Page 86 of Cry Havoc

He turns a dial on the console. The video jumps back in time far enough that it stops on a guy in a tuxedo carrying a woman in a wedding dress through the doorway. Cole lets out a curse and turns the dial in the other direction, more slowly this time.

“There.”

The video plays at normal speed. I watch a fuzzy version of myself walk to the elevator with a towel slung over my shoulders, followed by the others as the door closes firmly behind us. A minute later, I leave again. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cole watching me, but just gesture for him to keep going.

After another few minutes of unchanged screen, Cole fast forwards again so the video is playing at several times the normal rate. Otherwise, we’ll be here all day.

A blip of shadow dances in the screen's corner.

“Stop. Someone’s there.”

He pushes a button, and the video slows to a normal rate of playback. “Who the fuck is that?”

I watch as a figure appears steps into view from the direction of the elevator. Even with the oversized hoodie that falls almost to her knees, it’s obvious that the form is feminine. The hood covers her hair and is pulled low over her face, but I still catch a flash of smooth skin and soft features.

“It’s a chick.” Cole sounds surprised when he says it. “The hell…”

She reaches in the pocket of her hoodie and pulls out a keycard. Cole makes an unhappy sound when she swipes it over the metal plate and the door unlocks.

“How the fuck did someone get a copy of our key?” he bites out.

“Probably the same way we got access to this footage. Wait, don’t fast forward it. We need to see her come back out.”

Neither of us take our gazes off of the screen. Waiting. There are no security cameras inside our room, obviously. We have to wait if we want another glimpse of our thief. But it doesn’t take long for her to appear again, carrying a wrapped bundle in her hands.

“Did she pick the lock on the safe?” I ask.

“Not that fast.” Cole doesn’t take his gaze off the screen. “Who is this?”

“No fucking clue.”

As if the girl on the screen knows that there is a camera above her, she keeps her head turned down so her face tilts toward the floor. Just before she moves completely out of the frame, fabric slips from the bundle in her hands.

“That’s our thief,” Cole says coldly. “She took the ledger.”

But catching the heavy book before it falls makes her hood slip back the smallest bit.

It’s at exactly the right moment. Or the wrong one from her perspective. Just before she reaches the elevator and would have moved out of the frame, her face is fully visible for a flashing moment before she disappears.

Even with the grainy lines of feedback and low quality of the video, it’s impossible to mistake her.

Cole looks at me with a grim expression on his face. “Olivia.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Anya is clearly done with being persona non grata by association. She might drag me along with her, kicking and screaming if necessary, but she clearly won’t take no for an answer. Her conversation is animated and light as she warmly greets everyone at the table, as if they aren’t glaring back at her.

Ignoring what she doesn’t want to deal with must be a superpower.

Instead of us having to go to the buffet, serving dishes are laid out on the table. I snag a piece of French toast and some fruit, even though my appetite is variable at best. If I have to be here, might as well eat.

Conversation immediately resumes. To my surprise, we’re mostly ignored, which is better than the alternative.

“Tell me how excited you are for the Bacchanal,” Serena says loudly enough for everyone to hear it.

I look up sharply, a bite of toast still halfway to my mouth.

“What’s that?” Olivia asks with wide and guileless eyes. Her gaze flicks briefly to me and she doesn’t even try to hide her smirk. God, I want to kick her. “Like a party, or something?”

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