Page 129 of Stealth Mission
Beside me, Evan’s temples are showing a roadmap of throbbing veins under his paint. He withdraws his hand from my leg and aggressively pulls on a pair of black gloves as he glares out the side window.
The lack of a verbal response from him has my pulse doing something alarming.
He looks murderous.
The truck sways as we go around a corner, but I barely notice for the screaming silence.
This is my life? Come on. This is an action movie.
Justice glances at me again in the mirror. Now he’s got paint on his face now too. How did he do that so fast?
He asks, “Have you seen anyone else around your house that doesn’t belong there?”
“No—” I stop mid reply and straighten in my seat. “Wait. There was a land surveyor at the farm that I didn’t hire.”
Evan’s head snaps my direction. He practically snarls, “When?”
“The morning after the party where Sylvester's car blew up. He acted weird. Said he had a non-disclosure for his client. I presumed it was the bank, but I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to the bank president.”
“Do you have an office?”
This weird question comes from Scout.
“Yes, in my house.”
Evan zeroes in on me even more. “Did you leave some files open, lying on the desk?”
“No. I never leave files out. I’m not the best bookkeeper, but I like having a tidy office. It makes me feel more like I know what I’m doing.”
He makes a rough sound. “When I checked the house for the intruder after we heard the noise, I made a pass through the office. The only thing that caught my attention was a couple of blue file folders on the desk.
My shoulder bounces off the door frame as Justice turns on to a rough dirt road. “I don’t use blue file folders.”
“Babe, are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I only use those plain tan ones. There’s nowhere here to buy fancy office supplies. I’d have to order them from the US, and that costs too much money.”
Justice—even though he’s driving us at breakneck speeds on a washed out dirt road—is following the conversation. “What about your grandfather’s files?”
Huh?
My mouth hinges open as my veins fill with ice water. “Oh my god. I need to go back to the house.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
The truck lurches forward as we exit the dirt road. All of us get tossed around until Justice inserts the truck into an open spot in the woods, ending the tense ride.
Doors fly open, I punch the seat belt button for Marianna and drag her across the leather. “That’s gonna have to wait. It's go-time.”
Her eyes were wide already, but she starts blinking a million miles an hour as Scout and Justice sling their rifles over their shoulders. Nearby, Vik’s men are gearing up too.
I grab her bare hand. “Fuck, we need some gloves for you.”
Justice tosses me a pair. “These will be big, but they’ll keep her covered.”
Kissing her crown, I push them into her hands. “Put these on, babe.”
“Pull your hood up too.” Scout drops a black baseball cap on her head.