It was a long shot, Morgan knew, but it was a risk she had to take. She needed something…anything that would prove that Gregg was lying to her. That he’d gotten himself in way over his head. If the ledger was locked away, perhaps she could find something else just as damning. At least, that’s what she was praying for.
That only left the question of what she was going to do when she found the evidence. She’d been trying to figure that out from the moment she’d stormed out of his office earlier.
Well, that wasn’t totally true. There was that amazing few seconds when she was distracted by the heavenly feel of Ty’s skin against hers. And how that wicked sparkle in his eye made her feel all giggly inside.
She had to admit, the guy was a special kind of amazing. Something about him made her tingle all the way down to the tips of her toes.
She was only half serious when she’d told him to stop wasting his attentions on her. A big part of her didn’t care if it was all an act. She just wanted to sit back and lap it up.
But she had bigger things to worry about right now.
She could only hope the man kept his side of the bargain and stayed out of her way so she wouldn’t have to worry about him.
Just like she was keeping to her side…
But her situation was different. She couldn’t go to the police until she had evidence. They’d only ask questions and then Gregg would destroy whatever he was hiding. And she’d be right back where she started.
That wasn’t completely true. She’d be in a hell of a lot more trouble.
The way Morgan saw it, she didn’t have any choice but to break the deal.
She’d tried to talk sense into Gregg today, but he’d refused to listen. Not only that, but she’d actually thought he might get violent. She’d never seen him like that before. Sure, she’d known her brother to pitch a fit, but he’d never thrown anything at her.
She honestly couldn’t say what would have happened if Ty hadn’t come in when he did.
She couldn’t think about it right now. Not Gregg. Not Ty. She needed to concentrate.
Morgan slipped the paper clip inside the lock and pushed it around, waiting to feel the click the little internet thief had been talking about. She twirled it around the compact space. Waiting for the click. The release of pressure.
Nothing.
She twirled again.
Damn the video guy. He’d said this was easy. Nothing to it. Just a little jiggle here. A little poke there. And open sesame. What hope was there for the world when you couldn’t trust an anonymous internet thief?
Morgan glanced at the clock. Five minutes had already gone by. She only had another five.
If she was lucky.
She closed her eyes. Drew in a deep breath. And tried again.
Click.
There it was. Thank God.
Snap.
The paper clip snapped in half.
Shit.
Morgan’s jaw fell open. She stared at the broken piece of metal pinched between her fingers. The other scraggly half was poking out of the jagged slot.
She dropped the half in her hands and grasped the other end. She tugged at it, but it didn’t move.
No. No, no, no.
She pulled harder but it didn’t give. Not a fraction of an inch. The damned thing was well and truly stuck in there. She dug at it with the pin in her other hand, but it refused to budge.
Her legs were starting to shake under the strain of holding the squat, but she tried again. True, it would be awkward as hell to be caught by someone in this ridiculous position, but it would be near impossible to talk her way out of why there was a snarled sliver of metal sticking out of Gregg’s lock.
She had to get it out of there. She had to.
A door hinge creaked behind her. Someone was coming. She had time for one more try.
Morgan tightened her grip and pulled with all her might. Her fingers slipped off the end just as the bottoms of her canvas shoes slid against the slick linoleum floors. She waved her arms in frantic circles at her side for a half second before her legs gave out underneath her and she crashed down hard onto her ass.
She stared at the rows of fluorescent lights above her, just in time to see Ty step into view.
Double shit.
His mouth was a tight line. He didn’t look amused, but he still extended his hand toward her.
“You want to tell me what you’re doing?”
“Nothing stupid,” she said, as she took it.
“Of course not.” He effortlessly pulled her off the floor.
“You’re supposed to be working. What are you doing back here?” She gave deflection a try.
“Minding my own business.”
“Really?”
“You’re just lucky that lock picking is part of my business.”
“Who said anything about lock picking?”
“The question is who the hell told you to use a paper clip?” he said, narrowing his eyes as he examined Gregg’s doorknob. “Of course it broke. It’s way too thin.”
“Wait,” Morgan said, shaking some sense back into her head. “You know how to pick locks?”
He smiled, and she fought back the wobble in her knees.
“We all have secret talents,” he said.
“I obviously need to do better background checks.”
“You have no idea.”
“What does that me—”
The hinge behind her creaked again.