Page 24 of Watch Over Me

"Might? We need an in before they demand more tests. We should already have it."

"I thought you had the tests handled."

"We can handle the short-range ones, but with every passing day we risk them thinking themselves out of it or bringing in people who actually know their stuff and will demand tests we can't… adjust to."

"Hacking your way into a quarter-billion-dollar military contract for a hacking device," the other man said, a bit louder now, and his voice sounded familiar as well, but Eddie couldn't quite place it. "The irony."

"Careful," Lavon hissed. "Don't let the wrong person hear you."

"Fine. I need to get back, anyway. They'll be looking for me. There's only so much time that bird can hold a man's attention with her clothes on and the fucking security guy is like a dog with the bone."

Eddie, who was already hardly breathing as he tried not to attract any attention, felt the air leave him as if he was punched in the gut.

The other man was Albert Corner.

And he was apparently involved in much more than some extra-marital affairs.

"Go," Lavon growled. "And work faster or it's all over."

It was clear that there was no love lost between the two men, but a person didn't need to be friends with someone to steal money from the government together.

Which was what these guys were apparently trying to do.

And they wanted to use his brother to do it.

Over my dead body, Eddie told himself, finally pulling away from the bleach-smelling cabinet as he heard the door open and close two times. His hands were sweaty and his heart was beating fast, but he didn't have time to freak out.

Not yet.

He pulled his sleeve up to uncover his watch. It was a similar model to the ones their clients got, with a GPS and a transmitter, among other things. In his case, it allowed for communication with the team when he couldn't have a comm link in his ear, like now, since he was flying under the radar.

"Hey, it's me, do you guys hear me?"

He got five affirmatives—two pairs inside the building and Jasmine back at the HQ, filling in as the comms support—and he cleared his throat before continuing.

"I overheard a conversation between Karl Lavon and Albert Corner. Lavon's project is a scam," he whispered, covering his mouth just in case. "They're messing with the testing somehow, but they want to push for the contract to be signed ASAP before anyone notices. I guess creating a threat of espionage is also a part of it."

Martinez swore quietly.

"You need to get into a car and leave," Jeremy told him, voice calm but serious as ever. "Clay will pick you up in five. Go back to the HQ and wait there for us. We need to play our parts,but you're done."

"I can—"

"Eddie." James's voice, although soft, shut him up instantly.

He was on an assignment. He needed to listen.

"Okay. Okay, I'm going."

"Pull out your phone and call Jasmine. Stay on the line until you're in the car," Jeremy instructed. "Nobody should stop you when they see you talking."

"If you say so." Eddie breathed in and out, trying to relieve some of the tension. "I'll keep the mic on the watch active, too, in case you need to hear what's going on."

"Yes, good."

As he stepped back into the main hall with the phone by his ear, he felt momentarily overwhelmed by the sounds and harsh lights, but he powered through it, thanks to Jasmine. She kept him apprised of the positions of their team members as well as Lavon, and then talked to him about the latest movie she'd seen with her roommate, once Eddie was out in the lobby and simply needed a distraction.

No one tried to stop him. No one even looked his way twice.

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