Page 40 of Chasin’s Surrender

There had been a time when Nixon, Jameson, Weston, and Chasin all lived in the old farmhouse. Now Chasin was the last one there. Nixon moved in with McKenna, her farm butting against Nixon’s land. Weston and Silver bought the house next to Nixon and McKenna, ditto with their land bordering the Swagger farm.

Jameson moved to Kennedy’s, and when Alec had moved to Kent County, he purchased a house and piece of land that used to belong to Kennedy’s family, making Jameson and Alec neighbors with their land adjoining as well.

Holden still lived in his prized Airstream even though there was plenty of room in the farmhouse, where Chasin lived alone.

His eyes scanned the area around the mansion, seeing Jameson’s truck and two rental cars. He took in the large front yard, the pier, and he did this with his chest tight. It was too easy to gain access to the property. The house was situated at the end of the street. The iron gates that did not lock were visible, the street busy with foot traffic because there was a public dock at the dead end. A dock the locals used to sit and relax on one of the many benches scattered around.

The weather was warm, the citizens were out and about, the geese that made the river home attracted people young and old, out to enjoy the wild beasts. And to make matters worse, the Schooner Sultana was docked front and center. The reproduction of the merchant vessel was one of the many things that drew tourists to the small town.

The old house was too exposed, even with the new alarm. He wanted Genevieve away from the social epicenter of Cliff City. Away from prying eyes that made it impossible for her to go outside. He knew she was used to locking herself away in her home studio to create her music but the woman needed to get out of the house.

Chasin turned off his car and cracked his neck, his one tell that frustration was mounting. Earlier, he’d learned that the detective in Tennessee wasn’t just a shit detective, he was an asshole, too. The file he’d sent over was so light, it was damn near empty. This was because, Detective Loughry hadn’t taken Genevieve’s situation seriously, to the point he’d basically blown it off as a fan doing what fans tend to do—write fan mail. Then when the tone of the letters changed, he still hadn’t taken it seriously because the dick had thought it was a PR stunt to help boost record sales.

How the fucker thought that was the case, when nothing had been leaked to the media, was anyone’s guess. It was obvious, Bobby along with Genevieve’s publicist had worked overtime to make sure no one caught wind of the story. Yet, Loughry had still done minimal police work, as in nil.

That was, until the break-in. Not that he’d done much with that either, but it was more than he’d done with the letters and gifts. So Chasin and the team were starting from zero. The bright side to that was, they didn’t have to scrounge through someone else’s notes. Bad thing was, the dick hadn’t done anything in the last year to make this end for Genevieve.

That pissed Chasin off.

And he had bad news to deliver, which only added to his irritation.

Leslie Briggs had lied not only about her brother’s arrest, but also about two other bodyguards she’d recommended to Bobby.

Thankfully, they didn’t have police records like Leslie’s brother did, but they lacked experience—as in, they had none. The two guys were simply buddies of Chad’s and needed a job so Chad had hit his sister up and the bitch had assigned them work. Not only had they guarded Genevieve, but several of the label’s other clients.

The jury was still out on Detective Loughry and if he had anything to hide. McKenna was digging in to him this afternoon. However, Chasin had already scratched him off the list of possible suspects simply because some of the letters had been sent from the cities Genevieve had been touring in, and the detective had been in Nashville.

But that didn’t mean that Chasin wouldn’t like to put the screws to the asshole for not doing his job, which meant a bad situation had turned seriously bad and had slid to dangerous.

Movement at the side door caught his attention. He watched Jameson exit the house and prowl across the porch, face set in stone.

What now?

Chasin folded out of his Charger and was slamming the door when his friend stopped near the hood and waited.

“Why the look?” Chasin prompted.

“Wiring in that house is fucked. Only half of the house was rewired sometime in this century. The back of the house, including the kitchen, formal living room, and dining room are jacked. And the electrical box is a mess, as in it’s a damn fire hazard. I can finish the system, but with the bad wiring, a cut-rate amateur with a little bit of know-how will be able to bypass it.”

A slow smile pulled at Chasin’s lips. Genevieve might not like it, but damn if this didn’t work in his favor.

“Sucks you wasted half your day, but I can’t say I’m all that beat up about it.”

“Did you hear me? Half the house has no door or window sensors and the other half can be breached.”

“Guess I’m gonna have to take Genevieve to the farm.” Chasin shrugged.

Jameson took him in for a beat before he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

“And Bobby?”

Fucking shit. He’d forgotten about Bobby.

“Maybe I should call Jonny?”

Jameson’s smile faded and he shook his head. “Two things,” he started. “Right now, where Jonny’s head’s at, that would not be a good idea. That woman looks like she could handle herself, but the way Jonny is, he’d chew her up and not mean to do it. Second is, I find it doubtful you’re separating those two. They’ve been in there giggling their asses off for the last hour. That is, after they were done picking you apart. Good news for you is, Bobby’s on your side. Bad news is, Genevieve shared what a twat your mother is. It’s not a secret but it’s not something you often talk about, so I was shocked as shit you’d told Genevieve in the first place.”

Jameson was not wrong, Chasin rarely spoke about his mother. However, he wasn’t concerned that Genevieve had told Bobby, especially if that meant he had an ally in Bobby.