Page 29 of The Eagle's Vault

I winced, guilt gnawing at me. “Still, maybe Isaac’s better suited for this.”

Scarlett raised an eyebrow, her cool demeanor unbroken. “Really?”

“Yeah. Maybe?” I held out my hands, showing them the tremors that ran through my fingers. “See? I’m shaking already.”

Scarlett grabbed one of my hands by the wrist and held it up in front of herself. Then in front of Jayce. “What do you think?”

Jayce plopped down on the bed next to us. “Looks like me before a big job.”

Really? She got nervous?

“How about a compromise?” Scarlett released my wrist. “Isaac can join you and Declan for the test.”

My heart eased at her words, the knot in my stomach uncoiling. That would work out perfectly.

“Well, would you look at that?” Scarlett pointed at my hands.

I held them up. Steady.

Was it really that simple?

“You’re more capable than you think, Leigh. Believe in yourself more.”

“Yeah.” Jayce unwrapped a candy I hadn’t seen her take out of her pocket and tossed it into her mouth. “And don’t let Isaac’s little tantrums mess with your head. It’s your job, Leigh. You earned it.”

Maybe I did. Maybe Isaac was silently proud of me. Maybe after this, he’d stop telling me to stay in my hotel room.

Scarlett opened the handbag she’d brought, another expensive-looking red leather piece, and pulled out a phone like the one she’d loaned me on Monday.

“You’ll have an earpiece in, which transmits through this phone, which is a portable monitoring unit.” Scarlett’s gaze held mine. She was so calm. Ridiculously calm. How often did she do this sort of thing? “It’s proprietary tech, so if you lose it, we can destroy it remotely. But try not to. Will loves fiddling with his gadgets, but complains a lot when he has to replace things for us.”

I nodded, accepting the phone from her. It didn’t look any different from what I could buy at a mall kiosk, but that was true of everyone and everything on this team. One thing on the surface, something else below.

“I’ll show you how to unlock it and use the basic features during the drive to Cassaforte,” said Scarlett. “You’ll wear it on your forearm, so it’s readily available.”

My fingers traced the sleek lines of the phone. “Will I get one of those magnetic cases like Declan has?”

Jayce exploded into laughter, which was cut off by a cough. “I wish I’d seen his face when the dye pack hit him!”

Scarlett’s eyebrow arched. “Okay, I need to hear this story.”

“The magnet triggered some security thing in the vault Leigh built for Edoardo.” Jayce wiped at her eyes. “It filled the whole place with stink gas and indigo dye. Took us hours to scrub it off of him.”

Scarlett laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Seriously?”

“I like to be creative with my designs.” Either the thermal suit was doing too good a job, or I was heating under their attention. “Art and history, they’re part of it. There’s experimental work, like metal foams and new alloys. The best vaults—at least, the best ones I design—they’re not just about brute force. They have a story.”

Scarlett tilted her head, curiosity twinkling in her eyes. “Metal foams?”

“For the inside, to better disperse heat from a drill, while allowing more space for—”Shut up, Leigh. No one cares.I pressed into my wrist, moving the medical ID bracelet underneath my suit.

“You’re passionate about this.” Scarlett smiled. “Is that why you were so interested in the Eisenhart? I couldn’t help but notice how animated you were after the recon.”

I shrugged, thinking about the beautiful steel, hiding its secrets from us. “Assembly line vaults are predictable. It’s all gears and levers and timers. Once we get past this one tonight, you’ll be able to bypass any other like it. They’re easy once you crack the code. Edoardo should have installed a custom piece.”

“Easy for you, maybe,” Jayce said. “I can’t open something like that. Even with help from Brie and Will.”

“I didn’t say tonight will be easy. But after tonight…”

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