Page 75 of Blissful Devotion

He can sound however he wants; I’m not buying it. He’s not exactly sleeping either, and I know for a fact he didn’t sleep last night.

My face must tell him exactly how much I believe him, because he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, offering it to me with a smirk that makes me suspicious.

The screen lights up, and I’m met with a screen that’s split into six.

It takes me a second to understand what I’m looking at, either from lack of context or lack of sleep; I’m not sure it matters.

“This one.” He leans down over it and presses the center-right square, which makes it grow to fill the screen.

The video is of the little library/den back at the house. It’s one of the smaller, cozy rooms with books, a TV, a few of Desmond’s video game consoles, and a fireplace. It’s a room that Kat loves, and that doesn’t seem any less true today.

She’s on the floor, blankets and pillows all over the place, but instead of being on them, she’s got her head resting on Oliver’s leg. His hand appears tangled in her hair, his back against the chair, eyes closed, and I can’t hear anything, but I’d guess they’re asleep.

Damn.

“See.”

Nathan doesn’t even try to hide his smug satisfaction, and I’m sure he’s not shocked when I flip him off, not after how long we’ve been friends and all we’ve been through.

I watch for a few more minutes, unable to look away, needing time to convince myself that it’s real, that she’s safe.

“Are these the cameras Spencer and Oliver were working on?” I ask as I reluctantly hand his phone back.

“Yes. Most of the house has them, so we can check in wherever we are.”

“How much of the house?” I’m not sure I want the answer, but I also feel compelled to ask.

“Every room, but they don’t all have recordings. Only rooms we deemed important for security do.”

That sounds reasonable, but I know better than to be fooled by his appearance.

“So your office has recordings so you can watch them back later?”

His smile is sharper, his eyes darker as he meets my gaze, and I have my answer before he even opens his mouth.

“Of course. What if someone were to take me for ransom?”

I roll my eyes but don’t play his game. I know what he’s doing, and the last thing I want is to sit on a plane with just the two of us for four more hours, hard as fuck at the thought of her and what he might do, of what I might be able to watch him do.

Fuck.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I fish it out and find a message from him.

“That’s the link to access it. I have your phone and the rest of them set in the system so you're pre-approved, but anyone else will need to request access that only Spencer or Oliver can give.”

I’m tempted to put my phone away and leave the link unclicked so I don’t give in to the temptation that comes with this new ability.

But as tempting as it is to use these cameras for other things, I know they will also be helpful.

“Does she know about them?”

“No. Though she knew we had cameras already, didn’t she?” She did; they have gotten her into trouble a few times now and given Alex and Des a hell of a show the day I took her to see Nathan, from what I heard.

If I thought she might actually mind, I’d probably feel worse, but she’s never even hinted at caring. In fact, she’d seemed to enjoy the thought of them watching when Desmond had teased her about it.

Before I can second-guess it more than I already have, I click the link. It redirects me to an app that has way more than six squares, each labeled with the name of the room or area they overlook.

“Damn, they were thorough.” I scroll through, glancing at them but not really looking too deep. I don’t even know what I’m looking for until I see it.