Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
I opened a few boxes as Nathanial explained some common threats, like bears or encroaching humans. The goods in the boxes were from established production cairns, and none of them were great. I got why no one had picked them up.
“Raids are really the main threat,” he started before Patty cut him off.
“Oh yeah, here we go,” she said in a loud voice, her excitement rising. “I have heard amazing things about the leader of this cairn.” She clearly remembered which cairn it was from despite having hidden the name. The excitement in her eyes dulled as she glanced at Austin. “Well. I guess that doesn’t really matter for you. But Nessa, this might interest you. The leader was a bit wild in his younger years, but he’s smoothed out in all the right ways. I hear he is a real looker with a very big…”
She paused before clearing her throat.
“Fun factory,” Nessa supplied.
I opened the box to find a patterned piece of fabric in soft pink and brown. Pulling it out, I realized it was a cashmere scarf.
“Fun factory, yes.” Patty took the scarf from me as I checked out what was beneath it. “Oh my goodness, it’s so soft. And look at the pattern. Very chic.”
Next was a snow-white sweater in the same material, fantastically soft and exactly my size. I said as much, rubbing it along my cheek.
All typing stopped. Eyes found me. Tumultuous emotion filtered through the bond.
“What?” I asked, pausing.
“It could be a coincidence,” Jasper said slowly. “It’s not like her size is uncommon.”
I pulled out the next sweater, this one a deep blue green with a slightly popped collar. Spreading it out, I realized it wasn’t meant for me.
I handed it off to Austin.
Having finished his burgers, he’d put the plate on the coffee table. Even so, he wiped his hands a second time before reaching for the sweater. A moment later he pulled it over his head and stood—the fit was absolutely perfect, which was not easy with his wide shoulders and trim waist.
“Maybe not a coincidence,” Jasper mumbled.
THREE
Jessie
“Mr. Tom, you order various articles of clothing for the house,” Sebastian said. “Do you keep a list of sizes?”
“Well, of course I do,” Mr. Tom replied. “I write them all down in my ledger.”
“And then I enter them into a spreadsheet that is backed up to the house cloud,” Ulric said, scratching his chest.
Niamh looked across the space at Sebastian, who was looking at Nessa.
“I’m going to need access to everything on that cloud,” Sebastian said. “I need to know what other people might know. Jessie, do you keep financial information anywhere online?”
“N-no,” I said, alarmed. “Mr. Tom has me write it in a big book—”
“A financial ledger,” Mr. Tom supplied.
“I’ve been meaning to do some sort of online bookkeeping—I don’t even know who our accountant is—but I haven’t had a chance.”
“She has personal account information online, I reckon,” Niamh said. “The house’s bank accounts are online in various countries.”
Sebastian nodded, lightly tapping his fingers on his knees. “It’ll be interesting to see how far they might’ve gotten. It takes a damn good hacker to get into a bank’s system.”
“Why are we worried?” I asked, clutching the edges of the now-empty box. “We don’t have anything to hide.”
Sebastian swung his gaze my way, the wheels in his brain clearly turning. “The game is to know more about your opponent than they know about you,” he said, taking out his phone and starting to tap on it. “We want them guessing about you and this house. About your crew. What they do know needs to be used against them, if at all possible. Meanwhile, we can leverage what we know about them. It’s a dance, Jessie. An elaborate dance. There is very little room for error.”
“Niamh,” Nessa said. “I hope you are checking into their social media accounts. That’s the low-hanging fruit that can help us shape our strategies.”
“O’ course I am,” Niamh replied. “Do I look like an amateur?”
“This just got very intense.” Patty looked around at each of us with wide eyes. “I can help, of course. Any information you need spread, you just look to me. Misinformation, I mean. Things that will confuse them. I know how gossip works. Just a kernel of truth, and you have a believable story.”
Nessa didn’t look up from her computer as she pointed at Patty. “Ace in the hole, right there. Excellent skill, Patty. We will absolutely use it. I’ve tried for something similar in the past and no one believed me.”
Patty beamed. “Well, anyway. Venavin, that’s the cairn name. The leader, Pierce, was trained in Aadath, Nikken’s production cairn—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Nessa put out her hands. “That’s a lot of names flying at me.”
“Pierce was trained in one of the most affluent production cairns,” Patty summed up. “Now…there are some rumors as to why he left, but no grievances have been filed by either the affiliate cairn or production cairn. I don’t know the real story, but he’s the most eligible bachelor of the new guys, and he knows it.”