for a moment, gaze holding mine as though words warred in his head. “I enjoyed the bike ride. It was a good idea.”

Chapter 22

Brie

One training video ended,and the next started automatically. The same woman I’d been watching for hours popped up in a circle at the bottom of the screen and proceeded to explain another incident response protocol. In the world’s most monotone voice.