Page 52 of Remote Access

He felt responsible. He knew in his gut that Hayrick would have kept beating Shelli and probably killed her, so he’d had no choice, but knowing he was responsible for the man’s death had his stomach heaving again every few minutes. Then…during those hours as they’d watched a man come in to take care of Helix’s shoulder—one who would be coming back for the bodies—something huge had occurred to him.

He’d brought everyone into the kitchen to make his pitch, and the staggering possibility had his heart pounding harder than it had when Quincy had rushed Fallon in the basement. It had taken him two hours to break into the computer that had never been connected to the Internet, and there were indeed electronic files on everything and as Hayrick had said, including videos of different burglaries. He’d had everything he needed to keep blackmailing them all.

For life.

His head spun just thinking about the freedom within his grasp and he knew Helix and Shelli were feeling it as well because both kept going silent. Helix kept staring into space with a small smile.

“Do you guys realize what we have here?” Lane announced.

“Four dead bodies and a shitload of stolen goods,” Quincy said.

“A shitload of stolen goods that we can return.” He blinked, still staggered by the plan taking shape in his mind. He’d had a plan. A new life. One he’d worked toward in secret for years, but this was so much better. “Nobody knows Hayrick is dead.”

Shelli clued in first and leaped up, whooping so loud, Helix jumped.

“Don’t do that,” he snapped.

“Can it, wuss.” She sneered at him, her lip split and one cheek already turning colors. Her poor eye was half swelled shut, too. “You’d better learn to get along with me if we’re going to live together.”

Lane was pretty sure Helix was completely wrong about this girl having a crush on him. Either that or she had never learned the fine art of attracting bees with honey. Of course, her cheering and smiling was a lot better than the quiet, pale and shaken girl who’d followed his lead and emptied her stomach half an hour earlier.

Lane watched as Quincy stare at him, a slow frown turning down his lips. He started to nod. “It could work.”

“What could work?” Helix crossed his arms. “I’m not normally the slow one in a group and you guys are pissing me off. Spit it out.”

Shelli sighed. “Okay, Sherlock, do you need sign language in addition to brain cells? Hayrick and his men are dead. Nobody knows it. We have access to everything.”

Lane jumped to his feet and started pacing. “You said he never corresponds personally, right? I mean in person?”

Shelli shook her head, laughter spilling from her lips. “Never. It’s all email. He personally cases out some of the places, but I do all the research ahead of time and I’m the one who gets the items to where they need to go. Well, I coordinate it. We could bring everyone in. Turn this whole thing on its ass.”

“We have all the files.” Lane stopped right in front of her. “We could give it all back. Use his money, use this as the base of operations.” He rubbed his arms because of the goosebumps popping up all over them. He turned to Quincy. “Isaac still has all the paperwork, right?” He paused. “If he didn’t release it, this could work. We could do this. Though, it would mean giving up on taking down your corrupt chief.”

He was still frowning, his brows drawn low. “It’s possible we can do something about that. I’ll talk to Isaac. We just need to direct someone to the stolen goods in his home. And he’s under investigation already.”

Helix, whose wide-blown pupils showed his painkiller was taking effect, rubbed his chest as he leaned back in his chair. “We could make it all right. Steal back the things out there.”

“Hell, we’ll be busy enough just with the catalogue here at first, but yes,” Shelli said, patting him on his uninjured shoulder. “The stuff not crushed in the fight anyway.” She frowned. “I would have liked to have seen the vases Quincy smashed returned.”

Quincy’s frown turned to a scowl and Lane chuckled. He’d gone flying back into that shelf with a little help.

“Will your friends do this? Will they just let go what they know and leave us here to do our thing?” Lane asked him.

“I’ll talk to them when I return this week, but I don’t see why not.”

It warmed Lane’s heart that Quincy didn’t for one second believe they’d continue stealing for the underground market. He believed in Lane that much and he seemed to accept that Shelli and Helix were on the same page. He wanted to hug him, but Quincy’s other words hurt too much right then. Of course he had to go. Get his name cleared, his job back. Help his friend Gareth do the same.

“What did you mean by living together?” Helix suddenly asked. “Do you mean here? In the evil mansion?”

“A place doesn’t have to stay evil. We’ll redecorate, you big baby.”

Helix glared at Shelli. “Call me another name.”

She merely snorted. “Oh, shit in a cup.”

“What does that even mean?” Helix threw up his hands. “You do realize you make no sense.”

“You’ll learn to follow along,” she soothed.

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