“He’d be glad you’re home.” Hudson glanced at him. “You are home, right? This isn’t just about finding Mars.”
“It started that way. Personal, I guess. But now it feels bigger. Dad used to say that if we let small evils win, eventually they become big evil. And I guess I’m tired of running.”
“Is that what you think you did?”
“I know I did. I was”—he made a wry face—“scared of living a life I didn’t think was for me. And I think the fight with the Sorros brothers just gave it legs. If Sully hadn’t intervened, I think they would have killed me.”
Hudson’s expression turned solemn. He nodded.
“And it shook me, I think.”
“It shook all of us.”
Jericho met his gaze. “What if I stick around and help you.”
Hudson blinked. Then, “Seriously?”
“Don’t get too excited. I think you probably know a lot more about furnaces than I do.”
“And Harley?”
And Harley. “I’m hoping she’ll figure out that she can stay too.”
Hudson grinned, nodding.
“What?”
“We’re just cheering for you, is all.”
“Great.” He smiled. “So, any lead on your missing truck?”
“Yep.” Hudson’s eyes lit with that familiar gleam that usually preceded either brilliance or trouble. “After the equipment theft last month, I installed cameras. High-def, motion-activated, cloud storage. Come on.”
He led the way to his office—their father’s old office. The old oak desk remained, but now three monitors dominated its surface. Hudson dropped into the chair, typed something, then turned the screen toward Jericho.
“There.” He pulled up footage from three days ago. “Watch.”
The grainy image showed Summit’s storage yard at night. Two figures in black moved between the equipment, stopping at the beige pickup.
“That’s Mars. Same build,” Jericho said.
And as he said it, the man looked at the camera. Hudson stopped the tape.
“That’s a pretty face,” Hudson said.
“Yeah. And this guy is definitely the hunter from the mountain.” Jericho pointed to the other man.
“Jer, that’s not a hunter. That’s Sloan Sorros.”
“Who?”
“Their cousin. He runs Summit Construction.”
“I don’t know him.”
“He circled back into town a few years ago. Ex-military. Slick. And clearly at the helm of whatever Sorros is up to.”
“How many other projects does Summit Construction have in the area?”
