Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
He pulled her into a hug, murmuring something in her ear that made her smile.
“So, what now?” I asked, wanting a clear answer, a path through the messy feelings of anger at our parents for abandoning us and sympathy for Sarah Sawyer, trapped by her love for her sons with a man who everyone seemed to agree had been a monster.
“We wait to hear from Cooper,” Griffen said. “See if he can find your father. And I think we need to talk to Edgar and Harvey.”
“They’re your best bet,” Miss Martha agreed. “They knew Sarah well—I’d say they cared for her to a degree, and they were certainly around all the time back then, even more than they are now. I don’t know that much went on in this house that they didn’t know about. Especially as it pertained to Prentice’s business. If Paul Williams was working with Prentice, they would have known.”
“They’ll be here for Sunday dinner,” Hope said. “I’ll ask Uncle Edgar to come early. If I do it, he won’t be suspicious.”
“Surprise attack?” Griffen asked, sliding an arm around his wife’s waist. “I like it when you’re devious.”
She grinned up at him. “If Uncle Edgar knows anything, we’ll find out.”
“I like your optimism,” Griffen said, “but I’m not sure I agree. Edgar knows how to keep secrets. My guess is we’ll have better luck with Harvey.”
“Well, we’ll find out either—” Ford’s words were cut off as the house went silent, lights flicking off. The sun streamed in through the windows on the other side of the room, but the overhead lights were out, the hum of the furnace quiet.
Griffen’s phone sounded an alert. “Power’s been cut at the road,” he said. “Backup security systems operational.”
“What do we do?” Ford asked.
“Nothing,” Griffen said. “We stay put.” He stared at the screen of his phone intently, brows drawn together. “Scarlett and Stella are in the safe room on the lower level, along with Finn. Hold on.” He tapped his screen and held it out in front of him so the rest of us could see the feed from the security camera, in high resolution and full color. “Hawk says we have eyes.”
“How is that working if the power is out?” I asked, squinting at the small screen.
“Security systems have their own power, independent of the main system,” Griffen said. “Same for the network they run on.”
We watched on the small screen as a figure in blue jeans and a dark brown hoodie used a small blowtorch on the tall fence beside the gates to Heartstone.
Griffen rolled his eyes. “Good move on cutting the power where they did, but this is just sloppy. Hawk’s people have the house secured,” he said, reading a message that popped up at the bottom of the screen. “West is on the way. Ryder, Wren, and Eli are closing in on the gates.”
The figure with the blowtorch—it was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman, given the angle of the camera and the way the hoodie was pulled up—wasn’t making much progress. The gates weren’t just for show. They were solid.
“They would have done better to go around and try to cut through deeper in the woods,” Griffen murmured. It was almost funny the way the intruder’s head snapped up as the gate swung open silently.
West’s SUV came into view, cutting off the intruder’s retreat. There wasn’t any sound on the video, but I watched as he exited his vehicle, gun drawn, shouting at the intruder to put down the torch and get their hands in the air. The intruder turned, holding up the torch menacingly. West didn’t flinch at the flare of flame. He held his weapon steady on the intruder and repeated his order.
Griffen’s phone screen was small, but I could see West’s expression. He didn’t look scared; he looked confident, almost smug. I saw why a second later as Ryder, Eli, and Wren appeared—Ryder and Wren rounding the gate, weapons drawn. The sudden show of force sent the intruder stumbling back in surprise until their shoulders hit the bars of the fence. Eli’s hands shot through and closed around the intruder’s throat.
It was all over after that. The intruder dropped the blowtorch. West got his cuffs out and arrested them.
“That happened faster than I expected,” Griffen said.
“The newest assassin trying to get the bounty by killing me?” Ford asked. “Or West and Ryder and his team taking him down?”
“The first,” Griffen said. “West getting here so fast was lucky, but Ryder, Wren, and Eli could have handled it without him if they had to. Cleaner to have West arrest him, though. I thought we’d have another day or two before the next attempt on you.”
“I’m going to go get Stella,” Hope said, turning for the door. I imagined she’d feel better once she had her baby girl in her arms.