Page 58 of A Barista's Guide to Love & Larceny
“Here, you take one, too, as a backup,” Katya said, handing a second nail to Wyatt. “If you lose it, I’ll slit your throat.”
“Gods above,” Wyatt said. “Have a little faith, woman.”
“Settle,” Silva warned them. “We need to go into this thing as levelheaded as we can. Miss Amari, are you nearly finished?”
“Yup,” McKenna said, sitting back to admire her handiwork. “All set. Isn’t she fabulous?”
“She’s lovely,” Oliver agreed. “Very girl-next-door, but mysterious.”
“Silly question, maybe,” Dani said, more concerned with logistics than how McKenna had glamoured her, “but—how do we get out? I mean, I know Wyatt can port us, but won’t they have security up to prevent people from zapping in and out like that?”
“They absolutely will,” Katya said. “But if you do your job and plant the device successfully, I’ll be able to plug into their power grid.” She waggled her remaining fingernails. “Once you’re ready to bounce, ping us and I’ll cut the power, which will knock out their shields, too. Wyatt should have approximately fifteen to thirty seconds to port back here before the generator kicks in.”
“Can do,” Wyatt said.
“Ping you?” Dani said. “How?”
“Oliver,” Katya said. “She doesn’t have her shell.”
Oliver startled at this, dug into their pocket, and held something out to Dani. She blinked at the round, pink, delicate seashell they dropped onto her palm. “It goes in your ear. I’ve enchanted it so that we can all communicate with one another telepathically so long as we’re wearing it. It took me most of last night—I’ve never created a network for so many people, and it was a finicky job, but I did it,” they said proudly as Dani nested the shell in her ear.
This specific shell will only work for you—no one else can use it.It took Dani a second to realize that Oliver’s voice had sounded in her head that time. They smiled at her look of surprise.You can talk to the whole group, or concentrate on one person. Focus on me, and only I’ll hear you. Go on, test it out.
Dani met their gaze, which was friendly and encouraging.I don’t think this is going to work.
“You did it,” Oliver said aloud. “It totally worked.”
Not what I meant, she thought to them.
Oliver didn’t have a chance to respond, because Silva said, “It’s nearly ten. Unless there are any questions, we need to move. Mr. Shalhope?”
“On it.” The boy jumped up and opened the door, then hopped out into the rain.
“Where’s he going?” Dani asked.
“He,” McKenna said, snatching up the mirror Wyatt had dropped on the bench, “is your driver.”
A car horn honked outside.
“Time to go,” Silva said. The magnetic force of her stare drew Dani up and out of her seat, but something in the older woman softened, maybe from how much Dani was shaking. “I know it’s daunting, Miss Lionet. But I swear to you, I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t think you were capable. All of you,” she added, her gaze sweeping across her crew. “I have confidence in each and every person on this mission. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen you. Tonight will be a success. I know it.”
The others nodded, and Dani moved toward the door, her fingers curled into fists to disguise their trembling. Silva’s bravado didn’t comfort her. She still had that same creepy-crawly feeling that had come over her at the sight of OneiroLabs, like a trail of melting wax down the back of her neck.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “You look fabulous, babe,” McKenna said encouragingly. “You’re going to be great.”
But Dani barely heard her. Her eyes met Silva’s, and she saw in the professor’s gaze not the confidence of an assured victor, but the fear of a desperate woman who understood one pure and simple truth: Tonight, failure was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
Twenty-One
Out on the street, Wyatt was waiting for her in an idling beat-up Pontiac, looking like he was ready to deliver some pizza. The only modern thing about the car was the hover charms that had replaced its wheels, like the ones Kass had on his Subaru. But it was nowhere near as nice as Kass’s car; as Dani slid into the passenger seat, she wrinkled her nose. “What’s that smell?”
“Mildew,” Wyatt said, and she caught his note of irritation. “Cars aren’t cheap, okay? This was the best I could do on short notice.”
“Silva asked you to buy this?”
“Well, no,” Wyatt said, sounding even more annoyed. “But the point is, we have a car. Can’t you be happy with that?”
“Happiness is not something I’m capable of right now,” Dani said. “Let’s just go, okay?”
