Close Range Christmas by Nicole Helm (ebook reader for laptop TXT) 📗

“But he was involved with Ace. Which means there could have been areas of the Sons he was involved in. We just don’t know enough to make that assumption. But if he’s blaming Cody for his work with North Star, and North Star’s work was taking down the Sons, there has to be some connection.”

“We only arrested Ace because of Cody and North Star’s help,” Jamison said. “It connects to Ace, even if it doesn’t connect to the Sons. He’s not going in age order with these letters. Or escape order. He’s going in order of our involvement with Ace as adults. How did Ace going to jail start? With me helping Liza get Gigi out of the Sons. Which led us to the trafficking ring. Cody’s North Star group was taking out their main guys, and the two of us coming together on that is what sent Ace to jail.”

“I could have killed him,” Cody said flatly. “I didn’t.”

“We have to remember we don’t know what Ace told Anth,” Sarah said. “We can only operate on what we know, but Ace could have told Anth anything. Truth or lie or a combination of both.”

“But if he let Dev go all those years ago, helped Dev escape being killed by Ace, why would he... Why?” Liza said.

“Helping me escape doesn’t have to mean he’s good. I think the past twenty-four hours proves he’s not. We know the games Ace liked to play. This is another game. I think it also proves it isn’t sudden. Anth has been planning this out for a while. Maybe since Ace died.”

It was a terrible thought. If he’d had that long to plan, how could they win?

IT WAS A long night. It took a while for the girls to settle back down, and a while to clean up the mess of the glass. No one was too keen to go back to sleep in their rooms, but Dev convinced Sarah to lie down in his since there was no window. Felicity, Liza and Nina were all in the girls’ room though he doubted with the cramped quarters and worried minds anyone was getting any sleep.

His brothers certainly weren’t. They had someone at every entrance point on the lower level. Dev couldn’t help but think the brick had been meant to scare them more than anything—a reminder AW could reach them whenever and however.

“How would he know which rooms we’re sleeping in?” Dev wondered aloud. Dawn was beginning to break outside the large living room window he was guarding. Cody was leaning against the front door, eyes trained out the small sidelight window.

He looked exhausted. They probably all did. Another thing Anth likely wanted.

“No idea.”

“It’s weird though. Not just your average weird. With all of us here, we’re not following any normal plan. Duke and Sarah never spend the night here, so there’s no protocol to follow. Only the kids are in the room they’re usually in, and he didn’t go after them.”

“Thank God,” Cody muttered. “He touches my daughter, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“So, how? How did he know which room you and Nina were going to be in? How did he know to throw the brick in that window?”

“Could be a coincidence.”

“Doubt it.”

“I do too.” Cody sighed. “There’d be no floor plan on file. The ranch isn’t ever empty enough for a break-in, and like you said, we’re not using our normal rooms anyway. I guess he could have planted a bug? But it’s not like we talked about what rooms we’re going to be in.”

“No, and I don’t think he can hear us. If he could... I feel like there’d be...more. He’s cutting through your tech, but maybe that’s because he’s had time to figure it all out.”

Cody nodded. “I can put up new stuff, but it’ll take time. All the tech we’ve got involves the outdoors. The cameras, the lights—they’re outside. He can’t get in, or hasn’t tried to, but he’s messed with what’s outside. He can’t hear us in here, but what if he can see us?”

“What? Like X-ray vision?”

“No. No.” Cody clapped his hands together. “Like my cameras. Not just taken out but rewired. Repurposed.”

“That’s possible?”

“It’s possible. Especially if he’s had so much time to plan.” Cody stepped away from the door. “It’s getting light out. Watch my back while I—”

“You can’t go out there. You’re a specific target.”

“I’m just going to check the cameras on the porch here.”

“No, you’re going to sit tight.” Dev gave one last scan of the front yard he could see from the window, then strode for the kitchen. Gage was at the back door and Tucker was looking out through the window over the sink. “Cody thinks he might be getting our locations from the cameras and wants to go out and check.”

“I don’t think anyone should go out now that it’s light,” Tucker said.

“But if we can figure out how he knows what rooms we’re in, isn’t it worth the risk?” Gage replied. He stomped on the floor three times, a sign for Jamison to come up from the basement.

After a few seconds, Jamison stuck his out of the doorway into the basement. “See anything?”

“Cody thinks Anth might have tampered with the cameras and that’s how he’s getting an idea of where we are. He wants to go check it out.”

“Not alone,” Jamison said resolutely.

“We’re trying to figure out how.”

Jamison nodded. “All right. We’ll have to assess. Together. Block all the doors except the one Cody wants to go out.”

“What about windows?” Tucker asked.

“Close the curtains for now. If it’s going to take too long we’ll put lookouts back in place.” They all moved to use the kitchen chairs as door barricades, then went to the front, where Cody was still looking out the door’s sidelight, both dogs whining at his feet.

“I don’t need to be out long. I’ll just pull the camera off and bring it inside and see if I can find any evidence of tampering.”

Dev didn’t like