Chapter 21
Brie
No matter how good the full-spectrum indoor lights were, stepping into the sun on Little Haven was a shock to the system. Friday morning, the sky was impossibly blue, without a single cloud in sight. Hard to imagine Hurricane Lorenzo would be lumbering past us in a few days.
If the forecast held, it would stay to the east of us, bringing cloudy skies and wind, but nothing too dramatic.
“Perfect day for exploring,” Will said, grabbing a helmet from beside the bike stand.
I’d suggested biking around the island as soon as we woke up, partly out of genuine curiosity, but mainly as a strategic maneuver. Cycling would keep us moving, upright, and far less likely to end up in another compromising position like yesterday’s beach lounger incident.
And I wouldn’t have to come up with ridiculous excuses like I had last night.
Thinking about Shawn? Really? That was the best you could come up with?
Well, yeah, at least Will doesn’t know you wanted him to go a lot further than he did with the fake kiss.
Wanted. Yesterday morning, I had wanted more from Will. Today, I had my head back on straight and knew better. Crossing that line again would be the end of us.
“Which way?” I asked, pulling a bike out of the rack.
“Counter-clockwise.” Will did up the chest clip on his backpack and mounted his bike. “I hear the eastern side has the best views.”
I donned my helmet and followed him onto a paved path that traced the shoreline.
White sand beaches stretched to our right, while lush tropical vegetation bordered the path to our left.
The emerald and turquoise gradient of the water was almost unreal—like someone had cranked up the saturation settings on reality.
Tiny geckos darted across the path in front of our wheels, vanishing underneath the shocking pinks and reds of the bougainvillea and hibiscus. I inhaled deeply, savoring the scents of tropical flowers and salt air.
After less than five minutes, Will pulled over. Bracing his bike between his legs, he balanced his backpack in front of himself and pulled off his shirt.
I nearly fell off my bike.
“Too hot for this,” he muttered as he stuffed his shirt into the bag.
The black lines of his tattoos stood out against his skin—geometric patterns on his forearm, angular bands at his wrist, the abstract design extending up his right shoulder.
I could trace each one from memory. The band on his wrist contained his parents’ birthdates hidden in binary, the forearm pattern secretly incorporated the GPS coordinates of his childhood home, and the shoulder design held the frequency of the first radio signal we’d successfully intercepted.
His ink told a story in code no one else could read.
Except for me.
Yesterday morning, Claire had been eyeing Rav’s tattoos. And Rav himself, for that matter. I’d never considered tattoos as anything but art.
But now? I’d finally figured it out.
They were… sexy.
“Coming?” Will called, already on the pedals again.
I blinked. Stop staring. “Right behind you.”
Goddammit, Will Reaney was sexy.
‘Will’ and ‘sexy’ do not belong in the same mental sentence, Brie.
But they did, didn’t they?
When had that happened?
Yesterday morning. Remember what happened then?
Heat nestled between my thighs, like Will’s leg had yesterday.
Oh yeah, I remember it quite well.
The electric bikes made pedaling almost effortless, so I caught up quickly, forcing myself to watch the scenery. I studied everything but Will riding ahead of me. Definitely not the muscles flexing in his back as he moved or the sweat trickling down his spine.
He slowed until I was next to him. “How’s your training going?”
Better than whatever was going on in my brain right now.
“The interface needs a complete overhaul.” This was a safer topic. “The workflow logic is convoluted, and the input validation is inconsistent across forms. It feels like people have been upgrading the pieces that bother them, without a cohesive plan.”
“So, it’s boring?” he said with a laugh.
“More like I want to get under the hood and do some updates myself.” I sped up slightly, taking the lead as the path narrowed through a section of palm trees. “And the training videos are outdated.”
“Typical. No one ever updates the documentation.”
The technical banter should have distracted me. It was the kind of conversation we’d had a thousand times before.
But I couldn’t shake how aware I was of him. The way sunlight highlighted the different shades of brown in his hair, the sound of his laughter, and the way his smile settled deep in my chest. It was like neon lights were surrounding him, pulling my attention to him, wherever he was.
As we rounded a bend, I spotted a runner on the path ahead of us. The powerful build and methodical stride were unmistakable. Rav. As we passed him, he acknowledged us with a slight wave but kept jogging.
We continued for a few more minutes until Will pulled over by a weathered picnic table perched beside the trail. As I came to a stop next to him, he said, “This is a good spot for our call.”
I parked my bike beside his, maintaining distance as I removed my helmet. With my luck, I’d trip and we’d wind up horizontal again.
Rav appeared a minute later, his breathing controlled. He stopped and jogged in place. “Pair my comms?”
Will pulled out his satellite phone and inserted his earbuds, while I scanned the area for cameras or potential witnesses. A few low bushes and solitary trees grew nearby—nowhere for anyone to hide. Just open sky above and the endless ribbon of white sand hugging the island’s curves.
“You’re clear from cameras,” Rav said. “The only surveillance on Little Haven is at the security checkpoint.”
Will nodded, connecting Rav’s earpiece to our secure network. “Check for signal.”
“Copy,” Rav confirmed after a moment. “Range?”
“Half a kilometer, at least,” Will replied as I popped my own earbuds in.
“Don’t want to be caught with you.” Rav continued on his run, then said over the earpiece, “I’ll stop somewhere up the path to stretch.”
Will leaned a hip on the edge of the picnic table, staring at his phone as though checking messages. He activated the satellite link.
“Do you copy?” Will asked quietly.
“We’ve got you,” came Scarlett’s voice. “Full team is here. What’s your status?”
“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 into the 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.”