Page 8 of Remote Access

"Hold on there, thief boy. I need to check you for weapons.”

“I’m not really the weapon sort. There’s nothing on me.”

“I’ll just make sure. He patted him down, though where he’d have hidden anything in the tight clothes was beyond him. Quincy then reached around and picked up his gun.

"I wasn't going for that. I just want to show you why he put me to work in the field."

"And you think I should completely trust you, why?" One eyebrow went up and the expression on his face was a mix of such blatant amusement and disgust that it stopped Lane a moment.

Lane growled and slipped past him by bending backwards under his arm.

"Holy shit," Quincy said again.

"Yeah." He stood in the large master bathroom, glanced around to make sure there was room. He wasn't tall so it wouldn’t work in here. He set his hat on the counter, then slowly did a backbend followed by a kickoff. When he stood, the silence in the room echoed. He faced the guard again, and almost missed the flash of lust that crossed his expression. Good. Lane could use that. "I'm flexible and I'm thin, so I can wiggle into a lot of tight…places." The hint of heat that flared again over the guy's face made him smile inwardly. Lust would make him careless and Lane could always work with careless.

"How—” Quincy's voice broke and he coughed, covering his mouth with a fist. "How did you get through this security system, though? It's the best I've seen."

Lane tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "You're still planning to turn me into the cops, aren't you?"

He didn't answer for several long moments before the corner of his mouth went up. "I don't know. Your story…is making me think."

"I only want you to hold off turning in all this information until I return that poster. Please. You can call them and spin you finding the paperwork any way you want. Get lots of glory and fame—whatever you want."

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"What gave it away, my lovely east coast accent?"

"No, your complete lack of recognition when you look at me."

Surprise washed through him. "Are you famous in Oklahoma?"

"More like infamous. Tell me how you got through the system because it's brand new and supposedly impenetrable. I did my research." The need to know burned in that intriguing face.

Lust and curiosity—there were now two things working in Lane's favor. "Tell you what, when I find out where that poster went and you see just how deep and ugly Letsen's crimes go, I'll tell you how I broke the system. Deal?" He held out his hand.

Quincy took long, long moments to stare at him before that grin went full force and changed the entire look of his face.

A shudder of intense reaction ripped through him and it took all Lane had to keep it from showing outwardly. Wow, the security guard was crazy hot. Gruff face or not, that grin would make anyone bend over backward to bring it out.

"Yeah, Lane, I'll wait until then." His smile disappeared and he didn't take his hand. "But I'd better be convinced every word out of your mouth is true." He took a step closer and looked down his nose at Lane. "And I'm not letting you out of my sight the entire time. Letsen's due back in a week. You now have five days but I'll be going through these files with you every step of the way."

If this guy thought he could intimidate Lane, he had another think coming. He took the last step needed to get rid of the space between them and had to stretch his neck back to look up into Quincy's face. "Don't for one moment underestimate me, Mr. Holt. I have ten years of fury that's been building to monumental proportions and a need for revenge worse than the outlaw Josie Wells. You know that movie?"

Hot minty breath and spicy aftershave met his nose when the man leaned down to speak. "I grew up on a ranch here in Oklahoma. I know every western movie ever made. And kid, you aren't nearly as threatening as old Josie."

Lane's hands to tighten into fists. People always misjudged him because of his size. But he said nothing. He only stepped away from all those good smells and narrowed his eyes. He'd steal what he needed and sneak out during the night. The guard couldn't watch him twenty-four seven, after all.

* * *

Three hours later, Quincy rolled over in the sleeping bag and buried his grin in the pillow. The fury coming from the bed above him was hot enough to raise the temperature in the room. The absolute shock on the kid's pretty face when he'd pulled out handcuffs was something he'd be laughing at for years.

"I can't fucking believe you handcuffed me to Hayrick Letsen's bed," Lane said for like the tenth time. "This is disgusting. This bed has to be crawling with tiny, evil bedbugs, all who've been feeding off Hayrick's dead skin." He made a loud gagging noise. "Let me up!"

"I changed the sheets. Shut up and go to sleep."

"There are four other beds in this stupid, big house."

"And none of those have the right headboard. Use the sharp brain I know you must have to have eluded the law for ten years."

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