Page 35 of Gambit
I make a hand gesture as if that’s gonna cut it. She waves hers back and shrugs.
It’ll have to do.
Making a clicking motion with my finger, she glares at me to explain.
“Photo?”
“Already got it, you ass. This isn’t my first time.”
Snickering, I nod, and we creep back out. Tarq gives us the all-clear, and we move stealthily back the way we came, only to come up short a few seconds later by footsteps headed our way again.
“Back the fuck up,” I hiss, pulling Eliza with me as we hug the nearest shadow. I’m pretty sure my heart is hammering loud enough to give us away, but that’s the least of our worries right now.
Eliza’s eyes are steely, her body tense but ready as she grips the hilt of her blade beneath her jacket. The goddamn footsteps get closer, and I swear under my breath. It’s one thing to break in and plant evidence, it’s entirely another to be caught lurking in the halls like some fucking amateur.
“Shit, we need a distraction or something,” I mutter.
Tarquin taps into his phone, and in the next second, there is the sound of gunfire from outside.
“Jesus,” I snap. “What are they doing?”
“Creating a distraction,” Tarq mutters with a shrug.
The footsteps halt, and then there’s a rush of movement in the opposite direction. Whoever it is, they’re heading straight for the commotion outside, falling right into our trap.
We take advantage of the chaos to slip down the corridor undetected.
Once we’re back in the safety of the foggy night, we hustle back to the Merc without another word, tension unwinding with each step away from the university buildings. Once we’re in the car, the other guys joining us minus Drago, Eliza lets out a long breath and slumps back against the seat. “Fuck me sideways. That was close.”
I start the car and pull out onto the road before replying, “But we did it.” My heart’s still racing, but I feel alive.
She gives a low laugh. “Yeah. We did.”
“Nice save with the shooting,” Eliza says to James with a soft laugh.
“Confused the shit out of Peters, so it worked,” he says, and I nod.
“Now we just have to hope he doesn’t go into Harris’s office and see the file on his desk before Harris does.”
“Guess we’ll find out soon if he does. Clock’s ticking,” Eliza murmurs, staring out the window as I drive around campus to the townhouse. “What a shitshow.”
I can’t disagree, but there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her, so if this goes sideways, we’ll keep on fighting, no matter what.
19
ELIZA
My hands shakeas I bring the mug of coffee to my lips. Time is ticking away too slowly as I stare into the mug, blowing on it as the morning sun streams in through the window.
Tarquin comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me, holding me close before he brings his hands up to press around mine on the mug.
“Everything will be fine,” he murmurs, kissing my neck.
“You don’t know that. It’s been hours since we dropped the file on Harris’ desk. Maybe we should’ve waited to hand it to him this morning in person.”
“It was a calculated risk,” he says, stepping back and leaning against the counter so he can look me in the eye. “We could’ve hung onto it, but would we have got anywhere near Harris this morning? We could’ve spent too much time fucking about, where this way Harris has probably already seen it.”
“Maybe. If Peters didn’t see it first and swipe it off his desk,” I whine, hating my tone, but I’m too nervous to care right now. “Can we just go to campus and wait there?”
