Need remote access. Villa 7. Ten minutes.
He’d already contacted her with his plan to sneak and peek, maybe grab intel—after the restaurant, while waiting for Chloe to change.
The response came back immediately.
Coco
Ready when you are. Don’t get caught.
All he needed was physical access to Volkov’s computer for sixty seconds, and Coco would do the rest.
He’d almost reached the villa’s lower deck when footsteps rustled behind him.
“Going somewhere without me?” a voice whispered.
Skeet spun around. His stomach dropped.
Chloe emerged from the shadows, still wearing the black swimsuit from earlier but now with dark shorts and a tank top thrown over it, water leeching through, her blonde hair tousled. Blue eyes flashed with irritation. She held her new burner phone, picked up at the airport earlier today.
“What are you doing here?” He kept his voice low, but it emerged as a growl.
“Following my partner, who decided to go on a solo mission without telling me.” She crossed her arms. “What did you think I was going to do when I got out of the pool and found you gone?”
“Stay safe. Stay in the villa. Stay out of trouble.” The words came out in a whisper harsher than he intended.
“Wow. Three for three on things I’m terrible at.” She moved closer. He caught the scent of salt water from the pool. “So what’s the plan, partner?”
“There is no plan for you. I’m handling this.” He glanced back toward Volkov’s villa, where lights still blazed in the upper windows. Volkov’s companion lay on a lounge chair on the deck by the pool on the first floor. “This won’t take long. I just need to get in and out before he gets back.”
“Right. I’m pretty sure I remember you using the wordtogetherearlier.”
“This is different.”
“Is it? Or are you just so terrified of failing again that you’d rather shut me out than risk having help?”
Wow.He turned to face her. Jaw tight. Fine, if that’s how she wanted it. “I’m terrified of getting you killed.”
“Yeah? Ditto. Let’s do this.” She gestured toward the villa.
Skeet closed his eyes. Breathed. Opened them again to find her watching him.
“Fine.” His voice came out rough. “You stay here. Don’t move. If anything goes wrong, you run back to our villa and call North. He’ll get ahold of Ham.”
“What exactly are you planning to?—”
“I spotted Volkov at the terrace restaurant when we returned to our villa. And he’s still there. It’s now or never.”
“To do what?”
“Get into his computer. Upload files to Coco so she can work her magic.” He studied the villa’s layout, noting the security cameras that swept the main entrances.
Chloe followed his gaze. “How are you planning to get in?”
“Climb.” He pointed to the villa’s bamboo slats that formed a natural ladder up the exterior wall. “Those support beams will hold my weight.”
“That’s insane.”
“That’s why you’re staying here.”