And how she wanted to kiss him again. And more.
She knew Evan had lain in bed last night, so close, and watched her. But it was because he was worried about her, not because there was any real interest on his part.
This was all just part of a critical case for him. Undercover work. She needed to remember that.
But Juliet was definitely beginning to wish it was more.
She looked over at him, dressed all in black now, as she was, ready to go do the reconnaissance work at Cady’s house. There were others who could handle it, providing details about the outside of Cady’s house and his security. But both Juliet and Evan felt it important to do it themselves.
She looked forward to it, actually.
They weren’t really going onto the grounds, just nearby, to see what they could see. Covered by darkness, they would be counting guards, getting a lay of the land, so to speak. Juliet suspected this entire escapade was for her benefit, and she didn’t mind.
“You ready?” Evan asked.
“Yep.”
“Okay, we’ll need to park a couple of miles away. We’re not sure how far out Cady’s guards patrol. We don’t want to take any chances.”
They drove one of Omega’s cars rather than Evan’s Jeep, since it would be less recognizable.
“Have you got the tracker Megan and her tech people made?”
Juliet reached down and grabbed the locket hanging around her neck. “It fit in here perfectly, even behind the picture. It’s crazy how thin that thing is.”
“Yeah, well, Megan’s mind is pretty amazing.”
Juliet didn’t bring up how she had once accused Megan of working for the very enemy Megan now worked so hard to defeat. She knew how in love Sawyer and Megan were; Juliet had never been happier to be wrong.
“Let’s just hope we don’t have to use it tonight,” she said, looking out the window as they drove into Anne Arundel County.
“Such a huge criminal sitting right under the navy’s nose. Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Evan parked the car. The Naval Academy was only a few miles away.
“Cady has a lot of gall being right out here in the open,” Juliet said as she got out of the car.
“He’s very selective about whom he deals with. That’s why we’ve never been able to get close to him. I’m still amazed he approached Bob Sinclair in the first place.”
Juliet asked, “Are you worried? Do you think Cady is suspicious?”
“He hasn’t survived this long without being so. But I don’t think he’s any more suspicious of us than he is of anyone else.”
Juliet wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse. “Let’s hope it stays that way and that I don’t do anything to freak him out.”
Evan squeezed her hand. “You won’t.”
They left the car and walked through the shadows until they reached the top of a very small hill just outside the gated property line of Vince Cady’s estate. From here they had a pretty clear, although not complete, view of the house and grounds. But there shouldn’t be any danger of them being caught.
They both stood silently, using night vision goggles to study the premises for a long while. Juliet counted two sets of three roaming guards passing by every eight minutes.
“Do you see the ones on the roof?”
She moved her focus upward. “Roger that. Looks like two sets of two.”
“Yeah. That’s a pretty well covered place. Cady definitely isn’t taking chances.”
“If we have to get out of there in a hurry, it’s going to be nearly impossible.”
“I know.” Evan’s voice reflected all the solemnity Juliet felt. It was going to be more important than ever that she keep it together and do her job.
“Let’s get the amplifier planted.”
Juliet followed Evan down the hill, closer to the wall that surrounded the property. They needed to get the device as near as they could without it touching the structure, which probably had some sort of sensor.
“Why does it need to be so close?” Juliet asked quietly.
“It helps amplify the signal of your tracker, but it also contains a small explosive. Not enough to do any real damage, but enough to cause a distraction if we need it.”
“That makes me feel a little better.” Sometimes being just a couple seconds ahead of everyone else was enough when you were undercover.
They weren’t expecting a guard on this side of the wall, so far away from the others, but evidently Cady even had someone patrolling the exterior. Juliet’s gaze flew to Evan’s as they heard him coming toward them.
The guard was alone and talking on his radio, so evidently he wasn’t aware they were there. But that wouldn’t stop him from bringing this whole operation crashing down on them if he caught them.
He’d be directly on them in just a second.
Juliet felt a moment of panic as Evan grabbed her by the waist, spun her around and pushed her to the ground. Knowing he was trying to get them under the cover of a fallen tree, she slid back as far as she could, and he scooted with her. She didn’t let the fear overwhelm her. It was Evan this close to her; it was okay.
He didn’t have time to turn around before the guard came by, which left Juliet and Evan in a lover-like embrace. She quickly pulled her dark sleeves over her hands and wrapped her arms around Evan’s neck, trying to cover as much of his exposed skin as possible.
Both of them were silent as the guard passed by only feet from where they hid. He began walking away, then stopped.
Juliet’s heart hammered in her chest. Had he seen them? Could he have possibly seen the amplifier?
Evan’s arm moved just the slightest bit, and she realized he was removing his weapon from his shoulder holster. There was no way Juliet could get to hers, the way they were wound together, bodies pressed up against each other from chest to toe. And Evan
