Page 65 of Kade

No matter what I thought before, this wasn’t normal. We weren’t normal.

Logan and I both rose to our feet and started for the door, about to slip into our old ways.

Nothing about this that should feel right, but it did.

25

MASON

We waited inside the garage. The lights went out, and still we waited a little longer. I figured if Zeke was coming back to hack, he’d need to do some things to get situated. Food. Drinks. His favorite clothing. I didn’t know, but within ten minutes, it grew silent on the other side of the door.

I nudged the door open. People didn’t typically lock the door between their house and garage. Some did, but most didn’t. It was a calculated risk. If he came home, thought he was secure, we could sneak in.

I turned the handle, holding my breath, and it went all the way.

The door opened.

No alarm sounded.

I eased inside with Logan moving silently behind me.

We moved like breaking and entering was something we did on the daily. It wasn’t, and we were committing a crime, but my heart had no idea. My pulse was calm and steady. My mind was focused. I’d been more nervous before a professional football game.

Only a single light was on over the stove. The living room was dark. Kitchen. Dining room. We could see enough to know when to step over the kid’s toys. As we worked our way through the house, clearing the first floor before heading to the second level, I went over what I’d been told about this guy.

Fallen Crest born and bred. His dad had been on the Kade Enterprises’s board for a few years before something happened and he sold his shares. He and his wife began traveling after that. I wasn’t sure of the timing or the reason, but I wondered if something had happened with their kid? There were quite a few reports of his run-ins with Channing’s sister. He went to school in the same timeframe. Then Zeke Allen did a one-eighty. There were no notes about what happened or why, but suddenly he was considered a good guy.

What was so good about him?

There’d been no mention of his hacking skills in the file my PI had one of her colleagues send my way. None at all. He’d joined the same fraternity as Park Sebastian had, and that right there told me everything I needed to know about him.

We got through the second floor, and still nothing.

There was no third floor. I doubted he would have a computer system in the attic, so that left the basement.

Logan fell into step behind me. We moved down the stairs and circled, looking for the basement entrance.

I began to move into the kitchen, then backtracked when I noticed the door with a sliver of a light underneath it.

I tested the handle. It opened, leading to their pantry.

What the fuck?

I began to turn around again. While their pantry was big enough for three of us to comfortably stand inside, there was no point—until a light flashed from the floor.

I paused, kneeling down to inspect it. It flashed again, like a flashlight moving below. I blinked in surprise. It was a hiddendoor. I touched the shelf, and it moved. Logan stepped in close, looking just as perplexed.

I pushed the door open wider. It moved, revealing carpeted stairs leading into their basement.

Jackpot.

I glanced at my brother, who nodded. He stepped aside to let me lead, and as we crept down, he pulled the door shut behind us. The only light downstairs came from underneath another closed door.

When we got to the bottom, we framed the door where the light was shining. I surveyed the room behind us. There were two more doors. A larger room behind us. All the lights were off. I stepped back, wanting to clear the rest of the basement.

When Logan saw what I was doing, he went with me. We moved fast and were soon back in position. I waited, meeting his gaze. Was he ready for this?

He gave me a nod.