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Later that day, Jac was discussing with Garrett and Monroe what had happened. When he saw Levi and Finley with Storm,he waved them in and scooped up his son. After a few moments of playing in his daddy’s lap, Storm scooted off and went to a toy box in the corner. There were multiple boxes, just like the one in this room, all over the house.
“So, I hear you had a junkyard greeting this morning,” said Monroe.
Levi grunted and sat down, pulling Finley down with him. The shocked expression made Garrett laugh. “Not used to being part of a couple yet, I see.”
Levi smiled. “She’s working on it. Cash is more hands on than I am, but we are both learning.” He let her up when she’d sat for a couple of minutes.
“Where do you think the yard decorations came from?” asked Garrett.
“Don’t know. I’m more interested in figuring out how they got it on the lawn.”
“Could they have thrown it over the fence?” asked Monroe.
Jac crinkled his face. “Maybe, but they went all the way to the front steps so no way a person can throw that far. No way we wouldn’t have known by the noise. They should have set off the alarms. I think they were able to just walk in past Kaz.”
“And disable the alarms on the way? What did he say when you talked to him?” asked Levi.
Cash strode in. “I can answer that. We haven’t found him yet. He might have another job and that would good because he doesn’t have this one any longer. Unfortunately, he wasn’t home.”
Jac’s angry face matched Cash’s, but he had better control. Cash was pacing. Jac spoke calmly. “Charlotte is trying to locate him from the house cameras. He always parks his car at the end of the drive next to the gate and we have his plates on record. We’ll find him. He was due to come back on shift tonight.”
Garrett whistled. “Don’t want to be in the room when that meeting happens.”
Jac grunted. “Charlotte will find him.”
“It pisses me off that we have all these people, all this equipment and knowledge and this fucker is playing with us,” grumbled Garrett. “I mean, how?”
“Agreed,” said Jac.
Levi said nothing for a few moments. He tried to enjoy his coffee, but the reality was there wasn’t anything enjoyable about being played like a puppet on a marionette’s strings. The room was quiet with an anticipatory air that unsettled him. Cash sat down on the other end of the sofa.
“Jac, this is the kind of game that we can’t play any longer. As far as psychological warfare goes, this shit is demoralizing at best. Finley can’t seem to get past it, but she tries to put on a good face. She thinks you don’t trust her one day, and the next believes she’ll never be safe or that Storm will forever be in the crosshairs of someone seeking revenge or a name, or something.” Cash stood as he finished speaking.
Jac nodded grimly. “I’ve entertained those same thoughts too many times to say. Charlotte is tortured over this asshole leaving breadcrumbs and then being gone. She tracks him and then by the time she locks and loads, the fucker is gone. She believes she knows who is setting up the playing field, and it’s all I can do to keep her on the right side of the law for most of this.”
Garrett looked at Jac. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way. If I were to catch Callie getting risky, like acting as a lure, I’d shut her down and beat her ass, but sometimes it can work in our favor. Rodney wants to play ball. Let’s bring our own ball and play in our field.”
Levi nodded. “I’m all for trying. Jac, we have to hear him out.”
“What happened to the boy wonder who quietly did his job under the radar?” asked Jac.
Levi grinned. “He found his forever and is in protection mode. I’m a force to be reckoned with.”
Jac chuckled. “Understood. Garrett, explain.”
By the end of the conversation, Jac was on board and Levi was ready to put things into play. He then sat down with the woman. “We’re about to have dinner. I know everyone is hungry, but this is important. I think you’ll agree.”
“I don’t know why we couldn’t just do this after dinner,” said Sharlee.
“Because this is done best before we eat. I don’t want anyone to get indigestion because of me. Our next meetings are going to be in person and I don’t want anyone to tap into the lines or cameras or any other device that might allow them to hear what’s going on. I’ve got my phone forwarding to the front desk so that someone will answer, but they won’t get any information about what’s going on in the room. I want everyone else to turn their cells off.” Jac waited while everyone else did what he requested.
“I can make this room secure,” said Kaden. Sharlee nodded in agreement.
Jac looked around the room. “Just bear with me for right now. I need my own sense of security to be in place. I’m done playing games and I think the rest of us are too. Did anyone think to invite the Colonel tonight?”
“We did. Didn’t you want us to?” asked Mark.
“I did, but not so sure about Darcy being in the mix. The jury is still out as far as I’m concerned. No, Charlotte, I understand you have cleared her, and I know this sounds a little bit obsessive, but I just wanted to make sure that we were as locked down as we could be to have this conversation. Kaden, secure the room, and everyone turns their phone off.”
