Page 101 of Ruthless

“Yes, you have a tracker in your arm.”

She shook her head. They were going to have to have a serious discussion about boundaries when this was over. For now, she was extremely grateful he’d gone that far.

“Where am I?”

“Large office complex right outside Marseille. I’m about a half hour away.”

“Can you ask Serena to hack the security cameras so we’ll know what we’re facing?”

“On it. Give me a sec.” As she waited, she checked the magazine of the gun she’d taken from Dirk. It was full, and from the look of it, the weapon was brand new.

“Okay, just talked with Ash. Serena’s been working on that since we identified the building. Said there’s a substantial firewall, and she’s having some problems getting inside.”

If Serena was having problems hacking her way in, then there was some serious money invested in this place. That didn’t necessarily equate to a mass of human security, but she anticipated there would be more than a few people in the building.

“Okay, I’ll head out and see what we’re facing.”

“Don’t engage if you can help it. I’ll be there soon. We’ll do this together.”

A surge of love swept through her that was so strong she almost lost her footing. “Hey, Gideon?”

“Yeah?”

“This might be the most inappropriate time to tell you this, but…” Without even the slightest hesitation, she spoke straight from heart. “I love the hell out of you.”

Dead silence followed, and then he answered in a thick voice, “Back at you, Wells.”

She regretted not telling him sooner. She regretted the animosity they’d had between them over the past few weeks. She regretted listening to her own insecurities instead of her heart.

“See you soon. Right?” she said.

“Count on it, sweetheart.”

She went to the locked door. Earlier, she had watched Alex key in a code to unlock the door, and she had memorized the numbers. After she punched them in, the lock disengaged. She opened the door and peered out. The hallway was dimly lit and empty. Several closed doors lined the hallway, and at the very end was a red Exit sign.

“Eve?”

She frowned at the strain she heard in his voice. “Yes? You okay?”

“Just heard back from Serena. She hacked into the security cameras. There are five guards on the ground floor, and Alex is in an office on the fourth floor. You’re in the basement.”

“Okay. Can you ask her to turn off the cameras for the stairwells and the entire third floor?

“Hold on.”

If only a few cameras stopped working, security should think it was a glitch rather than a breach.

“Okay,” Gideon said. “It’s done. There’s something else.”

“What?”

“The palace is under attack.”

Her heart sank. The scheme had gone further than she’d ever thought possible. Maybe there were millions involved in destroying her country, but she would fight with every last breath to prevent that from happening.

“I’ve got to get to Alex. If he’s controlling this, I need him to put a halt to it.”

“I’m only a few miles away.”