Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Chapter Nine
“Do you really have to do that so loudly?” Drake walked into the kitchen as Deke was pouring coffee into the tumbler Maddie used for her morning commute. He’d moved his bag from the car the night before. The man packed light, but he was dressed in fresh clothes this morning—jeans and a V-neck tee that would make him look like every other So Cal dude who worked in tech. Drake was good at fitting in. “We all get it. Deke’s got a girl now. You don’t have to shout it to the world.”
“Yeah, man, I could hear you two upstairs.” Kyle had already been in the kitchen when Deke had walked out to start breakfast only to find the upstairs group was already at work.
“If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to find a hotel. It’s LA. There are tons of them.” He wasn’t about to apologize for the night before. He’d woken up to a very cuddly Madeline, and he was happy.
“I couldn’t hear you at all.” Boomer was at the stove, using pretty much all of Maddie’s eggs to make breakfast. “I slept like a baby.”
“He is weirdly still when he sleeps.” Kyle frowned before taking a sip of his coffee. “I kind of wondered if he was dead, but when I tried to poke him to make sure he was breathing he nearly killed me. He got his whole hand around my neck. Like he could probably touch his fingers to his thumb. Around my neck. It’s not like I’m skinny or anything.”
MaeBe grinned. “Kyle’s been whining about it all morning. I told him there’s a saying around the building. Never wake a sleeping Boomer.”
“I didn’t even squeeze hard.” Boomer moved the spatula around the pan and added a bit of milk to the eggs he was scrambling. “I was having a bad dream. I got one real whiff of Axe body spray and realized I wasn’t in an Afghani prison and I woke up.”
“I do not wear body spray.” Kyle’s brows damn near met in the middle of his forehead.
“It’s a cologne,” MaeBe explained. “I got Kyle for Secret Santa last year and I didn’t know him real well so I bought him this cologne I like. It smells good.”
“Well, it smells way better than the dude who waterboarded me in prison so I woke up, and Kyle and I have an understanding now,” Boomer replied.
“Yeah, I know to let him stop breathing in the middle of the night. You know it’s not like I don’t have bad dreams and shit. I haven’t tried to kill anyone over them yet.” Kyle sat back down beside MaeBe, who was already on her computer.
“You’re not as committed as I am. Hey, do you think Maddie has any bread?” Boomer asked.
“It’s in the freezer. I didn’t want to waste it while I was out of town.” Maddie walked in looking all buttoned up and sexy as hell. She strode to the fridge and opened the freezer, pulling out what looked like a loaf of dark wheat bread. “You should be able to toast it. I’ll put in a grocery order this afternoon. I don’t have a lot of food. I’m afraid I usually pick up something on my way home.”
“Don’t worry about it. Obtaining food is one of the many not dangerous tasks I have on my list for today,” MaeBe announced. “By the way, I’ve managed to get into the CCTV system in your building. Just so you know I’m watching.”
Maddie’s brows rose. “I would think our security would be better than that.”
MaeBe shrugged. “CCTV isn’t hard. I would have a much harder time getting into the network. Not that I couldn’t, but it could take a while. Speaking of, what do you know about Byrne’s personal system? Do you have an idea of what kind of security he uses?”
“I’ve only been to his house a couple of times. He hosts this party every year for upper-level employees,” Maddie explained. “I know where his office is, and I’ve seen him use the system. I think it’s password protected.”
“Not a problem,” MaeBe replied. “I can crack a code. I’m more worried about biometrics.”
He wasn’t. If they needed Byrne’s eye or fingers to unlock the system, they could take the fuckers. The more he thought about the position Byrne had put Maddie in, the more he wanted to kill the man.
“He didn’t have anything like that on the computer when I saw it last, but that was six months ago. He had it at the office the last time the mystery lady came into town,” she explained.
“And she’s due back soon?” Drake asked.
When they’d explained the mysterious visitor and how they believed she might be connected to another case they’d worked, Drake had listened intently. He had not, however, offered up his own information. Maybe he didn’t have any, but something about the way he’d gone still had made Deke wonder.