Page 38 of The Eagle's Vault

“We’re on it.” The rhythmic click of Brie’s keyboard—or maybe it was Will’s—sounded through the earpiece I still wore. “The access Jayce got me will hold, unless our inside guy is less inside than we thought. It’ll just take time to sift through the layers.”

“And the footage, Will?” Scarlett asked. “Any luck?”

“I picked up the wireless feed, but it was encrypted. I don’t think Edoardo did this on his own.”

Scarlett hissed out a curse, then took a deep breath, regaining her composure. “Can you break the encryption?”

“Does it matter?” asked Will. “I doubt he’s only got one copy or that it would be on his physical person.”

My attention shifted from Scarlett’s tense conversation to Declan, his eyes locked onto the worn, leather-bound journal—the reason we were in this mess. He handed it forward a row to Jayce. “See what you can make of this.”

Jayce took the notebook and nodded, leaning toward Scarlett’s laptop and the light.

If I’d thought I had knots in my stomach on the way in, they were nothing compared to the fallout. I was neck-deep in a situation I couldn’t reverse. Acid burned up my throat and I clenched my fists against my belly to stem the need to vomit.

I’d been so focused on the vault and the thrill of beating Declan at filing the keys, that I hadn’t fully registered the reality of what we’d done. I was an accomplice in a theft. A pre-planned heist. This wasn’t just a field test gone wrong.

This was a crime.

I stole a glance at Declan, stretching in his seat, watching over Scarlett’s shoulder to her video chat with Will and Brie.

What could be in the notebook that was so important?

“It’s turning into a pattern.” Rav looked at Scarlett in the rear-view mirror. “First, the kidnapping. Now, this double-cross.”

Scarlett didn’t even look up from the laptop. “You think they’re after us, not just using us?”

Rav shrugged one broad shoulder as he turned onto a narrow back street. “It’s not a good look. Perhaps we should—”

“No,” Scarlett snapped. “My mother stays out of this, Rav. Unless there’s no other option.”

“Scar,” said Brie, “she knows you went in there. She’ll be all over me in the morning. All she’s been talking about this week is how she wants to call Edoardo and boast that her team beat his.”

“Tell her…” Scarlett looked up at the roof of the van. “Tell her I want to give her the news and that I swore you to secrecy. Then I can do the avoiding.”

Next to me, Declan shook his head. But there was a finality to Scarlett’s words, a resolve that told me she’d go to any lengths to protect those she cared about, even if it was shielding her sister from an upset mother. A familiar prickling started behind my eyes. My nerves were on edge. That’s all it was. It wasn’t a reminder of how my stepmother would have reacted to this or how Isaac had tried protecting me.

The Reynolds crew had been targeted, and now Isaac and I were caught in the crossfire. I should have said no to joining them. Should have talked Isaac out of signing a contract with them, so we could have had our time to tour Rome.

Declan reached up and touched Scarlett’s shoulder. “We can’t stay at the hotel. Edoardo arranged it. He’ll be expecting us there.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Isaac spun in the passenger seat, a worry lining his face I’d never seen before. “He arranged ours, too. Leigh’s and mine.” His eyes practically bulged out of his head. “Do you think he’d come after us? He already has that fucking video. What are you going to do to protect Leigh?”

Whatwerethey going to do to protect me? Scarlett said I was on their team. Would they protect me?

I pressed my lips together, kept my face stoic, like I always did when Finn went on one of his rants. I had practice at masking things. “I have my go bag, so I don’t need to go back to the hotel.”

Declan slung his arm around my shoulders and leaned in, whispering for me alone. “We won’t let anything happen to you or Isaac. I promise.”

I looked up at him, his face close to mine, and something in his gaze made the panic fade away. He was normally cocky and self-assured, seeming to let every moment slide off him like nothing mattered. But there, huddled in the back of the van together, he was my lifeline.

“We’ll sort out another hotel. Fake identities, the whole shebang,” he continued, his tone calm and reassuring.

“Do we need all that?” The question tumbled out of me before I could stop myself from revealing the overwhelming fear beating inside my brain.

He gave me a half-smile, the kind that held more determination than mirth. “It’s a precaution. We like to stay proactive, keep one step ahead. It’s how we’ve stayed out of trouble this long.”

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