"Then let's find him," Deacon said. "They have to be communicating somehow. They can't be planning an attack of this scale without some kind of communication. We just have to find the link."
"We've got company," Colin interjected, nodding toward the outdoor monitor.
All the guys turned to see Tess standing with her back ramrod straight as she knocked on the door to the carriage house. The look on her face was pure determination.
"Ooh, I think you're in trouble," Elias said.
"In my country, when a woman looks at you like that, it means you should sleep with the dogs." Levi had been quiet up until that moment, and Deacon scowled at him.
"Not helping," Deacon growled.
"How long are you going to make her stand there?" Elias asked.
Tess looked around and then spotted the camera. She pulled off her sunglasses and gave the camera a meaningful look of expectancy.
"All right, all right," Deacon said. "I don't see any of you rushing to let her in."
"We all know better, mate," Axel said with a grin. "You're the one Eve gave the orders to. Lure her in, using whatever skills you have. And thank God for it. I wouldn't want to face that redhead's temper."
"Right," he said. The weight of Eve's orders was heavy on his shoulders. The outcome of this particular situation wasn't shaping up how he'd planned. But he had no choice. He went to let Tess inside.
TESS HAD COME to a decision.
She didn't know if it was the right decision, and her stomach had been in knots over it for the past three days. It wasn't the safe decision. It wasn't the normal, boring, responsible decision. She'd gotten a taste of reckless behavior on the back of that motorcycle, and reckless was starting to look more and more appealing.
Her foot tapped impatiently as she knocked on the door to the carriage house. Once Deacon had told her about the cameras, she felt like an idiot that she hadn't noticed them before. She'd gone through every room in the house, noticing where the tiny devices had been installed. They had coverage of the entire first floor, including the embalming room.
The second floor was full of empty bedrooms and an upstairs living area with a huge fireplace, but when she looked for them, the cameras were there. Now that she knew the truth of who and what they were, she understood the need for the cameras. It also made her realize she'd been glad for her ignorance the last couple of years. It was an entirely different feeling living under a looking glass. Her home would be a target if they were ever discovered. It wouldn't mean much for Eve and her men because they could hide anywhere. But for Tess it would be catastrophic. Her home, her family, and her community could come under fire.
She looked up at the camera and tipped her sunglasses down her nose, raising her brows in question. Maybe Deacon had changed his mind and didn't want to mess with her after all. Or maybe he wasn't home. Maybe he was off on some super-secret mission to save the world and she hadn't even noticed his disappearance.
But almost as soon as she'd had the thought she heard the deadbolt unlock, and the door opened. Three days had seemed like an eternity, and her breath caught as he stood before her. Good grief, he was beautiful. He had a couple of days' worth of beard, and his hair was tied back out of his face. His eyes were shadowed.
Her gaze traveled down in pure appreciation. He was wearing an old gray T-shirt that was tight across the chest and shoulders, and a pair of jeans that had seen better days. When she looked back up at his face, he arched a brow and smirked.
Busted.
"You told me to knock when I'm ready to talk," she said. "I'm ready to talk."
"You want to come in?"
"Not really. Maybe if we can talk somewhere in private? Without a million cameras staring down at us, or people close enough to hear what we're saying. This place has turned into one of those weird reality shows overnight. I can't even get my coffee in the mornings without wondering how many eyes are staring at me. It's not a good feeling."
"It's because you talk to yourself all the time," he said. "You do it out of habit."
"I thought you weren't watching me," she said, her anger building once again.
"I'm not," he said smoothly. "I haven't set eyes on you in three days. It's been a really long three days, by the way."
Placated, she took a deep breath and released it. "Right. Well, it helps when I talk things out. I'm one of those people who can remember something forever if I hear it. If that makes sense."