I raised my eyebrows. “You’ve already called Dmitri?”

“Yes.” The old gate creaked as he opened it. “And then shut down the phone. Didn’t want PIT knowing we were still in the area.”

I followed him up steps that bounced and groaned under our weight—an indication that this house wasn’t all that far off from becoming as skeletal as the others on this street. “I’m surprised you didn’t toss it.”

“Oh, I thought about it.” He opened the door and waved me in. The house was an old Victorian and, as such, had a central corridor from which all the rooms ran off. Stairs to the first floor were on my right, with a bigger room at the end. Grime and rubbish lay everywhere, and many of the old floorboards had been torn up. The smell of smoke lingered heavily, suggesting that not too long ago, someone had used the boards to fuel a fire.

I headed up. Things were a little better here—the floor was at least in one piece, although many of the walls had been kicked out and either the ceiling had been pulled down or had simply collapsed in two of the three bedrooms. I walked down to the room that overlooked the grasslands and the trench. Lights blazed from guard stations at either end of the street, but this portion of the trench remained in shadows.

I leaned a shoulder against the wall. “How does Dmitri intend to get past the sensors?”

“By building a bridge that spans above both them and the trench.” Jackson glanced at his watch. “He’d said he’d be here about midnight, so not long to wait.”

I raised an eyebrow, a smile teasing my lips. “So we’re just going to stand around and watch the dust stir?”

“Oh, I’d love to do more, trust me on that.” His tone was dry. “But this is hardly the ideal time or situation.”

“A fire fae admitting there is—occasionally—an inappropriate time for sex? I’m shocked.”

“So am I.” He shook his head, his expression one of mock horror. “Especially as the words are coming out of my mouth.”

I smiled. “I’m guessing some tender ministrations will be required to remedy the situation once we get out of here.”

“Or not so tender.” His grin flashed. “Because let’s be honest here, the dam is so full, the first release is likely to be hard and fast.”

My pulse skipped along happily at the thought. “I think I can handle that.”

“Good.” He motioned toward the backpack. “Why don’t we make use of our time and see what those laptops have on them?”

I swung the pack from my shoulder and opened it up. After handing him two of the computers, I sat down and booted up the third. It immediately asked for a password. Fuck.

“Similar story here.” Jackson shut down the computer and started up the last one. “Ha. Better luck this time.”