Page 94 of The Scarab's Game

But Jayce? Not only was it her job, but she’d be bringing in the electronics. Everything fell on her shoulders. “You’re working on access to the room itself?”

I nodded at her. “Martine’s provided the passcode. That’ll be the easy part.”

Rav, speaking like the head of security he was, said, “Can we trust her?”

I’d asked the same question. Scarlett had said no—she never trusted the team’s safety to outsiders. But Mum had overruled her.

“If Mum says we can,” I said, “we can.”

Rav nodded, obviously not fully satisfied, but willing to accept the answer. “Drew should be inside the Casino, while you work the caverns with Jayce.”

I wasn’t about to be pulled from my own op. “No, we’ve already?—”

He held up a hand. “Noah and Enzo have only met Drew once, so a light disguise will ensure no one recognizes him.”

Part of me wanted to shut Rav down. But Drew and Jaycedidwork well together. Maybe it was a good plan. I said, “Then Jayce can hand off the device to loop the security feed. Drew canplant it in the right spot and keep moving. The less time anyone spends near that room, the better.”

“Getting me through the secret door is a far bigger risk than Jayce,” said Drew. “I’ll have to come in through the main entrance, which means no phone.”

Will said, “I don’t have another watch, and your comms will be awful inside the cavern.”

“Drew takes the watch,” said Rav. “And Emmett stays in the caverns.”

Not a chance. “I’m not arguing with you, Rav. This is my job, and I’m going in.”

Drew waved a hand. “I worked solo for years. Don’t worry about me.”

That came close to breaking our cardinal rule—never turn off the comms during a heist. But I turned to Will. “If Drew had his earpiece, he could still communicate with me and anyone who gets close enough in the cavern, right?”

Will nodded. “It should work. Plus, we can still use the earpiece to track him if something goes south.”

“Done.” I pointed at Drew. “You go in near-blind, and I go in with the watch.”

Rav frowned. “That’s not the right call, and you know it. You don’t have anything to prove.”

“You’re right, I don’t.”But you do, Em.My fingers twitched. They wanted to touch the chip.Don’t let him see it, Emmett.“Martine’s agreed to work with us, but that includes an auction invite for me, not Drew. We’re not jeopardizing the mission.”

Rav folded his arms as though challenging me. “And Jenn?”

“What about her?” I asked, a little too fast.He doesn’t know what happened last night or this morning, so calm down.“She’s my plus-one tonight. I’ll keep her with me, which means she’ll be safe.”

“She’d be safer in the boat with me.” Rav’s job was to monitor the water door in case Jayce needed to use it as an emergency exit. There was a security presence at that door, but between the two of them, they’d be able to get her out. “Jenn’s a liability tonight.”

“He’s right.” Drew, as sour as Rav at times, nodded. “You’re not at your best when she’s around.”

What?

“Don’t give me shit about it getting personal, Drew. What did you do when she”—I jabbed a finger in Jayce’s direction—“was in danger?”

Jayce nudged too-serious Drew with a shoulder. “He jumped in front of a bullet for me.”

Drew opened his mouth to rebut.

I turned the finger on him before he could defend his hypocrisy. “Exactly. Sounds liketoo personalworked out pretty well for you.”

“We’re not stupid, Emmett,” growled Rav, his huge arms flexing. “You’re going to get her hurt.”

“Noah’s the one who gave us this tip. He wants us to take the scarab to screw over Massimo. He won’t hurt her if that ruins his plan.”