Damn.
What have I done? How the hell am I gonna get myself out of this pickle I’ve created? Never in a million years did I think it would take this long to wear Josh down. I figured he’d throw me some nominal, flirtatious resistance and then give me what I want, the way all other men do, to be perfectly honest.Goddammit. I feel like stomping my foot in frustration.
I get out of the shower and dry off with one of the thick, white towels on the nearby shelf and quickly check my texts again—I stayed in the shower longer than I intended to—and, oopsies, there’s a group text from Jonas, telling Henn, Josh and me to meet him and Sarah up in his suite in ten minutes. Oh, crap. I better get a move on.
I quickly dial Josh. He picks right up.
“Did you see Jonas’ text?” I ask.
“Yeah, I just got it a minute ago. Henn and I are on our way to your room to get you. We don’t want you walking up to their suite alone. See you in five.”
Twenty-Three
Josh
It’s official. Sarah Fucking Cruz is the biggest badass I’ve ever met. She took a naked selfie in the bad guys’ bathroom and emailed it to them right then and there? She must have ice in her veins. Ha! Well, I guess Kat’s not the only terrorist in our group. Holy shit.
“And then,” Sarah continues, beaming, “bothof them opened my email right on the spot.”
“Nowthat’sthe way to do it, Sarah Cruz! Who’s the fucking genius now?” Henn shouts, scrambling to his laptop.
I glance over at Jonas in the far corner, intending to share a look of celebration with him, but his jaw is clenched and his eyes are blue chips of granite.
“Bingo,” Henn says after a brief moment of studying his screen. “You did it, Sarah. We’re in. I’ve got Oksana’s computer and that guy’s phone. Holy shit. Jackpot.”
“She’s a fucking assassin,” I whisper to Kat.
“Birds of a feather flock together.” She winks.
I chuckle.
“Oh my God,” Henn says, staring intently at his computer screen. “The bastard forwarded your email to another computer and opened your photo there, too.” He makes a sound of extreme joy. “Brilliant, Sarah.” He clicks a button on his keyboard and, all of a sudden, his cheeks suddenly turn bright red.
“So, Henn?” Sarah asks, her cheeks flushing every bit as much as Henn’s.
Henn jerks his head up from his screen, his cheeks blazing. “Yes?”
“So now what?” Sarah asks.
“Well, um,” Henn says. He swallows hard. Oh yeah, my boy’s definitely been thrown for a loop by something on his screen. Henn clears his throat. “I’ll snoop around both computers and this Max guy’s phone and see what I can find. And then we wait for them to hopefully access their mainframe and bank accounts. I imagine we won’t have to wait too long.”
“Can you delete that photo?” Jonas asks, his voice tight. “Can you find it and erase it everywhere?”
“Um, sure, no problem,” Henn says quickly, his face turning an even darker shade of red. “I can delete it right now, if you want me to. I’ve got total access.”
Oh, well, that answers that question: Henn’s looking at the selfie Sarah sent to Oksana and Max. Ha! Poor Henn never did know how to keep a poker face.
“Yeah, but if you delete that photo off their computers now, won’t that tip them off?” Kat asks.
“Yeah,” Henn says. “If that photo magically disappears, this Max dude is gonna know something’s up for sure—and if he designed their tech like he says, then he’s a badass motherfucker of epic proportions and we don’t want to do anything to tip him off.”
“Well, then, don’t delete it. I don’t want to give them any reason whatsoever to be suspicious,” Sarah says. She juts her chin at Jonas.
“I agree,” Henn says. He winces at Jonas like he’s expecting to get punched.
Jonas exhales and crosses his arms over his chest, his brand new engraved bracelet gleaming on his wrist. Oh man, he’s in full serial-killer mode right now, though I don’t understand why. What did he expect Sarah to do? It was do or die time and shedid. If she were my girl, I’d be kissing her from head to toe right now, telling her she’s a fucking genius. Seriously, my brother is the dumbest (smartest) guy I know.
“God, Sarah,” Kat says, laughing. “First the solo-boob shot and now this. You’re quite the exhibitionist, aren’t you?”
