Page 49 of No Bones About It

Garrett’s eyes welled up, and he had to close them to shut down the emotion. “Thanks, Slick.”

Kimi hugged Heath. “Thank you. I’m sure it’s all going to be fine. The agents have a good plan in place.”

But they all knew that sometimes shit went sideways despite thebest preparation. Having the extra backup eased his mind. These guys were the best of the best and nothing less would do with Kimi’s safety on the line.

Kimi blew out a breath as Brandon, noJason, drove through the town of Keene. They’d spent the past ninety minutes going over their backstories and learning how to speak and act in character.

Brandon—Jason—was much better at changing into another person. His body language even changed when he was Jason. He sat straighter and moved with a careless negligence. His tone was confident, bordering on cocky.

“Okay, Marlena, we’re going to stop here on the side of the road for a minute. We need to turn on our comms and make sure the camera is working.”

“What if someone spots us pulled over and wonders what we’re doing?”

Jason’s eyes twinkled. “Then we’ll have to fake a make-out session, my dear Marlena. Just don’t tell your cowboy, or he’ll rearrange my face and I’m partial to breathing.”

Kimi laughed. “It’ll be our little secret.”

His face grew serious. “I’ll keep the PDA to a minimum, but Jason is an entitled asshole, so when I touch you, it’s with that in mind.”

She nodded. He’d emphasized that a few times. The man wasn’t in the least bit creepy. He’d gone out of his way to reassure Garrett that he would take care of her.

None of the agents were particularly nervous. They didn’t expect there to be complications, but they were ready for them. She couldn’t remember how many backup plans they’d discussed, but she was sure there were more than a dozen.

Jason leaned over and helped her situate the tiny earpiece. Even if her hair was pulled back, it wouldn’t be obvious. Her earpiece would be muted after the sound check so she wouldn’t hear the chatter going on behind the scenes. That would have made it too difficult for her tofocus on her own task. This way, the FBI could listen to what she said and heard in case Jason’s mic didn’t pick everything up. And in case they got separated somehow. She hoped that didn’t happen.

He tapped his own ear. “This is Gammon checking in. Marlena’s going to say hello so we know if her piece is working.”

“Hello.” It felt weird knowing people were going to hear her words.

Shirisha’s voice was calm. “Both comms are loud and clear. Camera is operational.”

“We’re nearing the final approach and are in character.”

“Affirmative, and we’ll mute Marlena’s earpiece now. Proceed to the target.”

Jason pulled back onto the road and clicked on the GPS. About ten minutes later, he turned onto a quiet, unlit road. He slowed his speed and then stopped beside a light post as a man stepped into the road and held up his hand.

Jason buzzed down his window, and Kimi picked up the burner phone to scroll through the social media apps they’d installed for her to pretend to use. The plan was to keep her face averted whenever possible.

Another man approached the window. “Names?”

“Jason Gammon and my plus one.”

“Name?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Marlena Lauzon.” His tone was snotty enough to convey how he felt about dealing with peons.

The man waved them ahead, and Jason followed the intermittent lights to a parking area. Once he backed into a spot, he turned to her. “See, Marlena. There are at least two dozen other cars here. The place is filled with people. It’s going to be a good surprise.”

She knew he was giving his people intel while keeping in character. Channelling Marlena, she sighed as she put down the phone. “I hope so. Being in the middle of the woods isn’t appealing and I don’t know why you thought I’d enjoy this. Couldn’t they at least light up the area to keep the shadows from closing in?”

She waited while Jason rounded the car and offered his hand. He tucked her hand into his elbow, and they walked toward a gated entrance to the compound. Armed guards spread through the parking lot.

As the person without a clue to where they were going, it was her job to ask questions that would give hints to the team. “Looks like they’re protecting the Crown Jewels with all of this security. Is that what we’re going to see? A jewelry auction?”

Jason laughed. “Now, Marlena, relax. It’s not about jewelry, not tonight. But if things go well, maybe that could be our next stop.”

At the gate, the guard looked at a tablet, back to them, and then moved aside to let them inside. “Your guide has already arrived. At the end of the building, go left. He’ll be waiting for you.”

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