Page 188 of Damián

“Yes,” Damián says, just as Alexios blurts, “No.”

Damián glares at the Greek teddy bear, who sighs and relents.

“I mean, yes, Oliver… I’m super sure you can touch it.” Alexios points to one of the keyboards in the room. “Use that one. And don’t touch anything outside of your USB.”

I nod, pull out my flash drive, and sit where he pointed.

Holy crap! I am actually inside the Harknetts’ HQ, about to touch one of their rigs.

This is my absolute Mission: Impossible wet dream.

Well, my absolute, absolute would be if Damián were also naked with a bowtie, bringing me a coffee martini… but that would probably be too much to ask for.

Or would it?

I nudge the mouse, and a huge 65-inch monitor comes back to life.

Dear mother of— My inner tech geek squeals at the absolute masterpiece glowing in front of me. Between the incredible keyboard layout, the absurd number of ports, and the cooling system, this machine is a dream. The RAM is insane, and I can even fit three code files and a terminal side by side without a single bit of lag.

“I’m in love with your computer,” I tell Alexios, and he laughs.

“That’s just the baby bird, Oliver. My true love is waiting for me at home.”

“Same CPU?”

“Please… She’s got the Threadripper 9995WX.”

I gasp so hard my mouth falls open.

I’m about to beg Alexios to take me to his house just so I can see that setup, when Damián places his hands on my shoulders and leans in close.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your computer love story, mi cielo, but your insane, sociopathic brother is on his way to burn down everything you’ve built.”

“Right…”

“Are you sure he’s going to the Hamptons?” Logan asks as he, the twins, Tae, and Law walk into the room carrying duffel bags of guns.

“Yes. That’s where Elijah kept his emergency getaway fund, plus the place has infinite escape routes, including a helipad and a boat.”

I pull the files from my USB, search for the blueprint of my family’s Hamptons estate, and enhance the image on the main display.

“These are the main exits.” I circle each of the areas on the screen, then draw a red X across a door and two windows. “Do not go through these three. They’ll most likely be left open, but they are wired with explosives.”

The Harknetts nod, then just stare at me as if they’d already memorized the entire layout and are just waiting for me to catch up.

“What else?” Tae asks, looking up from the selection of medical vials and kits he is packing into his trauma bag.

Oh, shit… okay, so they really did just memorize the layout and are just waiting on me.

I draw a dark red line across the lawn. “Don’t go beyond this area. There is a remote machine gun on the second floor that will hit you.” I circle an open patch of grass near the driveway. “And don’t use this area for parking. It’s rigged so that in the event of an attack, everything within 700 square yards collapses underground.”

“Jeez…” Alexios breathes, his deep blue eyes wide with shock. “Who the fuck designed your house? Kevin McCallister?”

Björn bursts out laughing, but Law shoots him a look, shaking his head to signal it isn’t the time or place.

The Viking man coughs and stops laughing.

“…It was really funny, though,” he whispers to Tae, and he nods.