But I can’t leave it open in case they try to get in. I close out the webcam and log out of Caden’s computer before anyone else can access it.
Harper’s mom comes through the door and looks at all of us. It’s two in the morning. All of us look rumpled from sleep. Well, except me. I haven’t been to bed yet.
Her arms cross over her chest as she looks at each of us.
Harper stands, still in her sleep shorts and Luke’s hoodie. “Someone broke in.”
She looks out the windows before returning her gaze to Harper’s. “Where are the police?”
“It was a girl from school.” Harper twists her hands together. “She must have done something to the alarm system because it went offline.”
Jennifer massages the back of her neck. “It’s the middle of the night. Practically morning. And my house is full of boys.”
“Why are you home?” I ask.
“They had someone else come in so I came home early.” She watches me closely, but she’s not happy about any of this.
“We came because we wanted to find out who was in the house.” Eli rubs at the stubble on his chin.
“Instead of triggering the alarm and letting the police handle it?” Jennifer shakes her head. “What if they’d had a gun? What if they really were breaking and entering? What if any of you got hurt? Do you not understand the risks you took? Isn’t that the whole reason you installed the alarm system?”
Harper wilts under her mom’s words.
“The system failed.” I lean back in the chair and close Harper’s laptop. “The girl who broke in obviously wanted to get caught and for us to get caught by you.”
I meet Harper’s brown eyes as she puts it together.
“Someone is fucking with us all.” Luke stands behind Harper, not touching her but close enough she can feel his strength. “You were called into work on a night you shouldn’t have and you were released early, just in time to find all of us here, because our intruder was someone we know whose uncle happens to be the chief of police.”
Jennifer sinks into a chair at the table.
“This isn’t random.” Eli takes over. “She said they’ve been watching us. They know if Harper is in trouble, we’ll all be there for her. We’ve been trying to get ahead of the game. To be on the offense instead of always being on the defense, but it seems impossible. They never leave a trail.”
“Except this time.” Everyone turns to look at me. “I can track the attacks and there was someone in Caden’s room. Hopefully, I have video.”
“My dad is home tonight.” Caden curses silently. “He’d have access to my room.”
“So would Ava.” Nico blows out a breath. “We don’t know her motive for returning. But it seems a little too coincidental.”
“You guys shouldn’t be worried about all this.” Jennifer’s brown eyes are filled with concern. “You should all be sleeping, worrying about acne and grades and girls and boys.”
“Not with our fathers.” Caden faces Jennifer. “You of all people should know what our fathers are capable of.”
Harper’s brow furrows in confusion.
With everything we’ve had to go over, we haven’t told Harper about the yearbook Caden found of his mother’s. After Jennifer mentioned attending Sherman High, we looked into it. Though they weren’t in the same grades, Jennifer went at the same time as our fathers.
“What do you mean?” Harper asks. Luke steps up so her back touches his front, but doesn’t put his hands on her. His fingers twitch like he wants to. She reaches back to take his. Their fingers interlock.
“Your mom went to school with our dads,” I explain.
Jennifer blows out a breath. “I knewoftheir fathers in high school. We weren’t friends. I doubt they even knew who I was. But they were popular and ruled the school.”
That shouldn’t surprise any of us. They were on the football team as well and dominated on the field. It’s why all of us went to the same football camp from a young age.
“Is there any other crisis tonight?” Jennifer lifts her head and looks at each of us. “Do you need notes for your parents about why you were out late? I’m sure none of them would dare ground any of you.”
Caden chuckles. “No, they wouldn’t. We need to be more careful on the webcam.” He focuses in on Jennifer. “You didn’t get that laptop yet?”
