Page 58 of Riptide
Grace in unexpected places.
Her phone buzzed.
The moment of peace shattered.
Blaire: Good morning, sweetie! Just checking in! How's the loan situation going? Any progress?
None she’d share with their new mark. She typed carefully.
Still working on it. My friend needs more time to liquidate some assets. I'm trying, I promise.
The response came almost immediately.
Cara, we agreed on a timeline. I have a life. I can’t change it now. I'm being SO patient already.
Cara's stomach dropped. She typed carefully:I know. I'm sorry. I'm doing everything I can. Please.
8 days, Cara. Not a day more. And I want daily check-ins. EVERY morning.
I will. I promise.
You'd better. I'm very busy and I don't have time for excuses. Get me that money.
Cara set down her phone.
Diane glanced over with concern but didn't ask.
By a little after nine, the team arrived, greeting Cara with nods and waves as they headed down to the basement. She followed them down.
Tom took a long sip of coffee then spun his chair. "Blaire's been investigating Miranda nonstop. She's hit every database we planted breadcrumbs in. Employment records, financial transactions, hotel stays."
"Is the program working?" Reagan asked.
"Perfectly. Watch." Tom pulled up a screen showing automated queries. "She's not typing these manually. The software is doing pattern recognition, cross-referencing data points, flagging anomalies."
"And your backdoor?"
"Forty percent complete. Every time she accesses the system, I get deeper." Tom's smile was tired but satisfied.
At ten-fifty-five, her phone buzzed.
Reagan:About to call Blaire. Wish me luck.
Cara:You've got this.
She tried to focus on customers, on making lattes and ringing up sales. But her mind was in the basement, listening to a conversation she couldn't hear.
Diane touched her arm. "You okay? You seem distracted."
"Just tired."
"Why don't you take a break? I can handle things for a bit."
Cara wanted to refuse. But she needed to know what was happening with Reagan and Blaire.
"Fifteen minutes," she said. "I'll be in the office if you need me."
She closed the office door, sat at the desk, and waited.
