Page 66 of Eyes in the Shadows

“Done. I also found your photo again and took it down. That’s twice, if anyone’s counting.”

Dimitri sighs and nods again. “Good catch. Keep watching. And you, James?”

I prop myself against the back of the chair that sits opposite Wes’s desk leaning on both hands. “Looks like the sale is a go. They did inventory today and they’re just guarding the unit now. It’s a waiting game until Sunday. I set up a camera before I left—Wes can you make a program that’ll alert us to any movements?”

He shrugs. “Give me an hour.”

The job is Rossi, not the weapons, but I know we all feel the same—it’s not a true win unless we get those guns off the market. It’s usually easier to get it all in one fell swoop, in and out, but that might not be an option this time.

“I think we need to refocus. We should be trying to find Rossi, keeping some eyes on the house. If he’s in there, I have a feeling he’s going to just stay put. It’s fucking Fort Knox. He’s even got dogs patrolling the perimeter. Short of blowing it to hell, we’re not getting in.”

“Can we get eyes inside?” Dimitri asks Wes.

“I can try, depends on his firewall,” Wes hedges, scratching the back of his neck. “But I’ve got people who owe me favors at most of the big network security providers, so I should be able to crack on.”

“For now, let us hope he will be at the drop in person. It will still be the cleanest take down,” Dimitri says.

“What if he doesn’t show?” Wes asks.

“He cannot stay in his house forever.”

Privately, I disagree. He can if his house is anything like ours. “To do this right, we need a 24-hour watch. I’m going to need some help—I’m just one man.”

“That is a good plan. I will take nights.”

Wes and I turn to look at Dimitri, wearing twin expressions of shock. “What happened to bedtime at 10 o’clock sharp?” Wes asks.

“Yeah, you’ve never volunteered to throw off your sleep schedule,” I echo. The one time I can remember him taking the night shift was when I had a concussion and couldn’t stay awake at night.

“That was before.”

“Before?” Wes prods.

“Before one of us had something to come home to,” he says, fixing me with a look that’s part dare, part self-congratulatory. Like he wants me to acknowledge his sacrifice, but I’d better not say anything about it.

Wes’s smile is knowing, but he hides it by taking a sip of his drink.

I’m impressed. It didn’t take her long to melt Dimitri’s outer layer of ice, and that shit’s thick—he is from the frozen Motherland, after all. Or, maybe it’s his version of an apology to me for wanting me to kill her. “Thanks, man. That’s really—”

“You still fall asleep on the night watch. You think I do not know?”

Okay, it’s not an apology to me. “That was once. Maybe, twice. And you know the first time it was because of the concussion.”

He snorts. “I will start tonight after some rest. That is all?”

Wes and I exchange a look. “All on my end for now,” I say and Wes nods his agreement. Dimitri stands fluidly and leaves.

“What just happened?” I ask, pointing at the door and Dimitri’s pounding steps down the hallway.

Wes chuckles and shakes his head in disbelief. “He doesn’t stand a chance. Oh, you hear that timer? I think that means supper is ready.”

Eleanor is setting plates down on the table when we enter the kitchen—she must have heard us coming—and Wes sets a hand over his heart. “Only two place settings? But what’ll we do with Hawkeye?” he asks in a low, conspiratorial tone, throwing a thumb my way.

She laughs like they’ve got some sort of fucking inside joke about it and turns back to the island to grab the other plate and the roll of silverware wrapped in a napkin, which she hands him with a smile. “Off you go.”

“Yeah, keep smiling, pipsqueak,” I call after him as he retreats down the hall. “It’ll be dogfood from now on.”

I settle down at the table and turn my head up as she approaches with silverware for us. “Thank you, darlin’, smells delicious.”

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