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My knees go a little weak, but Nico holds me upright as he finishes fastening my pants while Caden straightens himself.

When we open the door, Eli leans against the wall waiting. He smirks and reaches for my hand.

“You’re late for lunch,” he says.

I glance back at Nico and Caden and they both give me wicked grins. “I need to stop at the bathroom.”

Eli leads me over and opens the door to see if anyone is in it. When he’s satisfied I’ll be alone, he holds the door open. Grabbing the front of his shirt, I drag Eli in with me. If I’m already messy might as well enjoy myself.

CHAPTER 53

High Value Asset Protection

Eli

Fuck. My dad’s words still echo in my head. Zach Gray is out on house arrest. I need you to promise not to go anywhere near him, Eli.

Oh, I promised, but I didn’t promise we hadn’t already planted cameras in the asshole’s house. It’s Thursday night, two weeks after the Homecoming bonfire and we’re at Jack’s. Not nearly enough time for that asshole to stew in jail. But it took them almost a week to convince a court or bribe a judge that letting him out was a good idea.

“There goes the FBI van.” Jack zooms in with the camera facing the road. A new van pulls up.

They have someone watching Zach’s house. Someone has been there since the Sunday after the Homecoming dance. They don’t believe Zach acted alone. So they’ve been watching his father.

But Alec Gray has proclaimed his innocence and claims that property must have had squatters living in it. The FBI collected several samples of DNA from the farmhouse, but it’s going to take time for them to process all of it.

We know what really happened out there, and there are probably plenty of people in town who know, but what proof do we have? And what would it cost someone if they came forward?

You don’t go against William Foster and win. Ever.

“We’re all set up.” Jack hits a button, and the screens all pop up in real time on his monitor. “Will’s planning on monitoring it. He wrote a script to activate the screen with movement in it. It should minimize the amount of video we’ll need to review.”

Harper sits on the bed with her arms wrapped around her legs. Her chin rests on her knees as she watches us. Caden has his hand on her shoulder, grounding her. Luke leans against the wall, watching her closely, waiting for her to break.

We went to our first therapy session last week. I don’t think Mary was quite ready to deal with the six of us. She listened patiently while we went through everything that happened.

We’re working through the steps she laid out for us, but it’s going to take time. She scheduled one-on-one sessions for all of us as well. Definitely not looking forward to that.

“Do you really think this is necessary?” Robert’s voice is outside Jack’s door.

Jack switches his monitor off and swings around in his office chair as we all wait for the knock on the door.

“If you want, we can go home.” Jennifer’s voice is purposefully loud enough for us to hear. Maybe to alert us to the parents on the other side of the door. While most days we might need the warning, today we have other concerns to focus on.

Harper turns her head to watch the door. Nico gets up from the chair and sits next to her on the bed. He’s allowed more time off his crutches now and does his physical therapy religiously. The brace helps him move. He’s getting stronger by the day.

Luke straightens from the wall on Jack’s other side.

“Rob, you have to consider it from their perspective,” my dad says. He’s become a frequent fixture at Jack’s. I swear I see him more now that he and Mom are getting divorced than I did in the past two years.

“They’re teenagers.” Robert whispers. “They only think with their hormones.”

“And I can pack them and their hormones up and have them back in my house in an hour if you can’t handle this.” Jennifer’s cool and confident.

What would it take to secure Jennifer’s house? We still have the security system set up. It’s been quiet, but neither Jennifer nor Harper is there right now. We’re all nervous about them going home. But eventually they will. Maybe once Jennifer isn’t on nights anymore.

“It’s not necessary, Jenn.” Robert’s voice is weary, like they’re wearing him down.

“I’d offer our house for them, but Nora’s still there. Her arraignment is tomorrow.”