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They decided the easiest thing to do was pretend Ryland felt ill from something he’d eaten earlier. He could realistically disappear for up to twenty minutes and then return.
It would work, he decided. No one would question an upset stomach or, God forbid, the dreaded traveler’s diarrhea.
???
Later that evening, Ryland sent Jackie a slow, sexy smile full of promise then took a sip of his wine. He was pouring the charm on thick and using every trick in his seductive arsenal to disarm and enchant her. He needed their room number and he and Harper were pouring the sugar on, setting the groundwork for a night of promised sensuality.
The other couple seemed to be taking the bait.
And, although Ryland wanted to dig for information, he knew it was next to impossible considering the scenario. Tillman wasn’t sharing his real name and was going by two different aliases. There’s no way he’d share anything remotely personal and true about his life in the real world.
So, instead, they laid on the charisma and magnetism and sought the information he needed first and foremost. Thirty minutes later, Ryland grinned broadly when Tillman invited them to his and Jackie’s room for a nightcap.
Ryland slid a questioning look in Harper’s direction and she nodded. “I think we’d both enjoy that very much,” he answered.
“Very much.” Harper echoed.
“Wonderful,” Jackie said. She’d been eye fucking Ryland all throughout dinner and he tossed her wink. “We’re in room 401.”
Bull’s eye.
Armed with the intel and invitation he needed, Ryland flirted a bit longer, patiently waiting for the right moment. When the time came to make his move, Ryland claimed his stomach was bothering him, excused himself from the table and passed behind Tillman’s chair.
“Oh, and sweetheart,” Ryland said, stopping…slipping a stealthy hand into the side pocket of Tillman’s jacket…smiling at Harper…palming the keycard. “Please, don’t let me eat any more pineapple.”
Harper giggled and shrugged her shoulders at Tillman and Jackie. “My bad. But it might be worth it later.”
“You’re always worth it,” Ryland said, then walked in the direction of the restroom. Once he was out of their sight, he veered left.
Room 401. Not too far away, but not close either. Ryland picked up his pace, checked his watch and hustled through the lobby, heading for the nearest hallway where the guest rooms started. He jogged forward, determined to make good timing so he could return and save poor Harper from those two sharks. Because they were probably already circling her like chum in the water.
Once he reached 401, he ignored the Do Not Disturb sign and easily opened the door with the stolen keycard. After stepping inside, he quickly closed it and latched the security bar. Tillman and his partner were slobs and he had to step around clothing strewn everywhere, open luggage, scattered shoes, leftover room service and wet towels. The large bed was unmade and they clearly hadn’t allowed housekeeping inside.
Scanning over the mess, searching for Tillman’s laptop, he spotted it on the side table beside a mug with sludgy, cold coffee still lingering in the bottom. Wrinkling his nose, Ryland sat down on the chair’s edge and removed the small external drive from his pocket. After connecting the short USB cord to Tillman’s laptop, he initiated the cloning process.
Best case scenario, he could get the job done in ten minutes. Narrowing his eyes as he watched the intel moving over, he realized it would take about seventeen minutes to copy the 100GB hard drive.
“Shit,” he mumbled under his breath. It was definitely longer than he wanted, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Ryland just hoped Harper could hang in there and he’d return as soon as possible.
???
With Ryland gone, Harper’s level of discomfort skyrocketed. She felt like a gazelle being circled by two hungry lions. Tillman and Jackie made no qualms about letting her know they were ready to play some switch-up games. Harper did her best to act interested and ready to have fun, but inside she wanted to cry. They were creeping her out with their heated looks and she was twisting her napkin in her lap.
Ryland will be back soon,she told herself.Dig deep and channel Meryl.Oh, hell, who was she kidding? She needed to channel a porn star.
She just had to hang in there a little longer and then they could get the hell out of there.
???
“Motherfucker!” Ryland hissed. Halfway through copying the hard drive, the computer froze. He didn’t have time for this shit. Yanking the cord out, he tried to start the process all over again.
But it wasn’t working.
Nostrils flaring, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Banshee.
“What’s going on, Rip?” Banshee answered.
