Page 34 of Dichotomy

“Have I mentioned how happy I am that this mission doesn’t involve hiding in a bush or on a fire escape?” Danny said. They sat in an old sedan a few blocks away from the office while they waited for my go-ahead.

“We only did that ‘cause we didn’t want your big ass to blow the mission before we got started,” Grace snarked.

“Focus,” I chided. “Izzy, are we good?”

“We’re good,” Izzy said. “They just ordered food and drinks, so they’ll be here for at least an hour. Marian can keep them longer if we need to, though.”

Marian was a woman we’d helped when she was in college. She’d had a stalker who hadn’t taken no for an answer, and campus police wouldn’t do anything about him. We’d taken care of him, and she’d gotten to go back to her life without looking over her shoulder. When Liam had run a background on Declan’s and its staff earlier, I’d recognized her and called in a favor. She’d promised to keep them there longer through various distractions if we needed it.

“Got it. Mission is a go then. Alpha team, you’re up.”

Danny and Grace exited the car and walked toward the office. Danny slung his arm around Grace’s shoulders like they were just a couple out for a stroll.

“Get off me,” Grace grumbled.

“Shh,” Danny crooned. “You don’t want to ruin our cover.”

Grace scoffed. “Please, like Liam would ever let us get caught on camera.”

Liam chuckled. “I appreciate your faith in my abilities, but if you could do us all a favor and fuck already, that would be great.”

I covered my mouth to muffle my laughter as Danny and Grace both bitched at Liam for saying what we were all thinking.

Sebastian tugged me down into his lap. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who was thinking that,” he whispered in my ear.

I snuggled down into his arms, keeping my eyes on the screens against the wall. “We’re all thinking it, but they keep denying it.”

“Clearly they’ve never read a good enemies-to-lovers romance,” Liam said. He must have muted Grace and Danny; they still cussed him out on the comms.

“Focus on your love life later,” I broke in. “You’re approaching the building.”

I leaned forward and switched the main screen’s view to the body cameras Danny and Grace wore. It was a poor substitute for actually being there, but it was Marcus who had suggested it. He really was trying, and I appreciated the gesture more than he knew. My fingers still twitched with the urge to join them, though.

While the FIA’s offices didn’t have an electronic lock, the building still did. “Power surge coming up in 3, 2, 1… Go,” Liam said.

His fingers danced across the keys as he mimicked a power surge that temporarily disengaged the building’s locks. Surveillance earlier had uncovered that the cameras inside the building’s lobby were just for show, so Danny and Grace bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairs. The FIA offices were on the third floor, but they took their time and cleared each floor as they went. The last thing we needed was the surprise of someone working late, although Adrian and Marcus had confirmed earlier that everyone who worked in the building had left for the night.

They approached the FIA’s office door, and Grace reached into her vest’s front pocket for the key. It slid into the lock easily, and I sighed in relief. In the back of my mind, there was still a chance that this was a trap, but I was hoping it wasn’t.

Danny and Grace slipped inside the office. The overhead lights were still on, and I wasn’t sure if that was intentional or if they had just forgotten to turn them off. Dominic may have left them on intentionally, but I could see Mike forgetting to turn them off.

Grace did a slow turn of the room, so I could see what we were working with. The room was fairly large, probably 20 feet by 20 feet. The back wall was a row of windows with the blinds pulled down. Against the windows was a large bulletin board with pictures and files pinned to it. Two beige desks faced each other in the middle of the room, and filing cabinets lined the walls behind them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the previous tenants were accountants.

The desk on the left was tidy and neat, with just a pad of paper sitting next to a computer mouse, but the computer was missing. This had to be Dominic’s desk. The desk on the right had fast food wrappers littering the surface, and a pile of paperwork on the corner threatened to topple over. His laptop sat on the desk, open, and Liam pumped his fist.

“Excellent. Let’s get to work.”

Grace leaned over the desk and plugged a USB into Agent Holden’s laptop. An idea struck me.

“Start with passwords that contain his favorite sports team and the last year they won the championships.”

“Honestly, my darling, your brain is so sexy.” Sebastian kissed the back of my neck, and I shivered.

“Save the hanky panky for later, Boss Lady,” Liam said. “Like when you have the van to yourself?”

I rolled my eyes and was tempted to chuck my pen at him, but I didn’t want to distract him as his fingers flew across the screen. The faster we got done with this, the easier I would breathe. I slid off Sebastian’s lap so he could assist Liam with the hacking. I focused on the live feed from Grace’s chest as she approached the bulletin board.

Danny lifted his phone and started snapping photos of the board’s content. My employee ID photo from SDS was pinned in the top left corner. Below me, photos of Adrian, Alexander, Marcus, and Sebastian were also pinned. The row below themcontained photos of Ryan Jacobs, Marshall Beckett, and Julian Slater from Citadel, and the stranger from the gala, Luke Jones. Underneath each of the pictures were scraps of paper with different notes on them that detailed the slow accumulation of information as the agents worked the case.