Wade on edge. “I brought the scanner along.”
He had no idea what that meant, but it didn’t sound good. “And?”
“You were such an adorable little boy, especially in that picture where you’re dressed in the sailor suit. How old were you then, four? Five?”
He mentally groaned. “You scanned my childhood pictures?”
Austin’s eyes widened. “She what?”
“Tell you later,” Wade replied. He didn’t feel like catching fire from two sides, at least not yet. He’d tell his brother later, once he was finished getting skinned by his sister.
“Oh, don’t be silly. Why would I only scan your pictures?” He could hear the smile in Larissa’s voice as she moved in for the kill. “I scanned all of the family albums. You know, in case there’s a fire or flood.”
Fucking great. She’d weaponized their baby pictures.
“So if you ever pull a stunt like this again,” she continued, “I’m going to start posting throwback pictures on each and every one of the Six Points social media pages. For the record, which one would you like me to share first: the sailor suit or the one where you’re crying on Santa’s lap?”
His gut twisted. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, you know I would. On second thought, maybe I should start with your prom pictures. You were such a cutie back then, even with the braces.”
Wade made a low, pained sound as he remembered the powder-blue tux with the pink bowtie and cummerbund that his date had picked out for him because they matched her dress. What was her name—Cheryl, Sharon? It didn’t matter; that was a lifetime ago. “All right, you win. I’ll never leave the fucking house again without getting permission from you first. Happy?”
“Delighted.” She laughed, and the tightness in his chest loosened. “I assume you didn’t call just to let me know you’re still alive.”
“Correct,” he said, grateful for the change of subject. “We’re inside Aranza’s compound.”
There was a moment’s pause before Larissa said, “Is he…”
“No, he bolted before we got here. No serious injuries on our side, but a few of Aranza’s goons won’t be going home tonight,” he added before she had the chance to ask if Austin and the guys were okay. A dozen or two of Aranza’s men were dead, but Larissa didn’t need to know the exact body count. “We searched the compound and found a laptop, but it’s password protected. Think you could break into it?”
She made an unladylike sound. “Now you’re just trying to offend me.”
“Sorry, I forgot the eleventh commandment: Thou shalt never doubt thy sister’s computer skills.”
“Smartass. Power it up while I access their Wi-Fi.”
“How do you know which—never mind.” Knowing his sister, she’d started tracing the call the second she realized it was him. And considering there wasn’t anything else in the area, it wouldn’t take much to pin down which Wi-Fi belonged to the compound.
Wade sat in the chair behind the desk. He pressed the power button to get it out of sleep mode, and while he waited for the laptop to come alive, he could hear Larissa tapping away on her keyboard.
“Holy crap, their Wi-Fi doesn’t have a password,” she muttered as she continued to type. “Who in their right mind builds a secret lair and doesn’t password protect their internet?”
“Not everyone’s an evil genius like you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she drawled. “Is the laptop ready?”
“Uh…yeah. It’s on the screen where you enter a password. How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Not long.” The sound of rapid-fire typing carried over the phone. “I could probably talk you through the steps to do it yourself, but it’ll be faster this way.”
“I feel like I’ve just been insulted.”
She laughed softly as she continued to work her magic. “No, it’s just not your strong suit. By the way, how’s Dr. Chandler?”
“How do you know about Dr. Chandler?” Then the answer dawned on him, and he slanted a glare at Austin, who grinned in return. “Forget I asked. She’s fine.”
More typing. “Do you like her? I heard she’s pretty.”
“Whether I like her or not is irrelevant,” he said, and even he didn’t believe that. “She’s an asset. The only reason she’s here is because she knew where to find Aranza.”
Larissa snorted, a clear indication she wasn’t buying his bullshit but didn’t call him out on it. She muttered a few creative curses under her breath. “Okay, I’m in. Is there anything in particular you’re hoping to find?”
Wade checked his watch. Eighty-seven seconds. The woman was a miracle worker. “Yeah, I want to know where the