Page 65 of The Honeymoon Hack
Through my earbud, I heard Rav’s measured breathing as he continued his run. After he passed a group of women standing by the water’s edge, he said, “Proceed as planned unless directed otherwise. We assume Scarlett’s visit is still going ahead.”
“Acknowledged.” I looked at Brie, whose face had gone a shade paler than before. “But what do you think she was saying about Claire?”
“If it’s important, she’ll get a message to us.” There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in Rav’s voice. He was the most experienced member of our group. If he said everything was all right, then that’s what it was.
“Copy that. Thanks, Rav.” I pulled out the earbud and powered down the Reynolds partition, switching back to the standard interface.
Bloody fucking hell.
“It’s a sign,” Brie said quietly.
“It’s not a sign of anything.” I stared at the main island across the strip of water, with its palm trees swaying in the wind. Sometime tomorrow or the next day, they’d be straining under Lorenzo’s assault. “I hadn’t tested the earbuds before this. Maybe I wired something incorrectly. Maybe the calibration processes were too variable and the earbuds couldn’t keep up.”
“Just tell me it wasn’t the AI.”
“Christ’s sake, Brie, it wasn’t the AI,” I snapped. I wasn’t sure of that, but we’d find out soon enough.You should have spent more time fixing your tech than ogling Brie.“It’s my own poor fucking hardware.”
“Your hardware worked great.” Brie removed her earbud, tucking it away. “At least we know Scarlett will be there.”
We’d been watching the hurricane since I was still supposed to be here with Ashley. We just hadn’t expected it to strengthen so quickly or head straight for us. But still, I should have been better prepared.
“We should head back,” I said, “and get ready for our shifts.”
As we walked toward our bikes, Brie’s shoulders were tense. She was catastrophizing in her head.
“We’ve run plenty of ops with comms blackouts,” I said, trying to calm her. So much would depend on her today, and she needed a confidence boost. We were cut off from the team during the most critical phase of our mission. If anything went sideways with Scarlett’s visit or the ID card transfer, we’d have no way to adapt or call for help.
But you won’t have to call for help. Worst-case scenario: you admit you’re penetration testers. That’s all.
“What about Claire?”
“I trust Rav’s judgment.” It was true, but that didn’t fix the voice in my head that said Scarlett had been trying to warn us about something.
The bike ride back to Mnemis started silently, which meant she was still brooding—time to break the tension.
“Ronnie’s been telling me about a seafood place in Freeport we should try when this rotation ends,” I said, pedaling alongside her. “Apparently, they have conch fritters that would make a grown man weep.”
Brie glanced over, a crease between her brows. “Conch fritters?”
I shrugged. “He said they’re similar to fried clams. You always loved those.”
“You and your food recommendations.” She shook her head and returned to watching the path ahead of us. “Remember that pizza place in Boston you swore would change my life?”
“It would have if you’d ordered the right thing,” I countered. “Life-changing pizza needs more than cheese.”
“That’s how they make it in Naples, isn’t it? It was perfectly good.”
“‘Perfectly good’ is not the standard we aim for, Bug.”
“Fine.” She waved a teasing hand in my direction. “When we’re done here, you can introduce me to conch fritters.”
“And conch pizza?”
She snorted a laugh so hard her bike careened toward mine.
I veered away, avoiding the collision. This was how our life should have been. Biking down a path in the tropics, celebrating being together.
The morning’s events circled around in my mind, starting with how I’d “forgotten” my clothes after my shower. Brie’s eyes had widened, and a blush had crept up her neck before she’d quickly turned away. Her reaction had confirmed what I’d been testing by leaving my clothes behind: she was undoubtedly attracted to me.
