Page 31 of Lethal Weakness

Chapter Eleven

O’Connor

The noise of a party is the perfect cover to get inside the mansion without being noticed. Sticking to the shadows along the outer rooms that aren’t in use, I can get close enough to get a bug in the other office.

As easy as it would be to eliminate two corrupt people, getting all the players involved too makes more of a difference.

I slip inside the parlor that is across the hall from Merrill Scott’s office, and wait for my opportunity. She didn’t opt for a room with a balcony like Edmund, and that’s made my task significantly more difficult.

I’ll be exposed once I enter the hallway. It’s brightly lit and right around the corner from the party, so I need to be sure I’m alone.

I stand motionless for more than five minutes, letting the sounds of voices ebb and flow past the hall. No one has come down this far; most guests probably wouldn’t dare, but I need to be sure.

I crack the door that leads into the hallway, scan my surroundings, and coast to the other side silently with my lock pick in my hand. As suspected, the office door is locked, but nothing I can’t crack easily.

I’m encapsulated in darkness and behind a closed door again within seconds.

I don’t turn on any lights; I’ve grown accustomed to navigating through moonlight, and there is ample of that streaming through the large picture window.

Merrill Scott’s office is in pristine condition. Not a paper out of place, or a speck of dust on any surface. There is a lone desk in the middle of the room with one monitor atop it.

I know enough about computers to insert a bug within the mainframe that won’t be detected and will read the files once she logs back in.

The hard part will be breaking back in later to retrieve it.

Another bug goes in the bookcase along the far wall, hidden within the decorative plants.

Tonight’s task is complete as long as I can get out without any issues.

But just as my hand grips the door handle, preparing my escape, voices grow, coming closer.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

My fist tightens on the knob. I know that voice.

“Me? This is my family’s home.”

This has to be the shit bag ex.

“You know that I don’t have a choice to be here.”

“I want you to come back home.”

“That’s not happening.”

Their voices get louder, coming closer to the door I’m hiding behind.

“Do you realize how fucking stupid I look going through a divorce, losing my job, going through rehab?”

“That’s on you. Not me.”

“Fuck you, Linden.”

My entire body is primed, ready to pounce, even though my brain is yelling at me to stand down. This isn’t my fight. I can’t blow my cover.

But if he lays a finger on her…

“I’m taking Avery home now. Nice of you to even ask about your daughter.”