Page 64 of Scorched Secrets

What they needed was a family meeting. He shot his brother Rhy a text, knowing his phone would be off in church but that he’d check his messages as soon as the service was finished.

Family meeting at SH. Call when able.

To his surprise, his brother texted back. Good idea. Will call soon.

Aiden knocked at the door. Colin peered through the peephole, then unlocked the door to let Aiden inside. As he shot the dead bolts home, two of them, he asked, “What did you think?”

“It’ll work. It’s not perfect, but the closest houses are far enough away that the occupants shouldn’t be in danger.”

“Rhy and the others will be here soon. I called a family meeting.” He raked his hand over his hair. “Brady may have another option for us too.”

“Good idea. But we can’t wait too long.” Aiden’s gaze was serious. “This guy hasn’t slowed down since this mess started. We need to set the trap ASAP.”

“I know.” He felt the same sense of urgency. If they didn’t go on offense, they’d be forced back into defensive mode.

By noon, a large part of the family was gathered in the safe house. Quinn and Sami, along with Alanna and Elly were missing, each on duty in their respective jobs today. The Finnegans had left their respective spouses at home too.

“I like the idea of using Faye’s phone as a lure,” Rhy said. “Not sure we should use this place for that, though.”

“I know,” Colin admitted, glancing at Tarin. “We don’t want to cause you trouble.”

“Believe it or not, I was able to finagle approval from my boss.” Tarin shrugged. “I promised to pay for any repairs or damage, so if we could keep that to a minimum, it would be great.”

“We can help with that,” Kyleigh spoke up. She was a sheriff’s deputy and recently married ADA Bax Scala. “Money isn’t as important as keeping Faye safe.”

“We’ll handle the financial side of things,” Rhy said firmly. Colin knew his oldest sibling didn’t like taking advantage of Kyleigh’s wealthy husband. Bax earned a modest salary in his job working for the state of Wisconsin as an ADA, but he had also inherited money from his grandparents’ estate. Savvy investing had doubled the amount over the years. “And if that’s the only barrier, then we should execute our plan here.”

“I agree,” Brady said. “We could find another safe house, but I can’t guarantee bullet-resistant windows.” He looked around in admiration. “Looks like the feds need to up their game. This place is great.”

“Keep in mind that bullet-resistant windows won’t prevent the arsonist from starting a fire outside,” Colin warned. “He could easily douse the exterior with gasoline or some other accelerant and light it up. The exterior is mostly brick, but there’s wood window frames and some siding.”

“I hear you,” Rhy said. “And that’s kind of the point of this idea, isn’t it? To draw this guy out into the open, forcing his hand so we can arrest him.”

“Shouldn’t Mitch Callahan be involved?” Faye asked. She’d been unusually quiet during the discussion, maybe daunted by the number of Finnegans in the room.

“Normally, yes.” He glanced at his brothers and Kyleigh. “He has a family, and I was thinking it would be better if we leave him out of this part. You too, Rhy. With Devon expecting, it would be best if you would let the rest of us handle this.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening. And Callahan won’t like being excluded either,” Rhy pointed out. “But I understand your perspective. As the arson investigator, he’s the one we call once we have a suspected arson event, so we can hold off for now. I’ve called Joe Kingsley and a few of my tactical guys. They’re ready and willing to help. I’m confident in my team’s ability to protect us.”

“I take it they’re volunteering for this mission?” Colin asked.

“They are.” Rhy grinned. “We’re calling it a training session.”

“What time do we bait the trap?” Brady asked.

“I was originally thinking we should wait until later tonight.” Colin grimaced. “But it would be easier for all of us if we set the trap earlier than later.”

“I agree,” Aiden said. “This guy has struck during the daytime before. No reason to think he wouldn’t do so again now.”

“Staying well hidden during the daytime won’t be easy.” Kyleigh frowned. “And even if we set the trap later this afternoon, there’s no guarantee what time this guy will show up.”

“That would be true no matter what time we set the trap.” Colin glanced at each of his siblings. “You guys are the experts, what do you think?”

“We set the trap at four p.m.,” Rhy said. “That gives us time to get my guys into position. Colin, we need you and Faye to be settled nearby too. Preferably with one of us guarding you.”

“I’m armed and can take care of myself.” Colin glanced at Faye, who nodded.

“I can watch Colin’s back,” Aiden offered.

---