Page 20 of Nate

“We need to find out what else Harlow’s father has in his safe,” said Hex. “We’ve spoken to Bodwick, and he spoke to the POTUS. We have the green light, under the table, of course, to get whatever he has. You can tell her where we’re going, Nate, but see if she can give you a layout of the house and his library. Also, check to see what kind of security they have. Cameras, dogs, anything.”

“I’ll make sure to get everything,” he said. “Her phone is a burner that I gave her, and it blocks all numbers other than mine and the comms line we called. I’m going to reinforce with her that she needs to not answer any calls from anyone other than us. I know that the house is located in West Hamptons. It’s a huge mansion on the water. Not sure if everything is frozen, but we could arrive via water if we need to.”

“No need to,” said Hiro. “Her father is currently in D.C. with her mother. He’s working on several high-profile cases this week, and they have two fundraisers to attend this week. We should be clear to get into the house and out without detection.”

“When do we leave?” asked Nate.

“Tonight. In fact, in an hour,” said Hex. “You’ll take Tanner, AJ, HG, Mo, Jak, and Ethan.”

“Ethan? He seems overqualified for this,” said Nate.

“Ethan and AJ have experience cracking safes. If this thing is as big as Harlow says, we’ll need someone that can get in and out fast. If that fails, HG and Mo will blow the door.”

“Okay. Let me grab my gear and let Harlow know that I’ll be gone a while.” Nate left the men in the meeting room, passing his father and grandfather as he did.

“Nate? We need find out why the fuck he has Dad’s photo and the others,” said Nathan. “If they know all their faces, they could know a lot more about the rest of us.”

“I know, Dad. Trust me. I’m going to come back with as much as I can.”

Telling Harlow was easier than Nate expected. Of course, she was happily doing some shopping with his mother, grandmother, and about a dozen of the other wives on the team. Kari, Kat, and his mother were already talking to her about joining their legal team and helping with investigations. He knew it was a win because her eyes were lit up with excitement. Kissing her, he hugged her tightly as the women smiled at him.

“Stay close to everyone. I’ll be home tomorrow morning. Don’t leave the property. Don’t take any calls. Get with the communications team as soon as you can and send me the layout of the house, entrance codes, anything we might need to get in and out.” She smiled up at him, nodding.

“I will. I was working on that with your mother. I know not to leave,” she grinned. “I’m good. Go do your thing, and I’ll get some more stories from everyone about Nate the little boy.”

“No,” he said pleadingly to his mother and grandmother. “Come on. No. Please.” The women just laughed as Nate walked out of the cottage. Coming down the path toward the house was his Aunt Julia.

“Nate, I’m so glad I caught you,” she said, hugging him. His Uncle Joseph was standing behind her with a look that told him this wasn’t going to be happy.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been getting this weird sensation of someone trying to get on property ever since Harlow arrived. Marcel and Franklin said it wasn’t a person who was alive. With the help of Noah, I know who it is.” Julia stared up at her handsome nephew, almost afraid to tell him the truth.

“Aunt Julia, please.”

“She had a sister, Nate. An older sister who was given to Garvin and Quetz by her parents. This has been going on a long time.”

“She’s never mentioned an older sister,” frowned Nate.

“She wouldn’t. She was two when her sister was given to them. Garbo, that was her name, was only fourteen years old.”

“Jesus fuck,” muttered Nate.

“I assured her that her sister is safe here and that you’ll make sure nothing happens to her. She calmed down once Franklin and Marcel assured her that all was well. She’s moved on now, so I’m not sure there’s any reason to tell her right now.” Nate shook his head.

“No. No, I won’t say anything right now. But I also won’t have secrets with her. I’ll tell her all of it once this is done. And it will be done.”

“That’s the house,” said AJ, nodding to the massive colonial revival mansion. From the front, it appeared to be large, but not overtly so. But once you were able to see the sides and toward the back of the house, you realized just how far back it went.

“Harlow said they don’t have dogs because her mother was allergic to them, but there are security cameras and an alarm system,” said Nate.

“Any house staff that we need to be aware of?” asked Ethan.

“Usually, there is a maid and cook there, but not when her parents are gone. I’d say use caution, but I don’t see any vehicles parked in the staff parking spots,” said Nate.

They waited as AJ worked the security system, running the cameras on a constant loop. Once they were taken care of, he attacked the security system on the house. With a backup to battery power, he couldn’t just cut the feed. Instead, he rewired everything to be in sleep mode. It would appear to the owner as on and functioning but wouldn’t go off if disturbed.

“We’re good,” said AJ.

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