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“Fuck,” he growled and just threw the bag in the back of the ATV. He grabbed the hand torch from the dusty shelf. At least that fired up, although whether it would do the job was questionable.
What he wouldn’t have given to find an acetylene torch. He’d have thought, with all the wrought iron on the fucking grounds, they’d have had a couple.
He tossed the torch on top if the useless tool bag then climbed into the ATV. He jerked the key to the on position and put his hands on the wheel.
They trembled. He released the wheel to push his hands against his thighs.
He was pissed off, and doing any kind of work when he was angry never went well.
He sat back in the seat, tracing the anger back until he got to the source. No surprise that it involved Nita.
What the fuck had he been thinking, telling her anything about his life? But worst of all, he’d talked about the sharpest memory of his life. The one that always left a cut whenever he went there. And he’d gone there with her.
Why? That was the silent question that had been pushing at him all morning. Why her? Why now? Why when he was in this imaginary land of carnal desires, of all places?
Maybe it was just him. He was ready to share. And like everything else in his life, when he was ready for it, it had to happen in that moment. And Nita seemed like a convenient listener. Someone he wouldn’t have to face again when this job was over. Someone who would disappear from his memory in a week.
He grunted when he realized his hands had clenched the wheel again. Something wasn’t sitting right, but he had no idea what it was.
He revved the engine of the old ATV, facing another issue that pissed him off. He’d neglected something crucial. The fence breach.
How could he have overlooked such a basic security measure? But that answer was easy. Nita had sidetracked him. Or rather, he’d let her sidetrack him.
“Jesus, I’m fucked up,” he muttered, engaging the engine and guiding the ATV out of the shack. He hopped off to lock up the small building then hopped back on and headed to the fence.
As he cut away from the path to take a more direct route to the where the breach was, the weight of responsibility bore down on him. Rolling field headed into bush, then another field until he was following the fence. The vastness of the estate, his one-man attempt to surveil it until his crew arrived, the sudden acceleration of the engagement… it all just intensified his anger.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Kit. The line buzzed twice when Kit answered. Ryder wasted no time getting straight to the point.
“Kit, give me an update on the property. Anything out of the ordinary?”
Kit’s voice came through the line, calm and composed. “All seems normal, boss. Staff members are swiping on and off the estate as expected. However, there’s one employee, Lawrence, who hasn’t been added to the engagement. He’s on the general staff list and swiped in this morning.”
Awareness shot through Ryder. Lawrence? That name sounded familiar. “Are you able to access his employee file?”
“Yup. One second,” Kit said.
Ryder saw the section of fence ahead and slowed the ATV down until he was right beside it. He killed the engine and waited for Kit to reply.
“Lawrence Tate. Listed under former staff, facilities department, server. Says he quit,” Kit replied.
“What time did he swipe in?”
“7 a.m.”
“Is he still on the property?”
“No confirmation that he’s left the property yet,” Kit replied.
Ryder’s gut twisted.
“Keep me posted. Did you get the change of dates for the engagement to the others?”
“Roger. They’ll be landing in Seattle tonight,” Kit replied.
“Okay. Keep an eye on the cameras, and monitor the security system,” he told Kit. “Let me know if this Lawrence asshole swipes anywhere else, not just out of the front gate. I need you to call me immediately with which sensor he’s tripped.”
“You got it,” Kit affirmed.
