Page 63 of Wired Courage

Delicious smells greeted them as Sophie unlocked the door again, stepping inside and handing the baby to Armita so that she could deal with the stroller and the dog’s harness—and she never forgot to engage the door’s security measures.

“My goodness, Momi, all of this sand!” Armita told the baby. She said that every night when they returned, with fond indulgence in her voice. Armita loved bathing Momi, so Sophie didn’t comment as the nanny carried the baby off to the bathroom to be rinsed, changed and dressed.

Sophie took that time to strip out of her clothing and take a quick shower herself, reveling in a few moments alone.

Within the hour, the three of them were seated at the little dining room table, and Momi was slinging handfuls of rice at them with startling accuracy.

“I have a little extra work to do tonight,” Sophie told Armita as she cleaned up Momi’s mess after the meal. “I’m going next door.”

Next door.

Next door was the other reason Sophie had chosen this apartment over any other. The Ghost had conducted his activities in a secret office in the apartment next to his living quarters. The setup inside was just the same as when Sophie and Connor had worked there together so long ago. Connor’s calm, cool computer lab had missed being damaged in the bomb blast that wrecked Sophie’s current abode.

Armita nodded. “I’ll keep watch in case Momi wakes up.”

Sophie nursed the baby and put her down. Once Momi was asleep in her bassinet beside Sophie’s bed, Sophie walked to the bedroom closet and opened the door.

Sophie’s shoes and clothing took up little space in the walk-in—she was a wardrobe minimalist. As she faced the floor-to-ceiling shoe rack at the back of the closet, Sophie remembered the first time she had discovered the entrance to Connor’s secret world. She never would have dreamed that, a few short years later, she would be pressing a lever that moved the shoe rack out of the way, and stepping through a hidden door into the Ghost’s computer cockpit.

That cool, secret space, humming with technology, was hers now.