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“So we’ll be breaking in?” Nadia questioned. We all knew the cops wouldn’t just leave the place. They’d mark it as a crime scene, surrounding it with yellow tape.
Shai shrugged. “Think our big, bad attorney can keep us out of trouble?”
“Yeah. Don’t get caught,” Nadia replied with an arched brow.
Shai chuckled.
“See you guys back at the ranch,” Charity called out. We looked over to see her and Susie getting into a car.
“Thank you,” Aria yelled across the distance.
“Don’t mention it,” Charity said in her gruff way, slamming her car door.
I was so grateful we’d had her these past few hours. I hoped she was going home to get some sleep. She deserved it. While she was at it, maybe she could get in a few winks for me. Now that the adrenaline and caffeine were wearing off, I could feel the weariness of the day creeping in. But we still had so much to do.
“How long do you think the cops will take?” Nadia asked, her voice sounding as tired as I felt.
“Hours,” was Shai’s quick response.
“Do we have another trail to follow?” I asked. As much as I hoped the answer was yes, a small part of me would be thrilled to hear no so I could reacquaint myself with my bed.
Shai shook her head, seeming discouraged. But honestly, we’d all probably work better after a few hours of sleep.
But then I had an idea I couldn’t ignore. “What about the house? There has to be a house on the same property as the tunnels, right?” I asked.
I had no idea what the Beast Boys’ setup had been like, but it only made sense. As far as I knew, there were no unowned plots of land in the Hills.
Shai nodded. “But I’m sure the cops are questioning the owners of the house as we speak. If they aren’t yet, they will be soon. And I’m also sure they’ve had enough of us for one night. If they find us in their way again, even Colt might arrest us for obstruction, now that Aria is safe.”
We all looked to Nadia.
“I could get you all out by morning,” she said, but that wasn’t very promising. None of us wanted to spend the night in jail, even if we only had a few hours of night left.
“And honestly, the owners might not know anything. When I was out there, I didn’t see a single house. Some of these properties are huge, aren’t they?” Aria asked.
Shai nodded again.
“But wouldn’t they know that people have dug tunnels through their property?” I asked.
“They probably know. But we’ve seen the way the Beast Boys work. They very easily could have found someone struggling to make their mortgage and offered to cover it for them if they looked the other way. The owners would have only seen their mortgage paid off and not had any other contact. They would know nothing. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but history with the Beast Boys tells me it’s something along those lines. They’re too good at covering their tracks,” Shai said.
We exchanged glances. That did sound exactly like the Beast Boys’ M.O.
“So we have nothing?” I asked, feeling discouraged but also so exhausted that my eyes were drooping. Since the adrenaline of the past hours had faded, it left me drained.
“I guess I should have gone home with my family,” Aria said, her tone light.
Shai smiled. “You can still catch them.” She gestured to where the last of Aria’s sisters was entering the Burke car.
“Bella!” Aria called out.
Bella paused and Aria took a step toward her, then turned back to us.
“We’re really going to break for the night? Or are you three getting rid of me?” Aria asked, her underlying question impossible to miss. She was wondering if we were sheltering her because of what had happened.
“There’s nowhere left to go, for now, and I’m about to fall asleep standing right here. Besides, we would never do that to you,” Shai promised. “You’re one of us, and we need our whole team.”
Aria seemed appeased.
