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Locked.
He would have been severely disappointed if a man like Matteo had not locked his office door.
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out an item that resembled a set of tweezers. He placed both of the metal picks into the keyhole, then began fiddling with the locking mechanism.
He was now glad that Marc had insisted that he practice picking locks. You never know when that skill will come in handy. Chase had gone his whole life without ever having to pick a lock, yet in the past few months since he had met Marc and Alex, he had to pick locks three times already. What did that say about his life?
Hearing that tiny little click, he released the breath that he didn’t even realize he was holding and pushed the door open slightly. He stuck his head in cautiously, glancing around to confirm what he already knew to be true—the room was empty.
Marc would have notified him if anyone was inside the room ahead of time. Even though the video was looped with the old footage, Marc was still monitoring the live feed.
As it turned out, before Marc started hunting down bad guys with his husband, Alex, he worked as a security expert for the uber-rich and powerful. He would test out companies’ security systems, find their weaknesses, and recommend changes to enhance their personal as well as technological security protocols. While Marc was off getting them lunch one day, Alex mentioned that Marc had kidnapped a CEO once in order to show the stubborn man how his personal security detail was flawed. After being locked in his trunk for a few hours, the CEO implemented Marc’s recommendations right away.
Yes, his boss had a mean streak in him that seemed to amplify whenever someone didn’t listen to what he had to say. Except for his husband. Alex was the one calling the shots in their relationship. The look in Marc’s eyes as he watched his love move across the room was inspiring. Knowing that someone would burn down the world just because you asked was intoxicating.
Would Chase ever find that level of love and passion?
Perhaps.
He slipped into the room, then walked over to the sizable desk that sat in front of a large bay window that looked out into the magnificent gardens below. The perfect view for the master’s office.
Matteo’s desk was glass with black chrome around the edges and drawers. It was an elegant, modern piece of furniture in an otherwise classically furnished decor.
Chase took a seat behind the desk and ran his fingers over Matteo’s laptop. The screen came to life, asking for a password, of course.
Chase pulled a small device out of his pocket and slipped it into the USB port of the laptop. He watched as the indicator on the device turned yellow. Marc had advised that once the indicator turned green, that meant that the device had finished cloning Matteo’s laptop.
Nervously, he tapped his foot on the floor, scanning the office at the same time. The room was every bit as impressive as Chase would have expected for someone like Matteo. To the left, there were wall-to-wall books standing neatly on display. Just in front of that sat a small two-seater sofa with a tiny coffee table—perfect for those one-on-one, private meetings Matteo no doubt held with important customers or when negotiating high-powered business deals.
Chase glanced down at the sofa and wondered how safe it really was to sit on. Would he accidentally get pregnant? Should he take a black light to it?
After two minutes, the indicator turned green, and Chase yanked it from the laptop. He still had approximately twenty minutes before the cameras began recording live footage once again.
With that done, he walked over to a cabinet and began riffling through drawers, hoping to find any indication that Matteo was a bad man and possibly the author of the journal.
He flipped through files, not sure what he was looking for. It’s not like evil villains marked their folders “Secret Bad Guy Stuff.” He moved as fast as he could, searching through every drawer and cabinet and shelf he could find.
Nothing incriminating.
Chase finally stopped and looked around the room. He needed to know more about this place and what everyone did around here. That might give him more of a focus when looking for clues.
Deciding that he wasn’t going to press his luck, he headed back to his room to call it a night. He had already scored big by cloning Matteo’s laptop. He would have to get it to Marc tomorrow so that he could try and access the drive.
10
LEVI
Sitting with one foot on his chair and his knee pressed against the table, Levi bit into a piece of toast and smiled at the man sitting across from him.
“Having a bit of trouble sitting today, are ya?” Levi asked, smirking at his friend and fellow dancer.
Isaac glanced up at Levi and gave him the finger.
“Told you to stop listening through the walls; it’s all sorts of creepy, dude.” Isaac grimaced as he shifted in his seat.
“Can’t help if you moan like a bitch,” Levi retorted.
“Hm? What’s Isaac been up to this time?” Jared asked, pulling up a seat next to Levi and purposely flexing his bicep. Jared was ex-military and liked to remind the guys just how much bigger his muscles were than theirs.
