Page 21 of The Honeymoon Hack
Will nudged me with an elbow when the man he’d been talking to left. “You’re smiling.”
“I’m excited.” My initial panic about going undercover had gradually given way to excitement. Even still, the closer we got to the data center, the more my stomach fluttered with nerves. I leaned closer to him, and he wrapped an arm around me, so I could whisper, “I know we’re here on a mission, but I’ve been trying to crack this place for months. Now I get to see it from the inside.”
He lowered his voice to match mine. “Honestly? I was surprised you were all right with Ashley taking the job in the first place.”
“I wasn’t!” An excited giggle burst out of me. “I was so jealous!”
Will’s brows drew down. “Jealous?”
“Of course! She was going inside, and there wouldn’t be any camera feeds for me to ogle everything!” Instead, I’d be able to stroll through the racks and experience firsthand what the indomitable Gideon Tremaine used for his security. “Gideon’s such a genius. I can’t wait to see what he built. And how his staff hasimprovedhis initial designs.”
“You’re so sad.” Will shook his head slowly, mocking me. “You’re going to be amazing. You may not want to leave.”
“Only if you promise to stay with me.” I shared a smile with him, and he squeezed my waist.
A woman approached, travel mug in hand, and leaned against the railing next to us. She was in her mid-to-late thirties, with shoulder-length brown hair and sharp eyes that somehow reminded me of Scarlett. “First timers?”
I nodded. “That obvious, eh?”
“Everyone looks the same on their first trip out,” she said with a small smile. “I’m Claire, by the way. Claire Lawson. Software support and data security.”
“Will Stone,” Will said, extending his hand. “And this is my wife, Brie.”
Wife. The word came out so easily. He’d obviously been preparing for this longer than I had.
Claire shook his hand and took a sip from her mug. “Mnemis is certainly a test for any relationship.”
“We work well together,” I said, which was true enough. “Different specialties, though. Hardware for him, software for me.”
Claire nodded, turning to face the approaching island. “It’s an intense environment—long shifts, close quarters. Probably helps to have someone who understands the pressure.”
“What’s it like down there?” I asked, letting my genuine curiosity show. “The information package we received was so vague.”
“Amazing,” Claire said. “I worked at a couple of massive data centers before I came here, including the Citadel and the BumbleHive.”
“The BumbleHive?”Keep calm, Brie. Don’t gape at her.That was one of the US Intelligence Community’s hubs. “Why’d you leave?”
“You’re not the first to ask. Fascinating work, but it’s bogged down by a lot of red tape. But here?” She gestured to the island ahead of us. “Tremaine handed control over to our team, so we’re allowed to adjust and upgrade as we see fit. There’s a whole rack in one of the server rooms that’s filled exclusively with pseudo-files for us to test approaches on.”
Thiswasright up my alley. “What sort of tests?”
She held her mug up next to her face to block her words while she stage whispered, “That part’s classified until you’re finished with your probation.”
Well, shit.
“How long have you been with Mnemis?” Will asked.
“Three years now. I originally thought I was coming for the weather and planned to be here a year at most.” She shrugged. “I ended up staying. The challenges keep things interesting, and the team becomes something like family.”
Will closed his eyes and raised his face toward the sun. “But the weather’s pretty good, too?”
“It is. The isolation’s a hassle, and being underground takes some getting used to, but did you read about the employee island?”
“We did.” I looked at Will, who was staring out at our destination. “You brought your bathing suit, right, honey?”
Honey? The word had come out as easily as ‘wife’ for Will. But did I like it? Was I committed to it, now that I’d used it in front of someone?
He didn’t look at me, but he smirked. “You packed it for me, didn’t you?”
