Page 47 of Ambush

“You and Paradise go to the police station tomorrow and tell them what nearly happened. Theymusthelp find who did this. Surely even that idiot Greene will know you wouldn’t do something like this and put your little brother in danger.”

“We can try.” Blake had his doubts Greene would listen. “I might go to McShea. Paradise is his cousin, and he might listen if she comes along to tell how it all went down.”

And he wouldn’t mind being with her on the drive anyway.

Chapter 22

The aroma of bacon and eggs filled the kitchen as Paradise wheeled in a whiteboard on a stand the boys used for homeschool. The wheels squeaked on the kitchen tile, and the noise brought Blake’s gaze to her as she maneuvered it into place by the kitchen table. “I thought we’d lay out what we know and where our investigation should go next.”

She’d had the best night’s sleep she could remember since forever last night, and she was ready to tackle the seemingly insurmountable question of who was targeting Blake.

She picked up the marker and wroteEventsat the top, then drew lines to the next spots down to the attacks they knew about—Murder of Danielle Mason, Shots Fired at Bears, Break-ins at Apartment and House, Arson at Cottage, Beer-Can IED in Field, Hyena Incident, Iron Attack in Shed, Tiger Incident.

Blake joined her at the whiteboard and held out his hand for the marker. “That’snineincidents. I didn’t realize there were quite so many. The attacks just keep coming.” He drew connections down the white surface. “Danielle and the shots fired at the bears are connected by the activist group.”

Paradise nodded. “At that time we didn’t know if it was activists trying to shut us down or something else. Then the other attacks happened, and the focus seemed to laser in on you.”

Jenna set a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table. “But maybe not. All of the attacks have brought havoc to the park. If the sabotage at the hyena or tiger enclosures had resulted in injury or death, the media would have been all over us. We would have had no choice but to close.”

“Good point.” Paradise studied the board a moment. “I think our next step should be to at least take this list to the police and see where their investigation stands, but let’s talk to Rod and not Greene. He might not tell us anything, but Greene would brush us off.”

Blake reached over to fill his plate with bacon and eggs. “I reviewed the video camera footage too, but none of them picked up anything unusual. The idea of someone targeting me specifically is something I need to check out. I laid awake thinking about it last night. I want to follow through on our idea to see Clark Reynolds.”

“Reynolds? The twin brother who hates you?” Jenna asked.

He nodded. “Paradise brought up the revenge idea before Isaac went missing. Mom, he lives in Mobile. That elevated the possibility in my mind.”

Jenna picked up her fork. “While you do that, I’m going to talk to the employees this morning. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“I’m sure Levi was sideways all night,” Blake said.

Jenna’s smile was a ghost of its usual joyful one. “It was more worry than anything else. I couldn’t stop hanging on to my boys.”

Paradise reached for breakfast and winced. Her shoulder was sore from her PT this morning. “The ordeal must have exhausted them. They’re usually up by now.”

Jenna poured coffee for all of them and carried the mugs to the table. “I’m glad for it too. We have to figure this out. I came to the conclusion last night that I can’t keep fighting when my boys are in danger. I love the preserve, but the boys are more important to me than anything. We have to make some traction on resolving the danger or I’m going to sell.”

The stark words hit Paradise in the gut, and Blake flinched too. “What would you do if you sold?”

“I could do anything. The land is worth a lot of money. I could just raise my boys in peace. I mean, I wouldn’t be happy with nothing to do, but I could open a bookstore or some other business where I could have them with me. Nothing is worth what we went through last night.” She glanced at Paradise. “I hate that I got you here to work and might be pulling the rug out from under you.”

“Whatever you decide will be fine. I realized last night that I don’t have to live in the past. What happened to me is over, and I’m going to move on. I won’t live under that cloud anymore. I can find a new life here and be content.” She glanced at Blake out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her, and she thought she saw hope shining in his eyes.

Hope ballooned in her chest as well, and she couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt this good, this positive. Maybe when she was a kid. Was that what faith brought to a person? She had a lot to learn, and she didn’t know where to start, but she wanted to begin. “Do either of you have a Bible I could borrow?”

Blake straightened and went wide-eyed. “I do. I’ll get it.”

The thought of reading a Bible that meant something to him warmed her. Blake was the kindest, most faith-filled person she’d ever met. If there was a chance she could learn from him, shewould take it. But she was also a little scared. What would it mean for her life to move forward this way?

She snagged a piece of bacon and a spoonful of scrambled eggs and dug in. The thought of barging into her cousin’s office should have been daunting, but things couldn’t continue this way. If they had to shake a few trees to release the fruit, she was ready to do it. And seeing Jenna’s set face and Blake’s tight jaw, she knew they were just as determined.

Blake returned holding a Bible. The navy leather was worn in spots, and the yellowed pages had been touched many times over the years. “Mom got this for me when I turned sixteen. She got me a study Bible for Christmas a few years ago, and I use that now.” He placed it in her hands.

Paradise smoothed the soft leather with shaky fingers. This was the Bible he’d been reading when they were dating. She could tell from his expression it meant something special to him. “I’ll take good care of it.”

“I’m not worried about that. I want you to have it.”

The boys wandered in with sleepy eyes, and Levi ran to climb onto Paradise’s lap while Isaac scampered over to his mother, who scooped him up and held him tightly against her shoulder.

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