23. Melissa

CHAPTER 23

MELISSA

SAME DAY – brING IT ON!

A fter breakfast, I left Marko and headed up to our room for some stretching and yoga. I then spent the next couple of hours running through the gymnastic moves I'd need later.

Though it had been a while since I used these skills on a job, daily yoga kept me fit, and years of gymnastics made the moves second nature. Traversing a laser beam assault course, however, was the real challenge.

I'm slim, but my big boobs made squeezing through tight spaces a challenge. Each tight space was awkwardly positioned between laser beams that could burn me and trigger alarms. The skin-tight suit I wore helped by flattening my chest a bit, but extreme caution was still necessary. So, I practiced relentlessly all morning.

Afterwards, I grabbed a glass of milk from the kitchen to help settle my stomach and curled up on the bed with my laptop.

Nervousness gnawed at me. I couldn't remember being this anxious. Working with Dad in the past, I always felt confident. My role had been supportive, and I relied on his expertise to get us through. This time, I was the lead, with Marko as my support. That shift made me nervous. Not because I doubted Marko—I trusted him completely—but because, for the final layer of the MP's security, I'd be on my own. And it was up to me to secure the information we needed.

The main problem I had with that was remembering the sequence for setting up the gadget Marko gave me to download the MP's hard drive undetected. It wasn't complicated, but I kept getting it muddled. I'd devised an acronym to remember it, and it had worked until this morning. Now, my mind kept blanking.

I'd been staring at it for over an hour, repeating the acronym and its meaning in my head. One moment I was sure I had it, the next it was a complete blank.

Finally, I gave in and wrote the acronym on the inside of my wrist. That should help. Now, I just had to remember what it stood for. I glanced at it again, relieved it hadn't rubbed off.

God, I needed to get a grip. I had to stay calm and trust that when the time came, I'd thrive under pressure as usual, not crumble as I feared.

I didn't want to get through all this only to fail at the crucial moment. We'd be pressed for time inside the secret office, and if I couldn't remember what to do, we'd be doomed.

Nothing could go wrong. The thought of failing Marko and his family was unbearable. They'd been so good to me, welcoming me into their fold over the last three weeks. I didn't want to let myself down, but even more, I didn't want to let them down. They had put their trust in me, and I had to prove myself worthy.

Despair washed over me, and I clenched my fists, taking a deep breath to keep from screaming. Closing my eyes, I took another deep breath, and willed myself to relax. I imagined the warmth of my dad's reassuring hug, just like he always gave before a job, and felt a sense of calm.

It was going to be okay. I was overthinking and worrying for nothing. Marko had the hacking skills, I had the burglary skills, and Miki was a brilliant strategist. With the rest of the team, we'd pull this off. I hoped. Fingers crossed! Everything crossed!

I opened my eyes just as Marko pulled me into a tight embrace. His arms around me were comforting and his presence reassured me that everything was going to be okay.

"It's time. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Bring it on!" I said, my nerves replaced with a surge of excitement.