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A Game of Chance
by Emma Shortt

Copyright © 2018 by Emma Shortt. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Chapter One

Meg Marlowe narrowed her eyes as she peered around the corner of the building she was hiding behind. She wasn’t sure what was in the building—a law firm, a real estate office—it didn’t really matter. She’d chosen it because it was directly opposite her target, X-Tech Towers.

The bastards.

She’d been watching the back door of X-Tech for more than fifteen minutes now—fifteen loooong minutes, and as well as sizzling with a month’s worth of pent-up anger, Meg was getting antsy.

“This is taking forever,” she mumbled. “For-ev-er.”

Her longtime friend and co-conspirator, Kate Kelly, let out a sigh as she too shifted to try to get a better look at X-Tech. Only, the space was pretty cramped—what with them trying to be sneaky and all—and she lost her balance. She tried to steady herself on Meg’s shoulder, aimed too high, and ended up pulling on her wig instead.

Meg let out a little yelp. “Katie!” she hissed, tugging the wig back into place. “Be careful with the disguise.”

Kate stepped back, her face bright red. That was not an unusual occurrence. Kate always turned red when she was flustered. “Sorry,” she whispered as she scooted along the wall. “Didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s fine,” said Meg, patting the wig down as she followed her friend. “They can’t see us around here.”

“They might not be able to see us,” Kate replied. “But we can’t see them, either. We’ve been waiting here for ages, and Jimmy is nowhere in sight.” She frowned. “Do you think maybe you got the wrong time?”

Meg shook her head even though, in truth, she’d been thinking the exact same thing. She’d wracked her brain since they’d arrived, trying to remember exactly what time Jimmy had said. Only their “date” had been almost a week ago, in a dimly lit bar, and she’d drunk far too many pineapple-and-peach cocktails. She thought she remembered him saying seven thirty on the dot, but she might—maybe—have made that up after the fact.

“You’re sure he said half past seven?” Kate prompted.

“Yeessss,” Meg said, drawing the word out. “I’m totally sure.”

Kate reached up and gave Meg’s wig a tug. “He’s late then. Guess we have no choice but to wait a little longer.” She tugged again.

“Will you stop doing that,” Meg said, swatting Kate’s hand out of the way. “The wig is fine.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “It’s slipping.”

Meg sighed because Kate was right. In truth, she was beginning to suspect that the wig was a bad purchase decision. Every time she moved a bit too fast or swiveled a little too quickly, she could feel the damn thing sliding down one side of her face. Still, it was necessary. She could hardly sneak her way into X-Tech looking the way she usually did. The jig would be up in a minute.

“I should have bought the real hair option,” she said after a moment. “This was so much cheaper though, and you know I love a bargain.”

“I know,” Kate said. “But let’s hope your ‘bargain’ stays on your head once you actually get inside.” She paused. “I can’t believe we’re really doing this. I mean, I know we talked about it, but now that we’re actually here doing it…”

“We’re not doing anything,” Meg said. “You’re only here as the getaway driver.”

Kate grinned. “Yes, but that’s still a ‘we.’ How are you going to get away otherwise?”

“I’d walk.”

“Which would totally ruin the whole vibe.”

Meg gave Kate’s arm a squeeze. Despite her words, she was grateful that Kate had offered to come along on this mission. X-Tech Towers was at least a half-hour walk away from the nearest bus stop, and Meg was not a fan of walking anywhere other than to her computer.

“It’s a good job Will talked you into learning to drive,” she said, referring to Kate’s boyfriend. “Finally.”

“He got sick of being my chauffeur.”

“He’d never get sick of anything where you’re concerned.”

Kate’s grin softened into something that Meg would, if pressed, have to describe as an uber-gooey smile. That smile had been pretty much fixed on her friend’s face for the past year, so Meg was well used to it. Kate was happy and that made Meg happy…even taking into account the shit storm she now found herself in.

“I should be coming in with you,” Kate said. “Doesn’t feel right, you going in there alone.”

Meg snorted. “Will would kick my ass if he found out I’d dragged you into my criminal enterprise.”

“It’s hardly criminal,” Kate said. “This is a mission for justice.”

“Yeah,” Meg agreed. “But I doubt the cops will take that as my excuse if I’m caught. Besides,” she added, giving the wig one last pat, “I’ve got my disguise going on. No one is going to know that I don’t belong in that building.”

“You’ll be careful, right?”

Meg nodded. “Stealth. That’s my new nickname.”

“And you’re only going to do what we discussed,” Kate continued. “You’re not going to do anything silly?”

“When do I ever do anything silly?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Hourly. Daily. All the time.”

“I’ve already had my stupid quota for the day,” Meg said. “It was a rookie mistake to drink when Jimmy and I were concocting our plans.”

“You were nervous,” Kate replied.

“Stupid,” Meg said. “And…” She trailed off. “Do you hear that?”

Kate nodded, her eyes widening behind her huge glasses. “It has to be the signal. Three taps, right?”

“Was that two or three?”

“Why don’t you shut-up so we can listen?”

