Page 39 of Rhys

“Austin is addressing the crowd. That’s my cue. Heading for his office now.”

“You’ve got this, Ness. Just stay sharp and remember…no unnecessary risks.”

“Copy that.”

“Collins, you watch her back,” Rhys barked. “You smell anything off, you get her the hell out of there. You hear me?”

“Read you loud and clear, buddy. I’ll keep my eyes on Austin the whole time.”

“Watch his security team, too. They start acting wonky or rushing out of the room, say the word, and we’ll get you both out of there.”

“Roger that.”

With everyone in place and Austin preoccupied with six hundred of his closest friends, Vanessa casually walked away from Parker and headed for the room’s south entrance.

Clear of the banquet hall, she walked past the home’s grand staircase to the hallway where Austin’s private office was located. According to the floorplans Greyson somehow managed to procure, the twisted bastard’s office should be the third door on her right, two doors down from the ladies’ room.

It was the perfect cover if anyone caught her going in or out of Austin’s private space. All she’d have to do was play dumb and act like the door was unlocked and she was simply looking for the restroom.

Speaking of the ladies’ room…

Two young women came out of the bathroom together. They were laughing about something, and though Vanessa made sure to offer them a polite smile as they passed, neither bothered to tear themselves away from their conversation to even look in her direction.

Even better.

She spotted her target up ahead. Walking with purpose now, she whispered, “I’m at the office door. Initiating entry now.”

Checking behind her to make sure no one else was around, she opened her clutch, ripped the lining free, and pulled out her lock pick set. For a seasoned agent such as herself, the task was like child’s play, and within seconds, the lock was disengaged, and she was opening the door.

“I’m in.” She shut the door behind her and locked it. Taking a moment to check her surroundings, she found the space to be much more mundane than she’d expected.

“Do you see his computer?”

Vanessa’s gaze went straight to Austin’s desk. “Yes. I see it.”

“Okay, Vanessa,” Greyson took over the comms. “All you have to do is put it into the computer and click the button when the pop-up window appears. It will take approximately two minutes for the program to finish uploading into his system. There should be a progress bar that shows you where you are in the process.”

Rushing across the room she whispered, “Two minutes. Progress bar. Got it.”

She rounded the oversized desk and flipped open the laptop. Plugging in the thumb drive, she waited for the aforementioned window to appear and clicked the ‘upload’ option.

After that, she had no choice but to stand there and watch as the thin black bar slowly began to turn green.

Two minutes and counting.

Vanessa’s full attention was on that bar. This was it. This was all she had to do. She just needed the sucker to turn completely green, and she and Parker could leave without no one being the wiser.

As far as missions went, it definitely wasn’t the hardest. Nor was it the most dangerous. But with so much riding on the line, she couldn’t help but to be filled to the rim with nervous energy.

“How’s it going, Ness?” Rhys’s deep voice was like a soothing balm to the soul.

“I’m having the time of my life,” she joked. “What about you?”

“Eh, you know. Just a typical Friday night hanging with the guys.”

She chuckled softly. “Sounds about right.”

“How’s the upload coming?” Greyson joined the fun.

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