But he wouldn’t stay. The words stuck in my throat. Thank goodness, because the moment I admitted that I wanted him to find the strength to stick around was the day I lost my whole heart to him.
Diesel shifted his weight, leaning slightly away from the window where he’d been perched since putting on his clothes. “Hawk.” It wasn’t what he said but how he said Hawk’s name that lifted every hair on the back of my neck and sent a shiver down my spine. Diesel glared out the window. “Someone’s outside.”
22
DIESEL
Movement on the north fence. Low and fast, not much more than a darting shadow in the thin band where the compound lights failed to reach. I’d remedy that.
“I’m going.” I ripped the window open and dove through, scraping my shoulders on either side of the frame.
Hawk’s voice grazed my ears as he called for backup to spread out around the perimeter. They wouldn’t get there in time.
I probably wouldn’t either, but no way in hell I’d stand around while some prick skulked around the property. How had they gotten this far without triggering any of my alarms?
Footsteps danced across the grass on either side of me as Hawk’s men ran for the fence. They spread out without being told, two men heading toward the east gate, one circling behind the shop, and another pushing through the gap between the main house and the secondary building.
Clean and precise, just like we practiced.
I covered the north stretch at a flat run in thirty seconds.
Nothing.
No shadows. No movement. The wire on the fence remained intact, which meant no forced entry from this side. The gravel on the service road remained undisturbed, with no billowing dust or engine noise to announce a departure.
I pulled my flashlight from the holster at my back and ran it along the fence posts one by one. Maybe they’d reattached the wire to keep me from noticing right away.
The wooden fence posts needed to be replaced at some point, but they held up against an impressive amount of force through the years, and I’d checked they would withstand anything short of a tank trying to push through.
But I refused to take it for granted that our midnight interloper hadn’t meant any harm. A light discoloration low on one of the fence posts caused my stomach to heave.
I crouched to check that I didn’t hallucinate the three lines with the scythe curve, the same mark I’d photographed at Callie’s shop. The cuts were quick and shallow but deep enough to be found. I turned to check the angle. Yep. This was exactly where I’d spotted them from the window. Had they planned on me seeing them? Couldn’t have. No one would have guessed that I’d be in the kitchen at that exact moment.
Then again…none of us believed in coincidences. I pushed to my feet and turned a slow circle, my flashlight beam cutting across the low grass and emptiness stretching out in every direction. I had no leads, nothing to follow, so I radioed Hawk using the new handheld I’d programmed yesterday. “North fence clear. Got another mark.”
The other men radioed in one by one with echoes of “clear” tightening the coil in my gut. Something wasn’t right here, but I couldn’t put my finger on what bothered me. Why this mark? Why now? I stayed at the fence another thirty seconds, letting all the mental puzzle pieces float around and settle. Nothing overlapped except knowing the Hellhounds hadn’t used this mark in years. Either someone in their current operation had history with old methods or they were sending a specific message to us. I took a picture of the post and walked back to the house. Figuring out motive and all that was Hawk’s territory, and he was good at his job. I’d let him deal with the mental game while I took care of protecting the people we cared about.
Callie stood in the middle of the kitchen, her hands curled at her sides and her shoulders drawn up. They relaxed when I closed the door, but her eyes flashed. She’d pulled her hair back, but tiny wisps escaped to frame her face.
Hawk stood at the table, his phone pressed to his ear.
Colt leaned on the doorway with his arms crossed and his jaw locked.
I slid my flashlight back into the loop and set my phone on the counter. Callie wanted to be kept in the loop, and I agreed with her, so I set my phone down and tapped the screen. “Mark on the north fence is identical to the one in the alley. They knew how to avoid the motion sensors, and none of my cameras triggered an alarm.”
The kitchen fell into absolute quiet for a full three seconds.
Hawk cursed low and quick and tapped his phone screen. He moved to the main room and the low, controlled cadence of his voice carried even though his words fell short.
Colt stared at Callie, who stared at me.
“They’ve been watching the property.” Her hands curled until she winced.
Colt pushed off the doorway. “I’m going to check on Cody.”
One side of Callie’s mouth lifted, but she waited until he left before she spoke. “We’ve both checked on him already. Guess he’s making up for lost time.” Her expression fell, and the sadness in her eyes ripped my heart right out.
“What do you need?” I almost trapped the question behind my teeth, but I knew that look. She’d sit and stew and nothing good would come of it. If I could get her busy, get her to talk, she might be more prone to stick around instead of tearing out at the first opportunity.
