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Shianne and Spencer chatted, but she stopped listening when Tate stepped forward and asked softly. “Is this what you want? Me as your date, not Spencer?”
“Yes. Why would you think otherwise?”
His cheeks heated and the soft smile that graced his lips seemed as though he was surprised and, she hoped, happy. Then it dawned on her that this morning, Spencer had complimented her, and Tate must have thought she was interested in Spencer.
She thought only women jumped to conclusions.
Chapter13
Tate’s phone rang, and he reached for it from a deep sleep. “Vickers.”
“Tate, it’s Baxter. Those fuckers are out at the site, damaging the pipe we just installed.”
“We’re on it. Call the sheriff.”
He sprung from his bed and ran out to the hall. Rapping on Spencer’s door, then Henry’s, then Aidyn’s, he yelled. “Gotta go.” He continued down the hall to Maya and Adelaide’s rooms. “Trouble at the construction site.”
His teammates all sprang from their beds, and he ran back to his room to dress. Within ten minutes, they had loaded into two vehicles and headed to the construction site. He drove his truck and Henry drove his. Aidyn was in the back seat of his truck, checking ammo on weapons and making sure they were ready.
He heard the sirens blaring and arrived at the construction site just after the sheriff. In the distance, vehicles revved their engines. He rolled his window down and listened to them tear up the road.
He stopped alongside the sheriff’s vehicle, and they exited as the sheriff shined his light on the pipe where there was some slight damage, but nothing appeared beyond repair.
Baxter turned to him. “They didn’t damage as much as they wanted. I think we’re going to have to go up the mountain tomorrow and talk to Everett Howard. We can’t have this. I’ll need a couple of you to go with me.”
Tate nodded. “I’ll go with you.” Aidyn responded next. “I’ll go too.”
Maya stepped forward. “I’ll stay here the rest of the night in case they come back.”
Henry agreed. “That’s a good idea. I’ll stay with you.”
Tate looked around at the fencing, seeing the damaged links and holes cut into it. “So the fencing doesn’t keep them out. Might have to construct a concrete wall around the base.”
“Believe me, I’ve thought of it. Getting anyone from the government to agree to that is like pulling teeth. They just keep telling us to handle the people of our town. They don’t listen to the fact that they aren’t from our town, and we have little control over them.”
Tate turned to the sheriff. “What happened at your meeting with the town council the other night?”
The Sheriff scratched his forehead. “The council is in a spot. They’ve declined the tax deferment due to a lot of pressure from the mayor and believe the BRR won’t come up with the money to pay the taxes. I simply don’t understand why they think the BRR will just move on. It isn’t going to happen and no matter how much I try to explain it, they don’t want to hear it.” The sheriff rubbed the back of his head. “At the same time, the council doesn’t want to start a war. That’s exactly what they’re doing by not approving the tax deferment. We have some younger members on the council right now and many of them weren’t around during the previous war. And memories fade.”
Aidyn shook his head. “So, basically, the council is taking the coward’s way out by not doing anything but expecting money to be forthcoming. What happens when the BRR brings the war down the mountain?”
The sheriff looked at him and Tate actually felt sorry for the man. He was caught in the middle with little authority to do anything. “I don’t know Aidyn. I just don’t know.”
Aidyn glanced at him, and his jaw tightened. He shook his head, then turned around and surveyed the area.
Henry and Maya walked the perimeter of the area where the BRR was messing around, and Tate looked at his crew. “As soon as Henry and Maya feel the area is secured, we’ll head home.”
Baxter looked around, then his eyes landed on Tate. “Your cameras helped us out this time.”
“It appears so. From this point forward, we’ll also be on site twenty-four-seven. Henry and Maya will stay the rest of tonight. We’ll go back to a regular schedule tomorrow. We’d thought the cameras would be enough, but we’ll need to be more diligent.”
“Thank you for that. I appreciate it.”
Henry and Maya came back from their perimeter check. Henry nodded. “It’s all good. We’ll be around all night. If we can get the keys to the office, we can stay in there, monitor the cameras from inside, and we can look around every hour if we feel something’s amiss.”
Baxter pulled the keys from his pocket and pulled the office key from his key ring. “I’ll get new ones made tomorrow for each of you.”
They loaded up and said good night, then drove home. Tate looked at Spencer, “We should have a camera feed here at the house, too. That way, we’ll be aware before Baxter.”
