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“Morning, Herr Meyer,” Spencer said, squeezing her hand and shooting her a teasing look before standing to face Monty.
Hartley sighed. Why were men such boys?
“Herr Meyer? You were calling me Montgomery just a few days ago,” Monty pointed out. He strolled to stand to the side of Hartley’s chair.
His position relative to her and Spencer made a perfect triangle, and that made her smile. “Monty, Spencer, we’re all after the same thing. Let’s focus on finding Rogue,” she said, rising from the chair.
The tension in the room crackled, but for once it wasn’t between her and Monty. It was between Monty and Spencer. It was a relief not to have to address what happened in the attic yesterday. And if Spencer had designated himself chief pain in Monty’s ass, maybe she’d never have to revisit how easily she’d fallen under her husband’s spell last night.
“Monty? Another nickname, but not as colorful,” Spencer said, giving Monty a fake smile.
“It’s not a nickname for your use,” Monty informed Spencer, giving Hartley a scowling glance.
She forced a smile and tilted her head toward him in acknowledgement. “Montgomery’s right. Monty is a nickname I won’t be using anymore,” she replied. She felt a twinge in her gut, but it was a good idea to think of him differently. Soon he would be her ex and probably someone else’s Monty.Jesus, what kind of wallowing wimp have I turned into?
“Spencer and I were discussing Lawrence Tate’s murder,” she informed Montgomery, “now that they’ve identified him. I’ve texted the others to join us. You’re early.”
“I didn’t get your message,” he answered. “New phone.” He held it up as evidence.
He smirked at her and she smirked back. She’d thrown pieces of what must have been his previous phone at him last night. “What happened to your old one?” she asked, unable to resist.
“It had a collision it couldn’t recover from,” he replied. His eyes sparkled with something that wasn’t humor.
She looked away. “I assume you have a different number now?” She headed for the door. Spencer followed quickly while Monty—Montgomery took his time.
“We all have new numbers,” he replied. “These are new devices my company is testing. They use a stealth locator chip that—”
“Stealth locator chip,” Spencer mocked. “What is this, an Avengers movie?”
“—provides real-time GPS coordinates via an ultra-secure signal,” Montgomery continued, talking over Spencer. “If we’re going to be finding Rogue on our own, it’s the safest way to keep track of everybody on the estate. It’s also the only way to send secure communications that Rogue can’t hack.”
Spencer scoffed, but Hartley stopped and looked at Montgomery as they waited for the elevator.
“Do you think Rogue has been intercepting our communications?” she asked.
“He didn’t need to in the beginning. He was on staff. But when he quit, most definitely. And since most of Cavendish’s systems ran on apps, it’s probably also how he got on the property without being detected.”
“What about the fence breach Ryder found?” she asked.
“A decoy, maybe?” Montgomery shrugged. “To focus attention elsewhere.”
The elevator arrived and they got on, heading up to the boardroom.
“That’s some detective work, Montgomery,” Spencer mused.
“Someone’s got to do it,” Montgomery replied stiffly. “Since you made it clear this wasn’t a true investigation.”
“It’s not an investigation on the books, but Ms.McKayasked me to help. And I am,” Spencer told him. When the elevator opened to the Cavendish offices, he stepped between Montgomery and her, placing his hand on her back.
“Thank you,” Hartley said, but she stepped away from him once in the hallway. The time to play games with Montgomery was over. Now was the time to get her shit together and get Cavendish back on track.
As the elevator whirred behind her, probably called down by Eli and Claire, she strode into the boardroom and turned on the computer. This was an all-hands-on-deck situation, and all of her Sigma sisters had better be ready to roll.
“I’ve got more phones coming later today,” Montgomery said as he caught up to her, pointing to the devices on the table.
“That’s a good idea. Thanks for volunteering the tech,” she said, looking at him with no malice and no hint of the melancholy that lurked in her gut.
“It’s not just…” He trailed off, a look of regret in his eyes. “I didn’t do it out of the goodness of my heart, but we can talk about that later.”
