Chapter 25
Nik
“Nik! Nik, wake up!”
I grumble and pull Mags into my arms. “Is the sun even up?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Then hush.”
She pushes away and holds something in front of my blurry eyes. “But I have a way to get Kaden back!”
That wakes me up. “What?” I snatch the ID badge out of her hand and squint at the name. “Agent Lois Elgin. Who the fuck is Agent Lois Elgin, and how did you get her badge?”
“I was so close, Nik … They stopped me from entering the parking lot, but I nicked enough stuff to get us all in. We just need to wait until nightfall, then sneak into the building, find Kaden, and bust him out. Easy peasy.”
I rub my eyes with a groan. “Mags, nothing about that plan is easy. I’m sure by now that Agent Elgin has discovered her badge is missing, and after you went to their HQ, if Kaden was even being held there, they’ll have moved him the second you left.”
“Oh.” Mags frowns, then picks up an unfamiliar phone and taps at the screen. “It says they’re moving him to …” she peers at the device “… 152 East Ellington Street, downtown. That’s an old motel, isn’t it? Like, physical key entry old. No keycard. We can work with that.”
“You stole Agent Elgin’s phone?”
“No, no, no. It belonged to one of the other agents. I swiped it when he was helping me pick up my licorice.”
I have no clue what she’s talking about. When did she even leave to do all this?
“Do I have to punish you for risking your life?”
“I didn’t risk my life. I just maybe risked my freedom. They could have arrested me, but who’s going to arrest a poor, pregnant woman?” Mags pats her belly and grins. “Kiddo did a great job distracting them. They’ll come in handy for sure.”
Kip stirs and sits up, brown hair sticking out in all directions. “Did Mags just suggest using her unborn child in a con?”
“I think she already did it once.” I take the phone and read through the messages Mags accessed.
“Hon, there’s going to be a ton of security at this motel.
Even if they didn’t notice the missing phone and ID badge and whatever else you took, just your presence this morning was probably enough to put them on high alert. We’ll never get close.”
“Sure, we will.” She wraps an arm around Kip and hugs him. “Especially when they think he’s escaped.”
Kip sighs. “I’m the bait?”
“You’re the bait.”
“Okay, Mags. Let’s start some coffee, fix breakfast, wake the fuck up, and then you can tell us all about this plan of yours.”
“… And then, we get out while the gettin’s good.”
Mags just spent the better part of an hour explaining her scheme.
About halfway through, the coffee started to kick in, and about two cups later I regretted waking up.
Now I have to break it to her: We can't just use Kip to distract Kaden’s guards, pick the motel room lock, slip Kaden out, and make a run for it.
It’s a cute plan—like, “it’s adorable that she thinks this could work” kind of cute—but it’s not one of Mags’s better ones. She’s more experienced at long grifts and cons, not rescue operations.
Kip speaks up first. “Mags, this will never work. It’s absolutely insane. Are you sure this isn’t just a symptom of pregnancy brain?”
She looks at me for support, but unfortunately, I agree with Kip. “He’s right. There are too many holes here, hon. Take the phone you stole, for instance: They’re probably tracking it right now. We can’t execute this plan if we’re all arrested in a few minutes.”
Mags waves off my concern. “I disabled the GPS before I even got home. They don’t know where we are.”
“There’s also a tracking chip in the ID badge.”
“I doubt it. I checked; it’s just an access badge.”
Damnit, she’s probably already got a counter for every problem I’ll find.
“That motel intel you have could be fake. It could be a trick to get us all in one place. Who knows what Kaden told them? He might’ve let something slip that will get us all in trouble.
They could be setting a trap. Imagine the accolades Agent Elgin will get if she catches us!
She’ll be promoted, and we’ll rot in federal prison for all the shit we’ve done. ”
She just scoffs at that. “It’s not illegal for an omega to pretend to be a beta. What could they possibly arrest us for?”
“Grand larceny.”
“Oh. There is that.” Mags scratches her chin. “But they’d have to know we stole shit. I’ve kept track of our previous marks, and only a handful have reported anything stolen. Next issue.”
“Okay. Clothes. We don’t know what Kaden was wearing when he left on his crazy mission, and we don’t know if the feds have given him a change of clothes.
If I show up in anything other than what he’s wearing right now, they’ll know it’s me and not Kaden.
” Kip gestures to his pajamas. “Mags, I love you, but this will never work. We’re taking a huge gamble if we do this. ”
If I didn’t know that Mags is terrified for Kaden, this next move might piss me off.
Instead, when she breaks down crying, I can’t help but scoop her into my arms and rock her gently, stroking her hair and reassuring her it’ll be okay.
“I just want him back,” she wails. “I need him back.”
Kip sighs and rests his chin in his hands. “We’re doing this, aren’t we?”
“Yeah.” I kiss the top of her head. “But we’re going to need to refine her plan. I, for one, do not like the idea of her posing as a motel maid to find Kaden’s room.”
“Me, either.”
Mags sniffles and wipes her nose with a paper towel. “I was gonna wear a wig. I’m not stupid.”
I place a finger under her chin and tip it up. “Mags, a wig is not going to be a sufficient disguise if any of the guards for Kaden’s room saw you at their headquarters building this morning.”
“Why not? My most identifiable feature is the hair.”
I kiss her tenderly. “Hon, your most identifiable feature is that you’re stunning.”
Kip scoots his chair closer and holds her hand. “Agreed.”
“Y’all are sweet. I’m still doing the maid thing, though.”