Page 38 of Tango
“Please, call me Ruth. Come on in.” She ushers all three of the Sterlings inside.
“We’ll be there in just a second,” my dad tells her then heads over toward where I’m standing near the porch railing.
My mom offers an understanding smile before heading inside with them.
“Everything all right?” I ask. I may not be a teenager anymore, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize my dad’s “we need to talk” face. It’s just as clear now as it was back then.
He doesn’t respond right away, just glances back at the door and leans against the railing. “You’re sure she’s innocent?” he asks. “I saw that video. It looked incriminating enough to have her behind bars.”
“It’s a fake. I just have to prove it.” Even if I had doubted her before, our time at the diner would’ve changed my mind. Not because of the story she told me, but because of the way she told it. The love she had in her eyes when she spoke of God and how He is keeping her together. She’s not a woman capable of murder or treason.
If only the police would take my word for it.
He sighs. “Then I trust your gut, son. Just—please be safe. We’ve had a lot of close calls in our family, and I’m terrified it’s not going to be a happy ending one of these days.”
“We’re all good, Dad.” I clasp a hand on his shoulder and offer a reassuring smile.
He takes a deep breath then runs a hand through his silver hair. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just pray that we can figure this out so Alice and her family can return to some semblance of normalcy.”
“That, I can do.”
“This is an epic setup,” Alice says, jaw dropped, as she surveys the wall of monitors in my office. “Like, seriously, I could live in this room.”
“Thanks.” I’ve always been proud of my setup, but for some reason, right now, even with as impressed as she looks, I’m feeling a tad self-conscious. Not because I think mine is subpar by any means, but when compared to the resources Web Safe has, it definitely pales in comparison.
“These are all areas of the ranch you have cameras on?” She points to the security footage on the wall-mounted monitors.
I nod. “With what we do, we’ve had a few times over the years where we’ve needed to keep clients here to protect them for a time. That, and some trouble we had last year, when someone paid people to cause trouble on the ranch, means we’ve upped security.”
“Someone paid people to come mess with your ranch?”
“They did.”
“Wow. They must not have wanted to live in this world long. Five brothers—all with Special Forces training living on the same piece of property? This place must be untouchable.”
“We have our weaknesses,” I admit. “And with as many acres as we have, there’s plenty of blind spots. We’ve just done the best we can with protecting the places that matter most.”
“The people,” she says with a soft smile.
“Exactly.”
Our gazes hold for a moment, and I find myself unable to look away. She blushes and tears her gaze away from mine.
“Do you all live here on the ranch?”
“We do. My parents deeded us all an acre apiece to build our houses on, and we all pitch in around the ranch. Though Bradyn pretty much runs things.”
“Your eldest brother?”
I nod.
“That’s so great. What a cool way to grow up.” She steps back toward my computer. “And this is gorgeous.” Alice runs her fingers over the top of my desktop in the way a mother would run her fingers over the face of her child. Or so I imagine they would.
“I built it last year,” I blurt. “The computer. My old one went to Riley. His wife uses it for work now.”
“That’s awesome.” She smiles at me. “So, you have at least one married brother. Do you have someone special in your life? I noticed only one coffee mug on the counter.”
