Page 134 of Proof of Guilt

Theo was shaking his head before she even finished, but she took hold of his chin to stop him. “We can make things as safe as we can possibly make them,” Ivy added.

That wasn’t much of an argument, but then, no place was going to be completely safe. And yes, the ranch hands along with some motion detectors would beef up security. Maybe not enough, though.

“If we can sell Gabriel on this—and I’m not even sure I want to do that,” Theo said, “then I wouldn’t go with Nathan and the others. I’ll be with you since the attack is most likely to happen at the ranch.” Just saying that didn’t help with the knot that was tightening even more in his stomach. “But first we need to find out if we can find the snake responsible for this before we have to do something this dangerous.”

Ivy made a sound of agreement. “You mean talk to Belinda Travers. Gabriel got that call from the hospital, and it’s probably about her. Maybe she’s talking.”

“Wait here with Nathan,” Theo instructed, “and I’ll find out.”

Theo went back to the living room, where he found Jodi, Jameson and Gabriel all standing watch at the window. “Is Nathan okay?” Gabriel immediately asked him.

Theo nodded. “Ivy wants to send him to a separate safe house.”

Even though Theo didn’t explain Ivy’s “controlled bait” idea, Gabriel obviously filled in the blanks because his mouth tightened. What he didn’t do was dismiss it.

And that caused Theo to curse. “Belinda’s not talking?”

Gabriel gave a heavy sigh. “She’s dead.”

Hell. Well, there went the notion of questioning her, but it was more than that. From the looks of things, Belinda had been innocent in all of this, and someone had murdered her. That someone wanted to do the same to Ivy, too.

“Please tell me someone didn’t sneak into the hospital and finish her off,” Theo said.

“No. She developed a blood clot. The doc told me that sometimes things like that happen.”

Yeah. Bad things happened all the time. Theo had to make sure now that the bad things didn’t continue with Nathan and Ivy.

“I think it’s too late for the guy in the ditch, but just in case, the ambulance is on the way,” Gabriel continued while he volleyed glances between Theo and the window. “The deputies will be here soon, too.”

“What about the guy’s family?” Theo wanted to know. “Any idea if they’re really in danger?”

“I called SAPD as soon as we were all back in the house,” Jameson volunteered. “They’re on the way to check on them.”

Theo hoped they were all right, but after what had happened to Belinda, it was possible the man’s family was also in danger.

“Is there another safe house?” Theo’s question got all of their attention. Ivy’s as well, since she was now in the hall with Nathan behind her.

“One that’s ready now,” Gabriel answered. “It’ll take me a while to set up another one.”

“Wait in your room for just a few more minutes,” Ivy told Nathan.

Judging from his pinched expression, that was the last thing Nathan wanted to do. The kid was no dummy, and he must have known that something big was about to happen. Still, he went into his room, and Ivy came closer to them. That’s when Theo saw that she was blinking back tears again.

“Look, I don’t want to be away from my son. Nor do I want to die.” Ivy’s voice was shaking, and one of those tears made it down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away.

Theo went to her and slid his arm around her waist. He doubted it would help. Nothing much would at this point.

“We have to put an end to this—now,” Ivy insisted. “That means using me to draw out this monster.”

Since Theo had already voiced his opinion on this, he stayed quiet and waited for Gabriel to tell her no way in hell was he going to put his sister in danger like that. But Gabriel didn’t get a chance to say anything because Jameson’s phone buzzed.

“It’s SAPD,” Jameson said. He answered the call but didn’t put it on speaker. Several moments later, he cursed. “The gunman’s house has been ransacked, and his wife and two kids are missing.” Jameson paused, his attention going to Ivy. “Someone left a note on the guy’s door.”

“A note about me?” Ivy asked. Theo felt the muscles in her body tense.

Jameson nodded. “The note said, and I’m quoting, ‘Tell Theo that Ivy will be next. She dies tonight.’”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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