Page 13 of The Eagle's Vault

Leigh inched closer to me, the pear scent invading my nostrils again. “It’s an Eisenhart VIII.”

I peered down at her, my eyes locking with hers. “Built to withstand ballistic and drilling attacks.”

Jayce huffed. “No explosions, then?”

Leigh’s eyes went wide as she pivoted to face Jayce, who was behind us. “You’re not serious?”

“No, Jayce,” I said. “No explosions.”

But did she have a time delay at night? If we bypassed the facial recognition, cracked the keypad, would we have to wait an hour? Maybe an overnight duress code that would automatically notify the police?

As Edoardo pulled the door open, a wave of cool air hit me. Security feature or ensuring nothing stored inside was damaged?

“Temperature sensors?” Leigh asked my unasked question.

Edoardo smiled at her. “I’ll only say the same thing I would say to clients. We do not leave it open during the day, so we can maintain a steady twelve degrees Celsius temperature and thirty-five percent humidity. It’s ideal for document and microfilm storage.”

“That’s fifty-four Fahrenheit,” I whispered to Leigh.

Her brow furrowed and lips tightened—she didn’t need the translation and apparently didn’t want it, either. So much for our shared moment over the vault door.

Once we were inside, Edoardo presented a set of keys. Not just any keys—chain keys. They resembled the links of a chain link watch encased within a slim tube. Instead of inserting the entire thing into the lock, the user would only insert the very tip. Then they’d push the bow forward, effectively injecting the chain into the keyway.

Leigh’s interest ignited, and she snatched a key from Edoardo. Her gaze focused, lips parting slightly. She held it up to the light, studying it like it was the secret of the universe.

“A snake key,” she murmured, her tone thick with respect and admiration. “I’ve never seen one of these in person.”

Isaac blinked, his face mirroring his confusion. He had no idea what we were dealing with.

But Jayce smirked, a subtle nod of approval.

“So how would one go about cracking this?” Leigh handed the key to Edoardo. Her eyes were on him, but her question was directed at me.

I rubbed my hands together, the chill seeping into my fingers. The bigger question was how to deal with the cold. My fingers would go numb working in the vault for too long. We’d need our thermal suits, for sure, especially if Edoardo was concealing any additional temperature drop at night.

“This is my box.” Edoardo used his two keys—one as a client, one as the owner of Cassaforte—to unlock his safe deposit box, the door easing open under his touch. Inside was a simple chess piece of white wood. “And this is the prize. The proof.”

Jayce and I exchanged a glance, silent communication passing between us. We’d faced harder jobs. I ran scenarios in my head for the box itself. Bore out the locks, maybe. It would be messy, but effective. Brute force crowbars would be simple once we were inside the vault. Again, messy.

Unless there was additional security inside the vault? Motion detectors? Vibration monitors?

“Double your usual rate”—a cunning smile curled Edoardo’s lips—“if you retrieve the piece without leaving any trace.”

Shit. The box doors were full sheets, no separate locks to replace. Crowbars, drills, and metal cutters were out if we were going for no-trace. My mind spun, searching for an option. Could we pick the curved lock? Maybe Leigh’s design for the T-4 would have some clue. She’d be an excellent resource for this.

My eyes wandered back to the safe deposit box. Maybe we could replicate the front panel. Destroy the current one, then replace it. That’d be a first, even for us. There’d be proof of the swap, though, unless we could reinstall the existing keyways.

Edoardo was playing hardball, but he didn’t really understand who he was dealing with. I wasn’t just any safe cracker.

And I didn’t play to lose.

Walking the vault’s interior, I ticked off strategies. Yet, my focus kept straying to Leigh. Her initial disinterest had faded, replaced with a spark of excitement. It lit up her features, animated her gestures. She was in her element now, the thrill of the challenge sinking its teeth into her.

She ejected the chain key, which fell limp as it extruded out of its housing. Dick jokes flitted through my brain. Totally inappropriate. But from the way Jayce snorted and flicked it, then Leigh laughed with her, I wasn’t the only one.

Isaac barely glanced at the special key. “What do you think, Dec?”

Dec? We’d met two days ago, and he thought we were besties?

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