Page 43 of Remote Access

“Keep that up and we won’t make the fifteen minutes.”

“Insatiable.”

“Where you’re concerned, yeah, I am.”

* * *

Quincy woke and reached out for Lane’s warm body. They’d turned the air down too low in the room after sweating their asses off all day and now it was freezing. He shivered and groped and was met with empty sheets. He blinked into the room, noticing the bathroom light was on. Lane, clad only in boxers, sat in the faint glow, his head buried in his hands. Everything about him was so dejected Quincy immediately sat up.

His movement caught Lane’s attention, but he only lifted his head and the abject misery on his face had Quincy fighting the tangle of covers to get free. “What is it?”

“Not the original,” Lane whispered.

Quincy walked around the bed to Lane and saw the shredded poster on the floor at his feet. He kneeled, putting his hands on Lane’s bare thighs. They were ice cold. “What are you talking about?”

“The fucking poster, Quincy. It’s not the original poster. I stole the original and though this is a good copy, it’s not the one I took.”

“You’re sure?”

“Oh, I’m definitely sure. I don’t know how Hayrick fooled that guy, but he’s had what amounts to a twelve dollar poster on display in his house.” He waved his hand at the pieces. “It’s a fucking poster anyone could have picked up and made to look old.”

“Do you think he has the original still?”

Lane shook his head, then scrubbed his hands down his face as he sat back in the chair. “I don’t. I think Hayrick has it and it’s probably in that mausoleum of his.” He turned bleak eyes onto Quincy. “I have to get it.”

Quincy wanted to tell him he didn’t need to return the poster to get absolution but he could tell his words would fall on deaf ears. This meant something to Lane, had been the driving force behind everything he’d done. Had been the reason he’d been brought into Quincy’s life. “Then we get it.”

Gray eyes went wide. “That will be crazy dangerous.”

Quincy shrugged. “We do what we gotta do and I know how important this is to you. Besides, we know he’s out of town.”

“He’ll have someone guarding the place just as he had you in Oklahoma. Probably a lot more and the odds of these being good guys undercover are virtually nil.”

“You’re a thief. We’ll case the place, get a good idea of what we’re dealing with, and steal the poster. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find the electronic files.”

“I think I know someone who can help us,” Lane said, his voice low. “I have a number to reach Helix. I know he’s done a lot more work for Hayrick in Maine because he lives here. He’s been inside Hayrick’s home. We could use him.”

“Can we trust him?”

Lane shrugged. “There’s no way to know for sure, but my gut is telling me he’d do anything to be free.”

“But would he alert Letsen to what we’re doing? You said he’d changed the last time you saw him.”

“He had and with him playing the muscle, I’m sure everything he’s done has left emotional scars as well as the physical ones. I’ll never forget those damn cigarette burns.” He shivered and hugged his arms around his waist. “But he gave me a way to reach him and when he did, he said it was for an emergency, but he also said to use it if I ever found a way to get free. I’d planned to try and help him set up a new life, too. I believe he’s a good guy who has been forced to do even worse things than I have. But he’ll know a way into Hayrick’s home.”

“Then we’ll call him. But now, you’re freezing. Come and let me warm you.” He stood and tugged Lane to his feet before leading him to the bed. They crawled under the covers and Quincy chuckled as he pulled Lane’s cold limbs between his own.

Lane moaned. “You’re so wonderfully warm.”

“How long were you sitting there?”

“Long time.” He sighed and burrowed half under Quincy.

They were quiet for several moments and Quincy sighed and enjoyed warming the man in his arms.

“Quincy?”

“Hmm?” he answered as sleep worked to pull him back under.

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