Page 79 of Tango
“I’m sorry, Perry.”
“I’ve lived through worse.” He studies me. “Why are you here?”
“Because something is off, and I want to find out what it is. Ramiro died trying to uncover the truth, and I intend to find out why.”
Perry nods. “Then I think it’s time I take an early lunch.” He smiles. “As far as I’m concerned, I never saw you.”
I can’t help it. I wrap my arms around him and pull him in for a hug. “Thank you so much, Perry.”
“No need to thank me. You’re the best of these folks. You’ll make things right. I know you will.”
I pull away, hope in my heart. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for letting it be him who pushed the bins in.
“Be safe, though, girl. They’re after you. Have all the security guards on high alert. They even fired most of the staff that was here before and hired new guys. Guys who never knew you. I don’t even know half of who’s working here anymore. With all of our new restrictions, we hardly ever see anyone.”
They hired new guards because they don’t want any hesitation when it comes to catching me. Anyone who has prior interactions with me is a risk to the whole shoot first, ask questions later policy they seem to have these days. “Thanks for the heads up.”
He nods. “You have about thirty minutes before Keith realizes I sent him on a wild goose chase and comes down to check in with me. Get out before then.”
“Will do. Thanks again, Perry.”
He smiles and nods again then opens the door and disappears into the hallway.
“All clear.”
Tucker pulls the cover down and grins at me. “You’re a constant surprise, Miss Sterling.”
“Why is that?”
“You told me you’re not social, yet you got close to Jenny within a matter of hours.” He climbs out of the bin and stands in front of me, towering nearly a foot taller than me. “And now you have a man willing to risk his own job because he trusts you.”
“Perry is a good man. Some of the others treat him like garbage because of his past, but I see him for who he is now.”
Tucker strokes my cheek. “Which is one of the many reasons I find myself completely drawn to you. You’re kind, Alice. No matter what life throws at you, you’re not hardened by it.”
“I don’t see the point in losing myself to the darkness in this life when there’s so much light too.”
“Exactly.” He releases my face and heads toward the door. “Where’s the first camera?”
I have to take a heartbeat to recover from the attraction burning in my veins. “Uh, right outside the door. It points straight in here so they can monitor who’s coming in and out.”
“Got it.” Reaching back, he takes my hand. “You ready for this?”
No. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 27
Tucker
The back stairwell of Web Safe is quiet. With cameras on every landing and a larger than normal distance between floors one and two, I take careful steps, ensuring that the device in my hand is discovering the camera’s unique digital signature before we move into view. Alice remains right behind me, glued to my side, so by the time I drop the connection to the previous camera, she’s in the clear too.
It’s a painstakingly slow process when there’s no telling how soon a security guard will decide to take the stairs instead of an elevator.
So far, we’ve been in the clear.
Thank God it’s a Saturday. Otherwise, I doubt we would’ve made it up the first set of steps.
“We’re on the second floor,” Alice says, gesturing toward the number on the door. “It’s the entire server floor, and it should be empty since it’s a Saturday.”
