Page 61 of Built of Illusions

Nico shook his head with a smile. “Perfect. He thinks he’s smarter than us all. He thinks he’s invincible. You’re made him look defeated and ordinary while keeping him recognizable.”

Sam leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe we need to expand the business. Midnight Security: Art Division.”

Josie laughed with everyone else. The small drop of hope that had been bubbling inside her since visiting Midnight Lake at Christmas was growing.

The biggest accomplishment of her life had been buying her home. Something she was still so proud of. But she’d had no one to share it with.

Now she had friends and was surrounded by warmth and acceptance. Nico slung his arm around her as she finalized the sketch and they talked plans.

Not only did she have friends, she had Nico.

She had love.

Chapter 20

I'd Tell You, But Then

Nico had always enjoyed being part of a team. His family. Sports. The FBI. And now Midnight Lake. The teams were blending with FBI and Midnight Lake people working together on strategies to capture Nelson.

It made him happy even as he hated the reason for the collaboration. And it made him realize he definitely wanted to shift his focus from the FBI to Midnight Security.

And Josie.

He needed to carve out some time to talk with her about their future. After they caught Nelson. Then they could make all the decisions without distractions.

Nelson continued to elude law enforcement agencies. He hadn’t used a credit card or ATM in several days. His last withdrawal had been for a couple of thousand back in California. Not enough to keep him going indefinitely. The man probably had at least one account under a hidden name. It wouldn’t surprise Nico if he had other ID as well. He hadn’t been spotted through any airport security, but he could be disguised.

Regardless of how he got there, Nico was sure he’d end up in Vermont soon.

It was after midnight and they’d implemented part of a plan and different groups were working on more. Tansy had remotely disabled one of the sensor lights along the highway edge of the property. She’d set it to flickering instead of sending a steady beam, hoping to attract Nelson’s attention to what he would view as a weakness in the system.

No one had ventured in that direction in person. If Nelson was already watching them, he might figure out the trap. They’d chosen a sensor near the furthest edge of the property so it was one Nelson would think would be more likely to be missed.

Other than the main trail from the sawmill to the lodge, there weren’t many paths through the forest. When Tansy had been living alone, she’d decided it was smarter and safer to take a different route every time she went to her work cabin. It sat a mile further into the forest and the work she did was valuable and sometimes even classified.

The group had followed Tansy’s lead and while there were several training areas scattered throughout the forest, no obvious paths led to them.

If Nelson took the bait and approached the lodge from the altered sensor, he would pass through two of the training areas. The group had used one of these to trap the people who’d been chasing Tess. It was a military-style obstacle course and fitness area combining the forest itself and found materials.

The second area was where they started and ended their orienteering classes. They planned courses around the property for their clients to follow using only a compass. It also served as another fitness centre. Ropes to climb and a rope course set up through the trees. A wooden wall to practice scaling buildings. Logs for balancing.

No weapons were stored at either location, but their team didn’t require weapons to be dangerous. Many of them were armed at all times, and certainly when they left the lodge.

They would keep checking the other security feeds because they couldn’t rely on the Nelson following their lure or working alone.

Nico sucked in a breath and shoved his hands in his pockets. His grandmother’s ring helped settle him so he could face the others. He had to keep the worry and the panic under the surface, where they wouldn’t interfere with his ability to do his damn job and keep Josie safe.

Arms slipped around his waist and Josie leaned into his back. “You okay?”

He started to answer with his patented Of course, but instead he wrapped his arms around hers and squeezed. Then he turned in her arms and wrapped his around her as well. “Getting there.”

She sighed. “Me too. Sam wants to update everyone before we decide on watch shifts. Bella made popcorn.”

As soon as she said it, he could smell the butter. Or whatever ethical alternative Tansy had created. Or was butter ethically sourced as is? He shook his head at himself. That was a question for another day.

Nico leaned down and kissed Josie softly. Of course, there was an undercurrent of more, as there always was. When he lifted his head, he wanted to pour out his feelings, but he held back.

Josie smiled up at him and reached up to kiss him. “Me too.” The words whispered against his skin.

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