The Princess and the Guard (Book 1)

Thirteen

Juliette chewed the end of her stylus, her brows furrowed in concentration. She tucked one of her legs beneath her, leaning back against the wall. Beyond the door, where everyone was training, she could hear the faint grunts and groans, voices carrying, and skin hitting the canvas punching bags. She wanted to peek inside and see what it looked like, but the door was closed and she didn't want to draw any attention to herself.

She'd been working on breaking into the Canadian governments' secured network all morning. Numbers and letters and passwords had blurred together, making her eyes burn. She was just over halfway finished, and it was already two in the afternoon. Odette threatened to punish her if she didn't finish it by the end of the day. She thought it would have been fairly simple, but now Juliette was starting to grow anxious.

She thought maybe going for a walk, or coming to see Noah, would help clear her mind and give herself a much needed break, but she was just as on edge now as when she was in her room.

A rush of anger flooded her brain, a guttural cry tearing its way up her throat. Juliette hurled her tablet across the hallway as hard as she could, just as the door flung open and Noah walked out. Sweat trickled down her temple, her hands trembling.

Noah almost laughed. He was panting, his sweat-soaked shirt clinging to his stomach and shoulders. He looked exhausted. "What'd your tablet do to you?"

Juliette stood up, the fury melting in an instant. "Nothing, I just got... frustrated," she said with a head shake.

Noah stooped for the abandoned tablet and handed it back to her, checking to see if it was cracked. "Another program?"

"Of a sort," she mumbled, feeling the heat on her face. She waited for Noah to say something or ask her why she was upset. Thankfully he didn't comment on it.

"I'm done for the day; I was going to go make something to eat, care to join me?" he asked, casting a glance around.

Juliette eagerly nodded, falling into step with him.

"What are you working on today?"

Juliette hesitated. She didn't want to tell him, not because she was afraid he'd talk about it to other people, but because it was embarrassing. She was snooping, breaking into a private network for the purpose of letting Odette listen in. If she refused, Odette would no doubt bring someone else in who could, but at least she would have been slowed down. "Just another generic program." Juliette twirled a piece of hair around her finger, glancing around to make sure they were alone. "I've been looking into the model of Philip's ship, and those specific engines have tracking equipment built into them," she said, lowering her voice.

Noah slowed.

"That doesn't mean it can't be disabled, but it's not as simple as the newer models where it's a separate housing unit that can be removed and replaced without touching anything else. As soon as I go back to my room, I'm going to look into downloading some blueprints and see if I can learn more about what it takes."

Noah nodded. "I was going to do some work on it tonight as well. If I move it far enough back in the garage, it's outside the security camera's line of sight. Don't suppose I could talk you into coming down there with me?" he asked, almost hesitantly.

Juliette tried to stifle a smile, her cheeks warming. "I'm not sure what's going on, but if I can, I'd love to. It would be helpful to look at it in person so I know what kind of computer to be building."

Noah nodded to the cabinets as they neared the kitchen. "Hungry?"

She shook her head. "No, I should really work on what Odette gave me before she gets upset and throws another fit."