Page 17 of Tex's Angel

Levi smiles at the prospect. “Hi, Evan. I guess you drew the short straw today and ended up being tapped to be my childminder.”

The older teen chuckles. “Nope. You’re off by a mile. I volunteered, because I like spending time with you, especially now your dad told me you want to learn to play chess.”

Suddenly, Levi dumps the cat gently out of his lap and comes to his feet. “I didn’t you know you played chess.”

“My old man and I play all the time,” Evan replies. “I’m pretty good at it, the perfect starter partner for a new player to match his wits against.”

“I never even knew Rigs played either,” Levi says with astonishment.

“My dad’s into a lot of cool stuff. If you want to come down to the bar with me, we can play, drink virgin drinks, and visit with the brothers.”

Levi perked up even more. “That sounds amazing.”

“Not the bar,” Tex says, his voice carrying a hint of warning.

“Yeah, Dad. Whatever.”

As they’re walking out the door, Tex calls out, “Call me if y’all need anything, son.”

I stand up and brush cat hair off my clothing. “I don’t think he’s gonna be needing anything. He and his friend seem like they’ve got their day all figured out.”

Tex shrugs, his expression light and happy. “Those two get along like a house on fire. I never worry too much when they’re together. Evan’s a good kid, I know Rigs was worried about him growing up too fast, but he’s finally accepted he’s still a kid.”

“So what happened downstairs. Am I allowed to stay?” I ask.

“Yep. I talked a little with my club officers and we came up with a plan of action.”

“I can’t wait to hear it,” I tell him, feeling more optimistic that my situation would get resolved.

“First of all, you and I are gonna review your doorbell camera and see if we can get a glimpse of who dropped off those magazines.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” I say.

“It was the first thing on my radar, but I didn’t want to get too deep into the process of tracking this asshole down with my son hanging around seeing it all.”

“Of course. I understand that was a smart move on your part.”

“After we review your doorbell cam, I’m gonna add some extra cameras all the way around your place. That way if anyone comes on your property, we’ll know immediately whether we’re home or not. I want eyes on all angles.”

“This feels like overkill, but I honestly don’t know how else to figure this out. So how long will it take?”

“To set up the surveillance equipment, a day or two. But I think what might be better is that you and I stay here a week, and I send some prospects to keep an eye on our houses while we’re gone. The car alarm getting set off happens pretty much every day, so hopefully after a few days we’ll find out who’s doing this.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Let’s get moving then. Zen tried to access your doorbell camera remotely, but he couldn’t, so we’ll leave Levi here, and head back to your place.”

Chapter 8

Tex

We make it back to Clara’s house. Reviewing her ring cam makes me more concerned when I see the person who dropped off those magazines. It was a man wearing a sweatshirt with the hood over his face. He clearly knew there was a camera and had made an effort to hide his face. He scrambled around placing the magazines how he wanted them and then left. The time was just after five thirty in the morning.

“Well that was a waste of time,” Clara mumbles as she turns off the monitor.

“Did that look at all like your husband?” I ask.

“Soon to be ex-husband,” she clarifies. She thinks it over for a few moments before saying, “Not really. Chris is tall and thin. Whoever that was had a stocky build and was barrel-chested. Nothing about that man seems familiar.”

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