Kendra could tell Raine wasn’t convinced of Levy’s culpability. It was surprising, considering her sister-in-law’s recent experience proved that with enough money involved, anyone could be corrupt.
Even those sworn to uphold the law.
She and Dom strode to her SUV. Once Smoky was settled in the back, they headed toward the east side of the city.
Overhead, the cloudy sky hinted at more snow to come. Normally, she loved snow as much as Smoky did. But now she hoped it held off for a while.
The house was dark brown in color and was set back nearly fifty yards from the road. It looked nice enough. Kendra pulled into the driveway and glanced at Dom. “Probably best to leave the car out here.”
He nodded. “I just hope he doesn’t shoot the tires out or something equally drastic.”
“If he does, we’ll grab him.” She pushed out of the driver’s side door, opening the hatch for Smoky.
Justin and Raine stopped on the road. Her brother opened the driver’s side window. “We’ll park on the next block and head to the back.”
“Okay.” Kendra strode over to Griff as he pulled up next. “Do you have the code?”
He nodded and rattled it off. “I’m going to park on a different street as well. We’ll all come in through the sides or back of the property.”
“Understood.” She stepped back and watched as Griff drove away, following Justin and Raine. When they were gone, she walked up to the garage door and punched in the code.
The garage was empty, as expected. Dom followed her as she headed into the house through the attached garage door, flipping lights on along the way. While it was daytime, the overcast sky kept the interior dim enough to warrant the light.
Their plan was to have Dominic stay inside the house, while the rest of them waited outside, covering the back and the sides of the property. She didn’t like exposing Dominic to danger, but he’d insisted that without someone inside, their plan may not work. After the way the gunman had found Grady’s house vacant, she had to admit that was something the US Marshal might check this time around.
Dominic followed her into the open-concept kitchen and living room, setting his computer on the table. He stood and looked around. “Not bad. I hope Levy shows his face very soon. I don’t want you and the others freezing to death outside.”
“He will.” She glanced at her watch, eyeing the time. “Raine is going to make the call in five minutes. That means I need to head out.”
“Okay.” Dom held her gaze. “Be safe.”
“You too.” Leaving Dom there alone wasn’t easy. She stepped closer and quickly gave him a hug. “I’ll be mad if you get hurt.”
“Same goes,” he murmured, surprising her by pulling her closer. He held her tight for a long second but then released his grip and stepped back. “Be careful out there.”
“That’s the plan. Time for me to get in position.” She turned to see Smoky waiting by the door. The poor dog probably needed to get busy too. “If bullets fly, get under the table. We’ll handle him from there.”
“I know how to duck,” Dom drawled. “Seems that’s all we’ve been doing since this started.”
Since that was true, she nodded and turned away, resisting the urge to kiss Dom. “Come, Smoky.”
Kendra walked back outside through the garage, then used the code again to close the garage door. Griff had brought the rental property up on a map application to show them the location. The house faced south, and Griff had assigned her to the northern position along the back. Raine and Justin would be stationed on the east, while Griff covered the west.
They were assuming Levy would approach from the road, which made sense. Yet remembering the shadow that had inched along the woods at the cabin, Kendra knew she needed to be prepared for anything.
The good news was that Smoky would let her know with a low growl if someone approached. Levy wouldn’t anticipate there would be anyone waiting outside.
Kendra jumped over the snowbank on the side of the house closest to the garage to hide her footprints, sticking close to the side of the house as she made her way to the backyard. If Levy noticed the footprints in the snow leading around to the back, he might get suspicious.
Or maybe he’d assume she was taking her dog out. Which was something she would do upon arriving to a new location. When she reached the corner overlooking the backyard, she paused and scanned the area.
The snow was undisturbed. Maybe nobody had rented the place since the most recent snowstorms.
She stayed close to the house, hunching her shoulders because the wind was coming at her through the trees. She waved a hand at the yard. “Go on, girl. Get busy.”
Smoky leaped through the snow as if shot out of a cannon. Her dog buried her snout in the snow, then lifted her head and ran in a circle. After a few minutes of burning off excess energy, the K9 got down to business.
Less than a minute later, another dog joined the fray. Stone romped and played next to Smoky for several minutes, until Justin called him over.
