Page 26 of Blades of Ice

Beck stood and pulled her to her feet. “Speaking of hard…” His cock was still half erect. Lydia gripped its girth and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ll take care of this after we eat. I promise.”

Beck shoved his nose against the mate mark. “If you take care of me every time I’m hard, we’ll never get anything done. Now, how do you like your eggs? Or I can make omelets.”

“An omelet would be great. Just so you know, other than exotic wild animal meat, I’m not picky. You want some help?”

“You can start the coffee.”

Beck pulled on his jeans, going commando underneath. Since he had ripped her panties the day before, Lydia did the same. Beck didn’t bother with a shirt, so she slid hers on without a bra. At some point, they would need to return to the lodge where her things were. “What’s the plan for today?” She followed him to the small kitchen, and when he pointed to the cabinet above the coffee maker, Lydia opened it to find filters and a canister of Columbian.

Beck got the makings for omelets out of the refrigerator. “After we eat, I’d like to return to the lodge. Not only are your things there, but it’s closer to Boyd. If Carleigh and Dooley manage to get some usable intel, we won’t have as far to drive.”

“Sounds good.” Lydia got the coffee going, then leaned against the counter to watch as Beck made quick work of their breakfast.

“If you want toast, bread’s in that cabinet there.” Beck pointed with the spatula. He had paid attention to what she ate the previous morning. Lydia did love toast. She got the bread down and popped two slices into the toaster. She found a knife while waiting, and when it was ready, she dropped in two more pieces while she buttered the first two. Beck slid two perfect omelets onto plates at the same time she buttered the last two pieces. She poured them both a cup of coffee, and Beck got some milk out of the fridge for hers. They sat at the small table, their knees bumping in the close quarters.

They made quick work of their food, and Lydia helped wash the dishes since he didn’t have a dishwasher. Afterward, Beck found a shirt, and Lydia slipped her bra on beneath hers, then they put on their socks and boots. Beck grabbed his phone off the nightstand and turned the ringer back on.

“Any messages?”

“Nope, so let’s hope no news is good news.”

Lydia didn’t have any either. She checked her pockets to make sure her cards or key fob hadn’t fallen out. As he helped her into her parka, she thought about the leather jacket she’d ordered, glad she had it shipped to the lodge and not the office. They decided to leave Beck’s truck in Seward and take the rental to Sterling since it was similar to other vehicles on the road, therefore less noticeable. They were halfway to Sterling when Lydia’s phone rang. Since Beck was driving, he pushed the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel.

“Hey, C.”

“Good morning, Cuz. Are you with Beckett?”

Beck responded, “I’m here, Carleigh.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have good news. There were a couple more messages between BC and Sterling. I called Dooley because they were in French this time. Dooley translated them loosely, but neither of us have figured out the true meaning. Beck, do you know anyone named or nicknamed Canary?”

“That doesn’t ring a bell. What did the message say?”

“‘Canary ventured into the black wild,’ or something along that line. And the other one said, ‘The porridge is too cold.’ If we’re still thinking along theGoldilocksline, then the too cold porridge belonged to the momma bear.”

“And that could be referring to Amara.” Beck slapped his hand on the steering wheel.

Lydia placed her hand on Beck’s thigh. “C, there’s a photo of Chloe on the company website. Get with Tabitha and have her create a prosthetic.”

Carleigh stopped typing. “Beck, do you have any voicemails saved from Chloe?”

“Maybe. Why?”

“We’ll need it to create the voice transmitter.”

The leather steering wheel squeaked from Beck gripping it tightly. “I don’t want you impersonating her, Sugar. It’s too dangerous.”

Carleigh coughed, trying to cover a laugh, but she kept any smartass comments to herself. Lydia would hear about her nickname later when Beck wasn’t around.

“Let’s have the mask ready as a backup since we have no idea what or who we’re up against. I still think we should confront Boyd.”

“Speaking of the male, your toys should be at the lodge soon if they aren’t already. There are several bugs and cameras you can place around the house where Boyd is hiding out. Maybe whoever he was arguing with will come back, or he’ll talk to someone on the phone, and we can listen in.”

“Can’t you hack his cell phone?”

“If he’s using one, it’s a burner, and I haven’t been able to lock onto it.”

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