Page 32 of The Eagle's Vault

“I’m good, Isaac.”

Scarlett, holding all the charm of steel, gestured to the side door. “Stay safe, everyone. Remember, we’re here to test their security, not get fancy.”

“Speak for yourself.” Jayce popped the door and was gone before Scarlett could respond.

Declan and I filed out behind her, the building already open before my feet hit the ground. The courtyard on the other side was quiet, and we kept to the edges, watching for movement in the windows above. The old Roman architecture stood sentinel, shrouded under the cloud cover. Not a minute later, we were at the rear entrance of Cassaforte, which swung open for us.

The guard—from our tour with Edoardo—glanced around the courtyard and waved us in, muttering something in Italian.

Declan, all business, gave him a curt nod. “Grazie mille.”

The rush to the vault was a blur of gleaming steel and rushing adrenaline. Declan unholstered his phone, attached it to the vault’s biometric sensor with practiced ease, the gentle clink of the magnet echoing in the quiet building.

Will spoke through the earpiece, “Connection’s good. I’m working.”

Jayce slipped away, vanishing like a ghost into the labyrinth of Cassaforte, ready to monitor and report, ensuring Declan and I could focus solely on the job. We hovered at the vault entrance. Will had sworn it would take five minutes, but with every beat of my rapidly escalating heart, I was sure it had already been ten.

“You holding up okay?” Declan’s question caught me off guard, his gaze searching.

“No headaches,” I blurted out.

Declan shook his head. “I meant, are you ready to file the keys?”

“Of course.” Heat crept up my cheeks, my automatic response reflecting Isaac’s constant health checks. “Yeah, I’m ready. In fact, I think I might be… excited? Butterflies, but in a good way? Does that sound strange?”

A slow smile spread across Declan’s face, warming me to my core. “That’s normal. The day you don’t feel those butterflies anymore, that’s the day you stop cracking safes.”

His words hung heavy in my brain. Cracking safes. The phrasing seemed out of place.

I gripped my backpack straps. “You mean testing them, right?”

His smile faltered, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

Just as Declan opened his mouth to reply, Will chimed in. “Facial scanner bypassed. Keypad, too.”

My jaw fell open. “That was fast.”

“Got my ass kicked by a biometric sensor last week. Had to do some major upgrades to the software,” Will said, a hint of pride in his words.

Brie added, “I’ve got good news, too. No timer set on the lock.”

A ripple of cautious excitement spread through me.

“I know we’re good, but…” It was hard to make out Declan’s expression with the face covering on, but the way his eyes narrowed didn’t feel good. “Someone tell me I’m overreacting?”

“You’re overreacting,” said Jayce. “You always do that when you work with a contractor.”

“That must be it.” Declan nodded slowly, giving me a weak smile. He inclined his head toward the vault. “Do you want to do the honors?”

I reached out, the door’s wheel solid under my nervous hands. Nothing to worry about. The heavy door creaked open with a groan, revealing the dark maw of the vault. A gust of icy air washed over us.

My suit hummed to life, a comforting warmth spreading across my skin. It had held my own body heat in well earlier, but powered up, it was a marvel.

“Temperature’s lower than I expected,” Will murmured. “Adjusting the suits’ regulation, but it’ll drain the batteries faster.”

I let out a quick laugh, a puff of frozen air billowing in front of me. “Can I get one of these suits for Boston winters?”

“Trust me, I tried that last winter.” Declan smirked at me, pointing inside the vault. “Our boss doesn’t let anyone play with the tech.”

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