I was torn. I knew I shouldn’t believe her, but I couldn’t quite ignore that hopeful part of myself that wanted to believe she was trying to do something good by trying to help. But why? She started this ball rolling down the hill, so why would she help us now? Or was it a trap? Maybe to see if we'd steal it? "I don't like this. I don't like the fucked-up options it gives us."
Bridge shook his head. "I don't like it either."
Ben shoved his hands in his pockets and started pacing. "But what options do we have? At the very least, we need to see the ledger, figure out what it is, what it says, and then put it back. Or rather our own version of it."
Bridge asked, "Lucas, do you have a forger on standby? One that can do excellent work in not a lot of time?"
He smirked. "I have a couple of people who like a good challenge. They're not cheap though."
"Call them.”
I stared at Ben. "Mate, we're taking hits from all sides here."
"Yeah, you think I'm not aware of that? This is most pressing for now though, and we’re against the clock."
Drew finally spoke up from his corner of silence. "We have no choice. They're coming for us. We need to make sure we're not in that fucking ledger. Because even if Interpol eventually discovers that it's fake, it's a distraction from what's in front of us. We need to think about why Van Linsted’s trying to distract us."
Drew had never been one for war games. He always preferred the negotiation. Finding a middle ground. Always a way out. That was him. But God, if he thought this was urgent, then we were in a tight spot.
Obviously, we all knew Rhys Mathison as he was a member of the Elite. He never really made any waves. Outside of a birthday or the occasional charity event, we didn't have much occasion to speak with him. I seemed to remember he liked golf, but I didn't know how to make golf leverageable.
His family was in publishing. He led a quiet life and had a solid bank account. Not flashy, but well respected. Why was he in bed with Bram? The Mathisons had been members of the elite for the last fifty years. His father had been the first one in his family selected. He had the right lineage, and Rhys was a legacy. We had no quarrel with him. Why would he do this?
I glanced over at Lucas. "Can you get in?"
Lucas shrugged. "Getting in isn’t the problem. I can get in. Security will be a low threat. It’s a publishing company. He probably doesn't even know what he has. Getting in and getting the ledger out is not our problem. The problem is getting the ledger back in. Because if they notice I’ve been there, security protocols will change, and it’ll be much more difficult to put it back if someone realizes it’s missing."
"It could be bait. Once it's taken, that points the finger at us. So we can't be anywhere near it. Unless, of course, we just ask Mathison for it."
Bridge peered at me. "You think there is leverage to press there?"
I shrugged. "He's not an enemy. I have nothing to push or pull on."
Bridge shook his head. "Well then, he's not an ally either."
"Solid point. But we don't have many choices here."
Lucas put his hands up. "Well, first, before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, let's do this. Let's see if we can get the ledger and either undoctor it or replace it. And then we'll figure out how to get it back in the building."
I shook my head. "This is bad. It's a credible threat."
Lucas clapped his hands together. "I've got my repelling equipment and my Gecko Tech glass climbing equipment ready. I can do this."
I rolled my eyes. "Or you can dress up as maintenance or cleaning crew and walk in through the front door."
He frowned. "Why are you always ruining things for me?"
"Because your fun is likely to get us killed, so I try to minimize that as much as possible.” I glanced around. "They're coming for us. For all of us. So let's make them pay for it."
Even as the team threw itself into plans for getting in and getting out, I knew one universal truth; Nyla was front and center in my brain. But was she friend or foe?
East
We were risking everything on Nyla’s say-so.
I hadn't spoken to her. I hadn't seen her. I didn't trust her. A woman who I didn't, couldn't trust with my future and the future of my mates, had set us on this path. If we got caught there, that would lend credence to Van Linsted, and then there would be real trouble. There would be no justice for Toby, no justice for us, and frankly, I was worried about Ben because he was too pretty for prison.
Lucas startled me out of my mental ramblings. "You look worried, mate. I thought you wanted in on the stealing game?"
I glanced down at myself in my workman’s jumper. "I look like an idiot."
"Yeah, but that's no different from how you normally look.”
I rolled my eyes at Lucas. "Oh right, you're taking the piss out of me too?"
He shrugged. "Well, you do make it a little easy."
"You know what, I'm leaving you here. I'm going back to the van."
Lucas laughed and pulled me back. "Ah, mate. See, look at me using British slang and everything. Relax, I’m teasing. Just teasing. Come on. We'll get upstairs and get what we need. We look like we belong here. We are a cleaning crew."
I glanced down again at my navy-blue jumper. I looked like a knob, but if it got us where we needed to go, that was all that mattered. I pushed the cleaning cart into the employee lift, and we headed upstairs. I studied,Lucas, who looked like he was in hog heaven, and
