Page 26 of The Eagle's Vault

The first step would be to add the warding that matched the client keys to half, then the warding for the company key to the other half. One of each for the penetration test. One of each held in reserve for fuck-ups in the vault. That left Isaac and me with a single shot each at hand-filing the keys before the big night as practice.

Across the room, Isaac was practicing on the 3D key models, the confidence on his face not quite reaching his eyes. He’d done a few standard keys in the morning, sure, but this was a bigger challenge. Maybe the filament key and files were too different from what he was used to—I’d had a problem with them, too—but he really sucked.

Scarlett sidled up, her gaze flicking between the other women and me. She asked, in her way that was both question and statement, “She’s nothing like Daphne, is she?”

A shiver of discomfort rippled through me.

If Leigh was like Daphne, she wouldn’t be working quietly with Jayce. She’d be at the table with me, pointing out every error I made. She’d be reminding me how shitty a job I’d done with the filament keys. Just like with my parents, I was never good enough for her, and the constant striving had left a bitter aftertaste.

Just like every other woman my mother chose as the perfect wife for me. “And your new romance with the eyelash flutterer makes you a relationship expert?”

“Watch yourself, Dec.” Scarlett’s lips tightened, a show of emotion that was only there because she wanted me to see it. She leaned close enough no one else would hear. “Leigh’s a people-pleaser and she’s liable to say or do whatever you want, just because you ask, for fear she’ll disappoint you.”

Her words hit a nerve. The fear of disappointment, of being less than, the urgency to prove one’s worth… it was uncomfortably familiar.

Yup. Scarlett could tell your life story within seconds.

“You’ve been standing there for fifteen minutes watching her. Don’t even bother trying to tell me you’re evaluating the two Bartons, because it’s clear she’s got more skill than he does.” She touched my arm. “Personal feelings have no place in our job. You need to focus.”

She was one to talk.

I wasnotletting my guard down. I wasn’t allowing sentiment to cloud my judgment. Running a hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. My gaze shifting back to Leigh, who shared a laugh with Jayce, who’d ruined the key she was practicing on.Don’t let Jayce touch the chain keys.

“She’s—she’s too quiet,” I blurted out, grasping at obvious straws. “Too introverted. She’s too scared of her brother. And don’t even get me started on her being from a different country.”

Scarlett’s eyebrow quirked.

I sounded pathetic but didn’t care. Leigh wasn’t a good fit for me, and I wasn’t for her. There were too many differences, too many potential complications. Getting involved was the last thing I needed.

But fuck, did I ever want a few complications with her.

“What you need, Declan, is to keep your eye on the prize,” Scarlett said, firm, but quiet enough to be private. “The penetration test. That’s our priority. Not your feelings.”

“I’m not—”

“Don’t waste your breath. I’ve never seen you this distracted on a job.” Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, “Regardless, I think she’s better suited for this than Isaac.”

I frowned at her. That was too easy. “You what?”

She shrugged, an infuriatingly nonchalant gesture. “Isaac’s stressed. He’s taking too long on tasks Leigh could handle more efficiently.”

I stole another glance at Leigh, at her focused expression, the clean movement of her hands as she started anew with Jayce.

Scarlett was right. Like always.

“Fine.” I tried to sound reluctant, but it was exactly what I’d wanted. Or thought I’d wanted. Would I be able to work next to Leigh and keep my head in the game? “We’ll see how it goes.”

Scarlett called Isaac over, her tone uncharacteristically gentle. “Declan and I have been talking, and we feel Leigh would be a better fit for the job.”

“Not likely.” Isaac chuckled, as though he thought we were joking. He pointed toward Leigh, still deep in her tutorial with Jayce. “She doesn’t have the nerve for something like this. She’s doing great now because there’s no real stress. If Rav was breathing down her neck, she’d be a wreck.”

The strain in Isaac’s voice was palpable. It was clear he cared about his little sister—worried about her—but it was too much. And the way he put her down to do so didn’t sit any better with me today than the first day we’d met.

I said, “She popped the test lock yesterday afternoon in under fifteen seconds.WithRav standing over her.”

“What if she gets caught?” Isaac said, barely above a whisper. “I can’t let that happen.”

“It’s a fully legal penetration test, complete with contracts that would protect us if something went wrong,” said Scarlett. “We’ve done this a hundred times.”

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