Meg snapped her mouth closed. A moment later she turned, her heart racing, and crept along the wall. She could feel Kate moving behind her. Her friend was practically twitching with excitement. Meg could feel herself twitching, too. Was it excitement in her case? Or was it nerves? She wasn’t sure, but she shivered as she peered around the corner of the building.

The back door of X-Tech Towers was open. A flashlight was shining weakly out of it through the last of the day’s light. The second part of the signal. Jimmy had stuck to his promise…albeit a little late.

“This is it,” she said, her heart giving a little thud in her chest. “Time to get moving.”

Kate grabbed her arm. “Be careful.”

“Careful is my new nickname,” Meg said.

“I thought it was stealth?”

“It can totally be both.” She laid her own hand on Kate’s. “One hour, remember. If I’m not back by then you get moving.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

She gave Kate’s hand a little squeeze, patted her wig one last time, then stepped out from behind the building. The space between the two was pretty much empty, just the odd dumpster and pallet, so Meg didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her jog across. Good thing, too. Meg was wearing sneakers, and she hardly ever wore sneakers. In fact, she rarely wore anything less than three inches, and it felt like her body was off balance, which probably meant her jog looked a bit weird.

“X-Tech’s fault,” she muttered as she rounded a dumpster. “They are so going to pay for this.”

She reached the back door a few seconds later, had just enough time to turn and give Kate a double thumbs-up, before she was pulled inside. Jimmy was waiting for her, and he looked distinctly flushed.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, shutting the door and turning the flashlight off. “They asked me to clean out the conference room on the third floor, and I don’t know what they were doing in there, but it was covered in streamers and it took me a half hour.” He stilled, eyes widening, mouth dropping open slightly. “What’s happened to your hair?”

Meg gave him her most winning smile. “It’s my disguise,” she said. “What do you think? And don’t worry about being late. You know how grateful I am that you’re helping me out.”

Jimmy smiled and shifted from foot to foot. “Your hair always looks pretty.”

“Thanks, Jimmy,” Meg said, ignoring the guilt that was now giving her a forceful prod. Jimmy had been a customer at the computer store that she and Kate ran for years. He’d been asking her out on and off since they’d met, and Meg had always said no, because despite his passion for computers and his nerd credentials, he was so not her type. But a week ago he’d let slip about his new job, and Meg had realized that Jimmy was her key into X-Tech. And yes, she felt bad about accepting his “date,” but she’d had no other option. There was only one way into the building and only one way to get her problem resolved.

“It’s up here,” Jimmy said, gesturing to the staircase. “Come on.”

Meg followed behind him, looking around as she did so. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected the inside of X-Tech Towers to look like, but it wasn’t this. When the building had been renovated a few years back, the local newspapers had run story after story about how awesome and modern it was going to be, but to Meg it looked like every other corporate hellhole she’d ever stepped foot inside—all beige, bland, and boring.

“Oh, I forgot!” Jimmy paused at the foot of the stairs and pulled a swipe card out of his pocket. “I made this up for you last night. It’ll get you through all the doors, but it’s only going to last for an hour. They have a program that updates the permissions, and at the next update it will kick yours off the list. I made it look like an expired pass. It was the only way I could think to do it.”

“They should be employing you in their tech department,” Meg said. “Not as a janitor.”

Jimmy shrugged. “I’m just grateful for the job.”

The guilt gave Meg another prod as they made their way up the stairs, one flight, then another, then another. By the time they were on the third floor, she could feel herself sweating. She took a deep breath and pulled at her loose-fitting shirt. It felt ever so slightly damp, and Meg knew it wasn’t just due to the unaccustomed exercise. Now that she was actually inside X-Tech, Meg was more nervous than she’d imagined she would be. Technically, she was intruding. Technically, what she was doing was against the law. Technically, she could totally be arrested if anyone caught her in the act…

“I’ve got to leave you here,” Jimmy said, coming to a halt. “I have to finish the offices on this floor. Floor three is my patch.”

Meg nodded slowly and looked up. There were still seventeen flights of stairs to go. “So just carry on?” she asked. “Right to the top floor?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy agreed. “That’s where the management suite is. The pass will get you in, but you have to be back out before the hour passes.” He paused. “If you’re any longer than that, you’ll be trapped up there, and then they’ll realize that you’re not one of the cleaning crew.” Another pause and Meg realized that Jimmy was beginning to look as tense as she felt. “They’ll realize what we did.”

“I’ll be in and out in no time, I promise,” Meg said. “No one, and I mean no one, is going to know that I was ever here. And even if they did, you know I would never in a million years rat you out. The cameras are only in the main offices, right? The stairs are clear?”

He nodded. “Yeah. There aren’t any in the management suite, either.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Meg said, patting her wig. “Once I’m up there I’ll be in disguise.”

“Make it a good one, Meg,” he said. “I need this job.”

“Scouts honor.”

“You were never a scout.”

“I kissed a few, does that count?”

He sighed. “Be quick.”

And because the guilt was joining the sweat as it slithered down her spine, Meg lifted herself on her tiptoes and gave Jimmy a quick peck on the cheek. When she pulled back, he was beaming. That wide smile was the last thing she saw as she made her way up the next flight of stairs.