Page 1 of Remote Access

Chapter One

“Either Hayrick Letsen is a dumbass or he’s got an agenda.” Quincy Holt worked to stretch his legs under the diner booth and not encroach on his friend’s room. Gareth had him by three inches and it was all in his legs. At six foot two himself, he ended up smacking knees under tables often. “I want to lean toward option number one, but he managed to stay off law enforcement’s radar a long time.”

“You played your part well,” Gareth said as he picked up his coffee.

The scent of frying bacon made Quincy’s stomach growl. Hoping their breakfast came fast, he eyed his best friend of ten years, noting the dark circles under his eyes. Guilt stabbed into him. It was his fault Gareth’s life had spiraled out of control. His and their ex-boss, Chief James Rawlins’s. The man they’d trusted and even loved. The cop who’d turned out to be the true dirty fucker. The pain this sent through Quincy’s chest hadn’t lessened in the eight months since he’d walked out of the department without his badge. And now, Gareth was out there working his ass off to make ends meet when his only love had been the job.

Gareth leaned closer. “I recognize that look and stop it. We both made the decision to pursue him. I’m a grown-ass man who made my own mistakes.”

Technically, Gareth was right, but that didn’t make it easier. As the senior officer, he still felt responsible. He was lucky their friends, Isaac, Liam, and Carter hadn’t been pulled under the bus with them. All five of them had worked their last four major cases together—a perfect team. Now, he and Gareth, off the force, were floundering.

Quincy’s plan to fix that was now heavily in play. His undercover work as a dirty cop had finally paid off after nearly two years of lies and cheating.

“We’ll both get our jobs back, Quincy.” Gareth grinned, his teeth sharp white in the black of his close beard. He tilted his head, then shook it slowly. “So let me get this straight. Hayrick Letsen, who may be the most wanted fence in the business, is really going to leave you to watch over his place while he’s in Japan.”

It wasn’t a question. More like a repeat so his friend could let that soak in. The criminal hiring the cop to watch his place. Well, ex-cop, but not for long if Quincy had anything to say about it. Gareth turned to put his back to the wall. He sipped his coffee, his dark brown eyes trained on Quincy’s face, the concern in them piercing. “What did you have to do to finally convince him you were truly dirty, Quincy?”

Quincy looked away, unable to meet that gaze. “Nothing special. Just breaking more laws than I’m comfortable with.”

“Do the others know how deep you’ve gone in?”

“Carter and Liam have a good idea. Isaac is privy to everything. He set up that room of his to watch.”

He nodded, his relief obvious in the relaxing of his brows. “So, you have your own cameras in Letsen’s place?”

“Just two.” Quincy shrugged. “I haven’t been able to get everywhere inside, but the next week will give me enough time. If there is anything hidden in that house, I’ll find it. Isaac has tons of looped footage he plans to feed into the cameras, so I’ll be able to dig through everything. And he took his vacation so he can keep an eye on me. Don’t worry.”

Gareth set down his mug, ran his hand over his black, buzz-cut hair, then scrubbed both palms down his face. “I still don’t like this.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Quincy gave him a grin, hating the exhaustion in the man’s expression. Gareth had been working long hours as a bouncer, and it showed in the tension around his eyes and mouth. But his friend also had some pretty harsh things going on in his life. “Neither of us will get his job back if I don’t do this.”

“I just wish I didn’t have to take on all the extra work. I could be helping more and—”

“Stop,” Quincy broke in. “You got Sam to think about.”

This time, it was Gareth’s turn to look away. His uncle was dying. Would be lucky to last another three months. The care it took to keep him comfortable cost a fortune and Gareth had sunk all his savings—everything he had—to pay for Sam’s care. The place Sam stayed was one of the reasons the public had believed Gareth was on the take because it cost a lot to keep a person there.

Gareth, the most honest man he knew, lived like a starving monk to take care of the man who’d raised him.

Fury made Quincy curl his hand into a fist under the table. “You just worry about Sam, Gareth. I have no family—nothing to take me away from what I’m doing. And Letsen is paying me well. Why don’t you let me help?”

Gareth’s lip curled. “I don’t want any of that bastard’s money.” He looked up and must have caught the fleeting guilt Quincy couldn’t quite hide. His eyes narrowed. “What you’re doing to get close to him is different and we both know it. So when does he leave?”

“Next week.” Quincy picked up his water and took a healthy swallow, hoping it would ease the dryness of his throat. He hadn’t been sleeping well either. Didn’t help that his damn picture was still occasionally on the front page of a few papers. He glanced around and caught a couple of curious stares, but nobody seemed to recognize him.

Growing his hair out had been a good idea—though he was going to hate the shoulder length when the Oklahoma summer fully kicked in. He tucked strands behind his ear.

“I can get a couple of days off and help you search.”

Quincy shook his head. “No, this is going to be tricky as hell as it is. I can’t risk you getting caught on his cameras.”

“You can’t just turn them off?”

“Nah. He has them hooked up to his phone and checks them often.” He frowned. “Thing is, you know how we thought he spends most of his time traveling out of the country?”

Gareth nodded and sat up as their plates arrived. He reached for the ketchup and glopped it over his hash browns.

“Some of it is that, but he has another home. Big fucking place up north. Maine.”

---