This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Fable Gray. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the author.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 1
“I could probably walk better in those heels than you,” Xander said through the earpiece at my ear.
“Shut up,” I grumbled under my breath as I approached the security desk.
Xander could see where I was through the pin on the lapel of my jacket as well as hear me—even when I grumbled under my breath. He was a whiz at electronics and computers and any sort of technology.
Which was exactly why he was helping me today. After all, there was no way I could infiltrate Dark Enterprises on my own.
“Can I help you?” the security guard asked.
I smiled and nodded. “I have an appointment for an interview at Smith and Stein at noon.”
“It’s in the system,” Xander said in my ear.
“They told me to tell you it’s in the system,” I repeated.
The guard checked his computer, then squinted his eyes. “Name?”
“Samantha Thompson.” Not my real name.
“Right. Temporary security pass,” he said, pulling a lanyard from a drawer and passing it over. He pointed. “The elevators are around that corner. Fourth floor.”
I knew exactly what floor I was supposed to go to, and exactly what floor I had no intention of going to.
I flashed him a brief smile. “Thanks.”
“Good,” Xander said in my ear. “You want to make a good impression but not stand out. You want—”
“I know. I want to be forgettable,” I muttered, focusing more on walking straight than where I was going for a moment.
I wasn’t exactly a business suit and heels kind of girl. More like a backpack and hiking pole kind of gal.
I put the badge on when I spotted the elevators and slowed down to give Xander a clear view of the space.
I was only here for one thing. To provide a visual of as much of Dark Enterprises as I could. The building was massive, with laboratories in the back, skyscraper height, and even a cafeteria that the website boasted served the finest cuisine in the area.
We had blueprints, and Xander was certain he could hack into their security cameras, but he assured me it was safer this way. We’d get our own cameras in here and do our own scouting and there was less of a chance we’d get in trouble if things went awry.
After all, Dark Enterprises was a high-profile organization. They were affiliated with half the businesses in the city and the laboratory did ground-breaking work.
But that didn’t mean there weren’t shady things going down at Dark Enterprises, and we were going to figure out exactly what they were.
“Basement first,” Xander said.
I grimaced and paused in front of one set of elevators. “That’s the riskiest place,” I whispered under my breath.
“Exactly,” he returned. “That way, if something goes down, your face will be on fewer cameras. We’ll start there, and if things go smoothly, we’ll get the rest.”
My heartbeat picked up. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for espionage,” I mumbled.
A woman stepped up to my side and gave me a curious look.
“Sorry,” I said, smiling at her. “I was just grumbling about how much these shoes are making my feet hurt.”
She sighed. “Tell me about it. Unfortunately, memory foam sneakers don’t go with pinstripes.”
I grinned. “The price we pay for beauty.”
She stepped inside the elevator when it opened, and I waved her on. “I’ll get the next one.”
I released a breath when the doors closed.
“The price we pay for beauty,” Xander said with a laugh. “You mean the ball cap you usually wear? Or the tinted moisturizer that you call foundation?”
Another elevator door dinged, and gratefully, I stepped in alone. “Zip it,” I told him as I pressed the button for the basement.
“All right. Camera in the corner,” he said, immediately going serious again.
I glanced over my shoulder, searching for the best place to put a camera.
“Casually,” Xander said softly.
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the tiny camera that wasn’t much bigger than my pinky nail. I peeled the paper off the back to reveal the sticky surface and then stuck it between my fingers.
“Hurry,” Xander said.
I backed up and set my hand on the rail, using that moment to block my hand from the elevator camera and push my own camera to the wall.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal a basement corridor.
Nerves raced through me.
I was already on a few of their cameras. If anyone wanted to check to make sure I was legit, they’d know I wasn’t. They’d see that I hadn’t pressed the fourth-floor button and gone to where I had claimed I was supposed to go.
But that was a bogus interview anyway. Xander had put it into the computer so I’d be allowed through security. Smith and Stein wasn’t expecting me any more than they were expecting the Easter bunny.
I peeked both ways down the hallway and then turned to the left.
“We know there’s a door to
