Page 53 of Jina

She nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe I drive the SUV to the precinct first. I’m sure he’ll hold off trying to intercept me until after I leave the police station.”

“It’s still several miles from the precinct to Timberland Falls,” Flynn pointed out.

“I understand the risk.” She looked at each of her teammates, then at Cole. “I doubt he’ll make a move in broad daylight. There’s no need to do that, especially when he finds the SUV has stopped at a rental property.”

Despite Cole’s clear dissatisfaction with her idea, he nodded in agreement. “I agree he’s more likely to shoot during dusk. His few daylight attempts haven’t gone well.”

“Okay, that means the rest of us have to get into position before you show up,” Zeke said. “What time do you plan to make the trip to the precinct, then again to Timberland Falls?”

She thought about that for a moment. “The later in the afternoon, the better. I don’t want you guys to have to stay in place for hours.”

“I’d like to ride with you,” Cole said.

She grimaced and shook her head. “Better if I go alone. If he does follow me, I want him to think I’m vulnerable.”

“No one who knows you would ever think that,” Flynn protested. “I doubt this guy is an idiot.”

“Maybe not an idiot, but stupid enough to keep coming after me.” She found it difficult to imagine anyone harboring that deep of a grudge against her.

“I can hide in the back seat. He’ll never see me.” Cole reached for her computer. After a moment, he smiled with satisfaction. “Just as I thought. This place has an attached garage. I can hide inside with you without this guy knowing.”

She wanted to protest that the added protection wasn’t necessary, but Cassidy jumped in. “Good idea, Cole. I’m sure Rhy will like knowing you have support inside the house.”

When Zeke and Flynn nodded, she gave up. “Okay, fine. What else do we need?”

Their server arrived with three breakfast meals. She refilled their coffee again, lingering over Zeke’s cup, before moving on to her next table.

“What do we need other than Rhy’s blessing?” Flynn looked thoughtful. “We can cover the outside of the property well enough. But how do you want us to take this guy down? Are you anticipating he’ll drive up to the house or try to sneak in?”

It was a good question. She glanced at Cole, who shrugged. “If he believes I’m in there alone, I think he’ll try to sneak up to the place in the dark. I’ll be counting on one of you to grab him.” It bothered her to think she wouldn’t be the one to take the perp down. She glanced at Cassidy. “Unless you want to swap places with me.”

“No, I’ll stay outside.” Cassidy arched a brow. “If this guy has binocs, he’ll notice we don’t look anything alike.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll take the house.” She sipped her coffee, trying to come up with another way to safeguard her team. “We may need one more person to cover the outside.”

“I’ll contact Steele,” Zeke offered as he chomped on a slice of bacon. “He was glad to help us stake out the strip mall.”

“I can do that, you’re eating.” She reached for her phone, only to remember she had it turned off. Cole noticed and slid his over to her. She picked it up. “And if he’s busy, we can try Brock or Raelyn.”

“Raelyn and Isaiah are out of town for a belated honeymoon,” Cassidy said. “But Grayson should be around.”

Thankfully, Steele answered on the first ring. “Delaney.”

“It’s Jina, using Cole’s phone. Are you busy today? I need help.”

“I can be there in twenty,” her teammate answered without hesitation. “But I need to ask if Rhy knows about this. He wasn’t too happy to be out of the loop regarding the incident at the American Lodge.”

“He’s my next call.” She quickly filled him in. “Stay where you are for now, we’ll let you know when it’s time to move.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be waiting.”

As all eyes were on her, she ended that call and tapped Rhy’s number on the screen. He didn’t answer, so she left a quick message.

“I’m sure Rhy will call back soon.” Noticing her three teammates were just about finished with their meals, she added, “Maybe we should reconvene at the precinct. It’s too early to head out to Timberland Falls.”

The others nodded. “I like that plan,” Zeke announced. “We need to gear up anyway.” He narrowed his gaze on Jina. “As the target, you need to be well protected.”

“I will be. I have all of you, don’t I?” Zeke’s comment reminded her of her sniper’s rifle that was still sitting in her upper-level apartment. Swinging by the duplex wouldn’t take too long, but she couldn’t be sure that she’d be allowed inside. Probably not a priority since her plan didn’t require the weapon. For one thing, she’d be inside the house waiting for him to show. And if he did manage to sneak past the others, he’d be too close for her to use the long gun.

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