Page 57 of Exposing Adonis

Joe walked with me, saying quietly in Tagalog, “Meet at the office?”

“Oo,” I had said.Yes.

“Don’t forget the lock pick.”

I had slammed the door after stirring up the hornet’s nest. I waited, listening with my ear pressed to the door, as the argument outside continued. This argument had dropped into our laps so perfectly, thanks to that angry doctor.

When the doctor screamed at Callum, I knew I was in the clear. The show was on, and I silently opened the door, and with light steps, padded down the hall toward Alex’s office.

“Psst!” I knew it was Joe.

We Filipinos don’t call names, or say “hey you!” when we want someone’s attention. Instead, we make a quick hissing sound, tilt up our chin and purse our lips topointat the person we want. Do that in the middle of an ICU, and half the nursing staff will lift their head to see if you’re talking to them.

Joe smiled, tilting his head to a closed door, and jiggled the doorknob.

“Hoy, he’s a real fucking anal, so make sure you don’t move anything.” The doorknob didn’t budge, so it was locked.

“Ugh.” I moaned. “I fucking hate lock-picking.”

The last time I did this was the day I stabbed Callum in the neck. I smiled at that memory, not because I enjoyed his pain, but because of fate. I was hired to kill the man he was protecting after I thought we’d never see each other again.

Yes. That had to have been fate.

I placed the tension wrench into the lock and worked with the pick to get the tumblers out of place. The silent clicking and shoving of metal pieces was like the ticking of a clock, reminding me that we had very little time to get anything done. I could still hear the argument down the hall. Chloe and Callum were speaking over each other.

“Are you getting it?” Joe asked.

“You’ll know I’ve gotten it when the door unlocks,” I snapped in a whisper.

“Their argument won’t last long.”Thanks for stating the obvious, buddy.

“Stop nagging,” I said, feeling a slight give on one of the tumblers. “You’re as annoying as Leo.”

“Come on, come on,” he said, urging me on.

“Not. Helping!” I said through gritted teeth.

I could hear Geordie’s voice intervening now, his deep, strong Scottish brogue drifting towards us like a low, angry growl. “Yeah, Pippa, why are you still wearing the ring?”

I laughed. “They’re going to be arguing for a while.”

I scraped the pick against the edge of the hole, using it to guide my way. The tumblers clicked into place, the door unlocked, and when I let go, it swung inward.

“Bingo!” I pulled the wrenches out of the lock, and placed it back into my pocket. “I’ll keep a look out.”

Joe nodded before scouring the room. His hands hovered, but never touched anything. He carefully opened a drawer and smiled when he found the mysterious, black laptop. The one that Alex had brought out to the patio after Callum’s radio call our first night out here.

“Take the fucking ring off!” Callum bellowed, like an angry beast. It made my spine straighten and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

He’s finally making her take the ring off. I sighed, releasing a tension I didn’t know I had been carrying since the moment I saw it on her hand.

It was as if he waschoosingme in that moment. I knew that he wasn’t. Not really. He was justnotchoosing her. But it lit up my heart and filled me with comfort.

Joe put a USB drive into the computer. We waited for it to upload. Joe didn’t sit in the chair, or touch the desk. He stood completely still, his hands hovering over the keys. I looked at him, spinning my hand with my pointer finger out, telling him towrap it up.

He shrugged, his hands gesturing to the computer like he was a Jeopardy show girl. “Nothing I can do about the tech speed.”

He looked down at the screen, and when he looked up at me, I let out a blustering breath. “Come on!”

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