“I’ll get my laptop and see what else I can find on them.” Ed left the room and was back a few minutes later empty handed. The outrage on his face said it all.
“They took your laptop?”
He nodded. “They took all the computers.”
Which meant they had to have come in a car, not on a motorbike. Amy placed a jug of milk on the table. “They might not have taken mine. Let me check.”
She arrived back with her chunky, very ancient looking laptop. She handed it to Ed. “It’s not much, but you can access the internet.”
Ed shook his head. “Ames, how do you manage with this brick?”
Her cheeks flushed. “We’re not all computer geeks like you.”
He grinned at her. “When I get home, I’m sending you one of my old laptops. They were all made this decade.”
“Not all of us need the latest tech, but thank you.”
Brandon would bet she didn’t have the extra cash to upgrade regularly. Not if she worked low-paying hospitality jobs. It was nice of his brother to offer. While Ed got to work on the laptop, Brandon asked, “Your room hasn’t been touched?”
She shook her head. “I’d guess the others haven’t been either if Sam and Matt didn’t mention it.”
Darcy entered the kitchen, his face a thundercloud. “I don’t like this,” he stated. “We have to discover who is targeting us quickly. Lara’s going back to school next week and I won’t have her coming home to an empty house if this is still going on.”
“Won’t Amy be here?” Ed asked.
Shit. Darcy must have decided. The guilt was written on his face, but it was Amy who spoke.
“You can’t keep me on.” Her voice was a little flat.
“We can’t afford to,” Darcy said. “There’s no money. Mum and Dad were almost bankrupt.”
Brandon wouldn’t let his family suffer, couldn’t let Amy be left without a job. “I’ve got money.”
Darcy glanced at him. “Enough to get us out of this?”
“Maybe.” Probably not, but he didn’t want to make big decisions like firing Amy until they sorted out all the details.
“We won’t find much with the computers stolen,” Ed said.
Darcy swore. “What?”
“They’ve taken all the laptops,” Ed told him.
He grimaced but Amy said, “Didn’t Bill do everything in hard copy?”
Darcy grinned. “He did. Didn’t trust computers.” Then his face fell. “But all the paper is now strewn across his office floor.”
“We’ll sort it out.” Amy hesitated. “If I can still get food and board, I’ll stay for a few more weeks to help you. I can sort the paperwork and be here when Lara comes home from school. You don’t need to pay me.”
She really was something else. He didn’t want to take advantage of her, but it would give them enough time to figure out where to go and hopefully find the money to keep her on.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Darcy said.
“You didn’t. I offered.”
Brandon gave his brother a small nod.
Darcy sighed. “That would be amazing, Ames. I’ll do everything I can to help you find somewhere else to work.”
