Page 28 of Remote Access

He thought of the bathtub in the hotel room. “We’ll make do. I just wanted to let you know the situation. Can you fill in the others? Isaac has some idea of what’s going on, but not Liam or Carter. Any more things happen to them at work?”

“Nah, it’s been quiet.”

“How’s your uncle?”

“Same. I’m headed over there now. His doctor is saying it’s down to weeks now.”

His heart ached for his friend. He thought of Lane lying in the hotel room. He’d just lost a parent, too. “I’m sorry, Gareth.”

“What can I do? It is what it is.” The pain in his tone still hurt Quincy’s chest.

Quincy was quiet a few moments, then finally sighed. “I’m going to make this right. I know you won’t have your family, but you’ll have your job. I promise.” Even as he said it, his heart started to ache even more. He’d move heaven and earth to make this happen.

“You’re still gonna be my family, Quincy. You and the guys. As long as Liam and Carter don’t get hurt on the damn job, I’ll be fine. Even Isaac seems to be on some radars right now.”

“That’s because of his association with us. Damn.”

“Hey, Quincy?” A teasing note entered Gareth’s tone. “There’s something in your voice when you talk about the thief.”

He should have known Gareth would pick up on that. Nosy motherfucker. “Just having some fun. Kid is sexy as hell.”

The low chuckle over the line made him smile. “About time you did. Do I get to meet him?”

“Actually, yeah. There is way too much paperwork for two people. Can you get in touch with Isaac, see exactly how hot it is for me, then see if he can find a place we could lie low where you guys could meet us for a day or so?”

“Liam and Carter are on this weekend, but I can come out tonight and tomorrow. Why don’t we meet at my cabin?”

“I forgot all about that.”

“The key is in that knot in the tree if you get there before I do.”

“I remember. That’s perfect. I should have thought of that before.” Quincy shook his head. “Okay, so Lane and I will head there tonight. And Gareth?”

“Yeah?”

“Hug your uncle for me.”

“Will do. Keep an eye on the storms.”

Quincy hung up, turned toward the room and found Lane standing in the doorway, wrapped in a sheet. His sultry grin reeled Quincy in like a fish on the line. He stalked into the room, shut the door behind him and tugged Lane into his body.

“The thunder woke me up. Sounded like Thor banging his hammer on the roof of this place.”

“We’re about to have one hell of a storm, so we should turn on the news while we go through papers. I have a place for us to go, but we’ll leave tonight to be safe. In the meantime, I think it’ll be better if we stay in here and just eat through the food we bought for now.”

“Works for me.” Lane nuzzled in. “You showered? I can’t believe I didn’t wake up. I never sleep this well.”

“I wore you out.” Quincy wrapped his arms around Lane. “You ready to dig into this?”

“I am. Let’s get busy.”

* * *

“Ifinally figured out that one symbol and was able to match it to the name Fagin.”

Lane opened his eyes when Quincy spoke, Quincy’s stomach moving against Lane’s cheek because he had his head on his lap. He’d been nearly lulled to sleep by the sound of the storm raging outside, despite the crinkle of pages as Quincy read them. Quincy running his fingers through Lane’s hair had put him in a hypnotic state. “Fagin,” Lane repeated. “I caught that name a couple of times in the paperwork. It’s nagging the back of my mind. Sound familiar to you?”

Quincy shook his head. “There’s no money flow to or from this person.”

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