Page 51 of No Time Off

“Certainly. I’ll let everyone know your request right now.”

I returned to the office. The air hummed with the sound of our fingers tapping on the keyboards. It mingled with our sighs of frustration and fatigue, but also with an unspoken trust, familiarity, and self-assurance that kept us working perfectly in sync.

It was after midnight when Slash insisted we shut down for the night.

I didn’t argue and quickly logged off. My eyesight was starting to blur. “I do have a question for you,” I said to Slash as I closed my laptop. “How do you want to play the camera angle tomorrow? Disable the cameras or freeze the picture?”

Slash stood, stretching his arms above his head. “Disabling would be the easiest choice, but it may prompt the guards to initiate a patrol if they were to notice. Freezing the image would be better, but it can’t be maintained for more than a few minutes without being detected. And once it’s discovered, it would be far more worrisome than if the cameras just went down.”

“Which option gives you the best protection?” I asked.

He considered for a moment. “Freezing. But only until I’m inside. Then, when it’s time to come out, refreeze again until I’m in the clear. In the unlikely event I’m caught, they won’t know their network has been compromised and we can still use it to gather information.”

“I can do that, but you’d better not get caught. I mean it.”

“I won’t. I’ve been in far more precarious situations.”

“I know, but I don’t want to have to say, ‘I told you so.’ In fact, I feel so strongly about this phrase, I’m making the I Told You So piece number five in our marriage code.”

“You won’t have to say it.” He took my hand, helping me from the chair. “I’ll be in and out in under ten minutes. Piece of cake—or cupcake—or whatever you want to eat. Come on, it’s time for us to get some rest, too. Manny and I are heading out at about 0500. I could use a few hours to refuel, and you look exhausted. I need you at your best tomorrow.”

He led me to a worn couch in the corner of the room that reminded me a bit of a couch we had shared at his grandmother’s house in Italy. “I’m feeling déjà vu,” I said as we kicked off our shoes and turned off the lights. “The last time we shared at a couch was at Nonna’s house in Sperlonga. Remember?”

We settled in close, our bodies tired but hearts happy to be together, hopefully not for the last time.

“I remember,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

“You kissed me, and I was so surprised, I hit your head with mine by accident. We rolled off the couch and Nonna thought something completely inappropriate was going on.”

He chuckled. “She already knew how I felt about you, even if I was still working it out.”

I smiled at the thought of it. “That was such a memorable time. Sperlonga is so beautiful. Promise me we’ll get through this and go back, Slash.”

He kissed me on the forehead. “We’ll get through this,” he said, tightening his arms around me. “I promise. Nonna would kill me if anything happened to you. I think she loves you more than me.”

“That’ssountrue,” I said, but I smiled as I touched my engagement ring with my thumb. Slash’s grandmother had given him her beautiful antique ring to give me upon our engagement, and it had made me feel special and wholly welcomed into his tight-knit family.

I could feel Slash relax against me. I thought I’d be so wound up, it would take me forever to fall asleep. But the warmth of Slash’s body and the happy memory of our time at Nonna’s caused me to easily drift off to sleep.

The last thing I remember was Slash murmuring something to me in Italian as I sank into the warmth of his embrace.

TWENTY-SIX

Slash

Iwoke when my phone vibrated nearby. I rose quietly from the couch, retrieving my phone, laptop, the compound diagram, and the two small recording devices, placing them into my backpack. I glanced out the window, confirming it was still dark. I slipped out of the room and saw Manny near the bottom of the stairs, putting on his shoes.

“Morning,” I said softly.

“Morning,” Manny responded. “You two get any sleep?”

“Some. Lexi is still asleep. I need to wake her and have her set up before we go. I just wanted to check that you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” he said, tying the last shoe. “Coffee or water?”

“Coffee, black.” I needed to be fully alert this morning.

I returned to the office to wake Lexi. She stirred and finally opened her eyes, sitting up on the couch, her hair tousled, her eyes fogged with a hacker blur I knew so well. She looked beautiful.

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