Page 131 of Proof of Guilt

“Justice,” Gabriel answered without hesitation. “Plus, if you’d given me the watch, we’d wouldn’t be in this situation now of wondering who’s trying to use it and why.”

August would have no doubt responded to that with a fury-laced tirade, but Theo’s phone rang, the sound knifing through the room. The moment Theo glanced at the screen, Ivy knew from his suddenly tight expression that there was a problem.

“It’s Jameson,” Theo told her, and he answered the call.

Ivy moved even closer to Theo so she could hear what her brother was saying, but it was a very short conversation. One that ended with Theo cursing and taking hold of her arm.

“We need to leave now,” Theo said. “Jameson said there’s an armed intruder on the grounds of the safe house.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Theo had been on plenty of assignments where he’d faced down killers, but that suddenly felt like a drop in the bucket compared to what he was facing now.

His son could be in grave danger.

That in itself was bad enough, but in the back of his mind he also had to wonder if this was a trap to draw Ivy and him out for yet another attack. Hell, even that wasn’t worse than an intruder going after Nathan.

“Just stay calm,” Jodi said from the other end of the line.

She was whispering, something she’d done since she had taken over the call from Jameson. His sister was in the bathroom with Nathan while Jameson was at the front of the house to make sure the intruder they’d seen didn’t get inside. She was keeping her voice low so that anyone outside the house wouldn’t be able to hear her and pinpoint her location.

“Any idea where the intruder is now?” Gabriel asked from the front seat of the cruiser. He was driving—something he’d insisted on doing—not just so th

ey’d have more backup but also because he’d been concerned that Theo and Ivy were too upset to be speeding down the rural road.

Gabriel was right. Theo was upset. But Ivy was to the point of being panicked. That was no doubt why Jodi kept reminding them to stay calm.

“Jameson just said he spotted the guy again,” Jodi relayed. “He’s in the ditch near the front of the road.”

That probably meant the guy had tripped the motion sensor and that’s how Jameson had known he was there in the first place. Maybe now that Jameson knew his location, he could just shoot him or keep him pinned down until they got there. Theo would have liked to have the guy alive, but he didn’t want that to happen at the expense of Nathan, Jodi and Jameson.

“The ditch doesn’t lead to the house,” Jodi added. “Even if the man crawls toward us, the nearest he can get is about twenty yards.”

That was still close. Too close. The goon could fire into the house, and the shots could make it through the walls and into the bathroom. Of course, if the gunman lifted his head to fire, Jameson should be able to take him out.

Provided the goon didn’t shoot Jameson first, that is. But since that made Theo’s own panic soar, he reminded himself that Jameson was a capable lawman. A lawman who was protecting his nephew and his brother’s fiancée.

“How did this person find the safe house?” Ivy asked. Her voice was hoarse, no doubt because her throat was tight. Her knuckles were turning white from the grip she had on the seat. “Did he follow us the first time we went there?”

Not likely. Theo was almost certain they hadn’t been followed, and it would have been fairly easy to spot someone doing that on this road.

“The listening device,” Theo guessed. “Even though we whispered when we were inside, someone still could have heard us. Plus, all three of our suspects were in the sheriff’s office and could have overheard something.”

Ivy whispered the profanity that Theo was thinking. They’d known about those possible bugs, but they’d gotten so caught up in the danger and investigation that they might not have been as careful as they could have been. Not just with the bug, either. Because it was also possible that someone had sneaked into the parking lot of the sheriff’s building and planted tracking devices on the cruisers.

“Is Jameson sure there’s just one intruder?” Ivy asked several moments later.

“He thinks just the one,” Jodi answered.

His sister could be saying that to calm Ivy’s nerves. But Theo figured the only thing that would calm her was for Ivy to see Nathan and make sure all was well. That might not happen for a while. For one thing, they were still a good ten minutes out. For another, the thug might start shooting at them the moment they got there. If he wasn’t alone, then Gabriel could be driving right into a trap. That’s the reason Theo took out his backup weapon and handed it to Ivy.

“It’s just a precaution,” he said when her eyes widened.

“Keep watch around us,” Gabriel reminded them, and then added to Ivy, “That’s a precaution, too.”

A huge one. Because this stretch of road had plenty of trees. Ditches, too. More thugs could be lying in wait for them.

Those last few miles seemed to take an eternity, though Theo was certain Gabriel was going as fast as he could safely go. When Gabriel finally reached the turn to the house, he slowed and glanced around.

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