The Mercenary Next Door (Rogues and Rescuers #2) - Lucy Leroux Page 0,67

the last civil interactions they’d had.

“I’m hoping he left it on,” she said, aware her hopes were pinned on a very flimsy premise.

“What if he has his phone at the frat?”

Laila shrugged. “If he does, then I’m going to steal his laptop. He has it set to backup over the air to it daily.”

Rosamie nodded, understanding lighting her eyes. “And I’m guessing you know that because you set that up for him too.”

“He is something of a Luddite.”

Joseph had always had people to do the little things for him growing up. Now he either simply paid them or relied on his charisma and connections. People tripped over themselves to helped him. It had made her a little uncomfortable when they were together. Now she downright hated the way the world worked.

Like you were any better than his groupies. But at least her efforts to be a good girlfriend served a purpose now. If they could provide her with a clue, she might find a way forward out of the twisted mess.

“What will Mr. Muscles say when he finds out what you did?”

“You mean what we are doing,” Laila reminded Rosamie pointedly. “And I’m hoping we find something concrete so he can say congratulations.”

Her friend raised a skeptical brow. “Like that will ever happen. I think it far more likely he’s going to spank you—hard.”

Rosamie’s very pointy elbow poked Laila in the ribs. “Try not to enjoy it too much.”

Laila huffed. “And I think you are projecting. Also, now I know entirely too much about your new relationship.”

Rosamie snorted. “Somehow, I don’t think either Ransom or Mason are going to pat us on the head. But at least you aren’t trying to do this alone.” She tugged on her purse strap. “It’s also a good idea we’re packing.”

They didn’t have guns. Though Rosamie had gone to the shooting range once or twice with her old boyfriend, Laila didn’t know how to use one. Instead, she had Rosamie’s stun gun. It was the handheld kind that had to be had pushed against your assailant, so she’d asked Laila to ‘borrow’ something that didn’t require getting up close and personal from Ransom’s collection.

Unlike Mason, who didn’t appear to keep any weapons in his house, Ransom was something of an aficionado. He’d shown off his firearms to Rosamie. Although he kept them locked up, there were some he didn’t secure—like the projectile stun gun that could be shot from a distance.

Laila nudged Rosamie, urging her to her feet. The security guard was on the move, about to take his lunch break. “Remember, if Joseph is there, don’t let him see the stun gun. We’re only there to pick up my forgotten textbooks.”

The ones she had already sold back to the campus bookstore. But she didn’t think Joseph knew that. It wouldn’t occur to him to sell any of his books back at the end of the quarter.

With affected casualness, they crossed the street, entering the lobby. Laila paused at the mailbox, tempted to check for her mail as she put on her winter gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.

“No,” Rosamie reminded. “If we do find his phone or computer, he will eventually miss them. And you don’t want to let on that we were ever here.”

“Good point,” Laila muttered, eyeing the camera at the entrance of the hall that led to the elevators.

“This camera and the ones in the elevators are the only ones here, but it doesn’t cover where we’re standing.”

“So, what do we do?”

Laila pressed a finger to her lips. On silent feet, she edged along the wall, making sure to stay out of the camera’s range.

There was a small, upholstered bench a few feet from the corner. Dragging it without looking as if she were dragging it, she let go of it just underneath the camera.

“Keep an eye out,” she said, taking the opaque silicone caps out of her bag. She’d grabbed them from Mason’s kitchen. They were meant to close up bottles of varying sizes, but she hoped one would fit the camera like a lens cap.

“Is anyone watching?”

Rosamie hurried to the door. “Nope, go ahead. But hurry.”

Fumbling a little, Laila stretched the cap over the lens…and it popped right off.

“Are you sure there is no sound?” Rosamie stage whispered.

“No, they are pretty old closed-circuit,” she said as she struggled with the next largest cap—this one was far too big. C’mon. They couldn’t afford to be caught on camera.

Besides the single man posted in the lobby, the rest of the building’s