Chapter 5 #2
She laughed, the sound bringing a smile to his face. “I’m at the hotel, Ace. Our hotel, our room. I’m fine. How did things go with Julia?”
“Fine. I’m not sure I like her husband, but…oh well.”
“Really? Seems strange that she’d marry someone…not nice.”
“We’ll talk about that later. You’ll see what I mean. We’re having dinner with them tonight. Oh, and wait until I tell you this…he has a son who looks just like him. Like crazy amounts like him.”
“Really? Wait, I thought he had a daughter. Julia said her stepdaughter.”
“Yeah, and this other one. You’ll see. I’m nearly at the hotel. See you soon.”
They said their goodbyes as the buildings filled in around them. “Magnolia Grant, right?”
“That’s the one,” Alex said with a nod.
Within a few minutes the man eased the car to a stop outside of the high-rise hotel. Alex slipped from the car, bouncing up the stairs to the lobby, retrieving his key, and heading up to the penthouse suite he’d booked for them.
“Avs?” he called as he stepped into the room.
Gizmo’s bark greeted him, the tiny dog racing toward him with a few more yaps. “Hey, buddy.”
Alex scooped the dog up in his arm as he shuffled further inside, spotting Ava on the couch. The site warmed his heart, and he crossed to her, sliding his arms around her and kissing her cheek. “Hey, Sparky.”
She twisted to face him, bobbling the laptop on her legs. “Hi.”
He arched an eyebrow as he glanced at the screen, his gaze flitting from one camera feed to another. “Is that…”
“Crescent Bay Hotel Security cameras,” Ava answered as he skirted the couch to plop down next to her.
Gizmo scurried out of his arms and onto Ava’s lap.
“Nice work, Avs. Look at my little hacker.” He grinned at her as he slid an arm around her.
“Are you proud of me?” she asked.
“Extremely,” he answered, planting another kiss on her cheek.
“Good, because now I need a favor.”
“Looks like you’re doing pretty well on your own.”
She dug something from her pocket and waved it his way. “I need you to code this to open Ben Preston’s door.”
He eyed it, any amusement he’d felt earlier completely gone. He snatched it from her hand. “Do I want to know how you got this?”
“I may or may not have swiped one from the front desk.”
“I don’t like this. And besides, I can’t do it.” He tossed the keycard down on the table before he grabbed his laptop.
“Can’t or won’t,” she asked, her eyes on the feed.
“Can’t,” he answered as he opened a program and began to type. “I need an–”
“RFID encoder?” she finished for him as she waved a package in the air.
He slid his eyes sideways to it before he snatched it from her hands. “Sometimes having a smart wife is a curse.”
“Oh, so now I’m a curse?” she asked, her voice playful.
“When you ask me to code a keycard so you can get into another man’s hotel room…I can’t help but wonder. Avs, I don’t like this.”
“You’ll like this even less.” She retrieved her phone, toggling into a message thread before she slid it toward him.
His eyes went wide as he read the text from Raven. “What? Wait…how did Raven get this picture?”
She shrugged as Alex’s jaw tightened, his nostrils flaring. “Okay, you’re right. I really don’t like this, Ava.”
“Apparently, he doesn’t like my style. Another threat.”
Alex stared at the screen, his eyes narrowing.
“What?” she asked as she pushed a lock of his hair back.
“This message…why is Raven talking about how pretty you are?”
She screwed up her face. “That’s what you’re focused on?”
“Uh, yeah. I just got rid of one of your suitors. I don’t need another shady one hanging around.”
She shot him a wry glance. “Let’s focus on the important stuff.”
“Which is?”
“I wasn’t that sloppy. And I’m not going to fail.”
“You are going to fail. I’m texting Raven and telling him this is over.”
“Him?”
“Obviously, Ava, he’s practically hitting on you while dropping his mission hints.” Alex snatched the phone from her hands.
“Easy, Tiger,” she said as she tugged it back. “We don’t need to alienate our one ally.”
“If he’s an ally. We have no idea.”
“No, we don’t. But we will, because you’re a genius and you’re going to figure it out as soon as you put your little trap on that flash drive.”
Alex shifted on the cushion, his eyebrow arching. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“Really?” she questioned as she leaned closer to him, kissing his cheek before she laid her head on his shoulder. “Are you sure?”
He pressed his lips together, shaking his head as he clacked on his keys. “No, I’m not. Flattery has always gotten you everywhere with me, Sparky.”
She giggled as she lifted her head, returning her eyes to her screen as he typed. “So, fill me in on Julia’s problem.”
They discussed both problems for the remainder of the afternoon, discussing strategy on both situations before they dressed for dinner, leaving Gizmo behind with a dog-sitter as they paid their social call.
Hours later, they shuffled into their hotel room, still discussing the very odd situation they’d encountered at the other couple’s home.
“So, did you get a weird vibe from Kyle? Like…is he into Julia?” Ava asked as the door clicked closed.
“Uh, yeah, I’d say the Junior G is definitely into stepmommy dearest.”
“Wow,” Ava said with a shake of her head as she scooped up a pajama-clad Gizmo. “And then Luke showing up? That was the wildest dinner party I’ve ever been to.”
“Stick with me, Sparky, I’ve got plenty of strange for you.”
She slid her arms around his neck and brushed his lips with hers. “I’m sticking with you, Ace.”
“Good, because I’d really hate for you to leave me for your ex, or your stepson, or something weird.”
“I don’t have a stepson because my husband hasn’t been married four hundred times before.”
“No, your husband has been true blue since before he married you,” he said with a grin.
She leaned closer to him with a grin. “Heading to bed?”
“No, I’m going to work on this little issue for Julia. I should have access to the first Mrs. Harrington’s mobile devices, unless I’m mistaken, and I never am. I’m going to start the process to remove these images.”
“Okay. Don’t stay up too late, Ace.”
“I can’t. Because I also have to be up early because my wife is breaking into some guy’s hotel room, and I need to be there for tech support.”
“Wow, your wife is crazy,” she said, her features amused.
“I know,” he answered. “Totally.”
They shared a good night kiss before she headed to the bedroom while he settled on the couch.
He toggled on his phone, checking his Watchful Eye app, designed to infiltrate and monitor mobile devices within a certain radius.
It scanned for electronic signatures, then stealthily inserted a small script that allowed Alex temporary control—enough to deliver his message without leaving a trace.
A grin spread across his features as he successfully accessed Lydia Harrington’s cell phone.
“Here we go, Lydia. Let’s see who the puppet master is now.” His fingers flew across the keyboard as he worked to identify the offending images of Sierra Harrington, delete them, and scrub any copies and traces from her possession.
As he built his program, he opened Ava’s laptop, keeping an eye on any movement by Benjamin Preston.
Movement on her screen caught his attention, and his typing slowed as he glanced at the screen.
He leaned closer, his heart thudding harder against his ribs. Ben Preston stepped from the elevator, trailed by two men who looked distinctively like Russian mafia. The weapons bulging under their jackets confirmed his suspicions.
Ben Preston seemed to be connected to lots of nefarious people. And his wife was about to walk right into the lion’s den. Would it be Ava’s last move?