Gaming for Keeps (Entangled Ever After) by Seleste deLaney

guys are on it. Seriously, it should be fixed this afternoon.”
    He held his breath to prevent the words he wanted to yell from spewing out. Teeth clenched, he finally said, “And we need those tickets for tonight .”
    “Uh-huh. And that’s why you’re the computer genius.”
    Cal focused on keeping his breathing steady. This mission was sailing to Tartarus in Hades’s hand basket. He thought of Pen, and of Megara somewhere in this same damn con. If anything happened to either of them, he’d never forgive himself. Pieces started to clack together in his mind. It wouldn’t be perfect by any stretch, but as long as the ticket would pass detection, that was all that mattered. “Fine. I can do this, but I need you two out gathering supplies. I need the best printer you can find. Buy it, abscond it, I don’t care, but I need quality…” He rattled off the list of equipment he’d need to rig something worth trying. “And tell the damn tech guys to hurry. This may not work at all.”
    “We’re on it. Delivery within thirty.” Marissa punched in a text rapid-fire.
    “E-mailing Marron an update now,” Trevor said as he pulled out his phone.
    “Good.”
    Trevor turned from the window and said, as he stalked away, “And if we can manage without any more stupid costumes, it’d be a bonus.”
    Marissa leaned in close to Cal, her voice lowered to the throaty growl he was sure had undone more than one mark. “We have to get into that screening—as quietly as possible. If Takamaki knows we’re coming, this whole thing is fucked. We’ll get your equipment, but make sure those forgeries are top-notch. I’ll scope out the screening room with Trevor and figure out which entrance to aim for.”
    She snagged another bite of shrimp, then stood and sauntered off to the very appreciative stares of pretty much every guy in the place. Cal let out a sigh of relief. He still had some time before they were back with what he needed; maybe with them gone he could steal at least a couple minutes with Penelope. When he scanned the crowd, though, she was gone. Shoulders slumping, he turned back to his food. It was probably a bad idea anyway. Work first. Then he could find her again.

    After rigging things as best he could, Cal had to get out of the room. He’d spent more than two hours prepping everything. Now all he could do was wait and pray. He found Pen’s room number and knocked on her door, but—no surprise—she wasn’t there. Only a few more hours until the screening, and the distraction he wanted most was hidden in the crowds of people.
    He killed some time in the fitness center and showered there to keep from hovering over the machine in his room. Stepping through his doorway at last, Cal was greeted by a high-pitched whirring. He threw the door shut and raced to the desk. His workstation was just as he’d left it, but the printer he’d rigged to create the holographic film was jammed, the special ink gumming up the works. Before he’d even popped it open, the thing coughed, sputtered, and died.
    The guts of it were fried and smoke filtered into his room. Melted plastic stuck to everything inside. The plastic wouldn’t budge, so Cal grabbed a screwdriver and fitted it beneath an edge, gently prying it from the drum. Maybe if he was really careful…
    The plastic came free and flew out of the printer, but with the sudden pressure change, his screwdriver jerked, gouging into the drum.
    “Shit!” It would take hours just to get it functional again—cleaned up completely and a new drum installed…if he could find one. Plus there was no guarantee he wouldn’t wind up with the same result. There wasn’t enough time. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and dialed the field office.
    “Marron.”
    “Josh, we have a problem.” Cal didn’t even bother with the machine. There had to be a better option than what he was facing at the moment.
    “What now? I thought you had things under control.”
    “I did, but my