“Where’s our little brother?” Riley asked.
“In the shower,” Sophia offered.
“Do you know what’s going on? Connor told Quinn and me to come over and expect some trouble nearby. Naturally, Kris had to come, too.” He smirked at his sister, who smirked back.
Sophia pursed her lips, not really wanting to get into it. “Boy trouble. Hopefully, you won’t need the bats.”
Kris cocked an eyebrow. “Not against Connor, I assume. He’s not the type, for one, but he wouldn’t tell us to bring bats to use on himself, presumably.” Seeing Riley still twirling the Louisville Slugger out of the corner of her eye, she asked, “Would you stop that? You’re going to break something.”
He shrugged as if to imply he was too skilled to let that happen, but on the next flip, Quinn casually snatched it out of the air without comment.
Sophia took a breath and repeated what she’d told Connor, adding that she was staying at the inn for the week at Connor’s suggestion and she needed to get some personal belongings. The eyes of all three of them narrowed in anger on hearing about Seth’s activities. The men looked grimly determined, almost sinister, and a spark lit Kris’ eyes. She came to Sophia and gave her a heartfelt hug. Sophia noticed the other woman smelled like a horse, which reminded her that Kris was well-known locally for her skill at equestrian events. That explained the muddy boots. She likely ran Sugarloaf Stables for the family, or at least spent a lot of time there.
“Don’t worry,” Kris began, pulling back. “We’ll get your things and have you back here, or maybe at the big house. Connor’s a good man, but, well, you’re his type. I doubt he could stop himself from being charming, even if you weren’t.”
Sophia’s pulse quickened at the revelation that she was his type, but the comment about flirting made her wonder if he was just like that with every woman. She bit her lip, then made herself stop that.
“We’ll take care of Seth,” said Riley.
Kris shot him a look. “We’re not going to do anything stupid.”
Riley shrugged. “From the sound of this guy, he needs a little convincing. And I don’t mean explaining.”
“I think we all know what you meant,” Quinn said with a grin. The brothers exchanged a look of what Sophia took for agreement.
“Meant about what?” Connor asked as he stepped into the room wearing jeans and the t-shirt from earlier, his hair still damp. Sophia thought his eyes seemed clearer than at any time since they’d met, and more importantly, fresh with vigor.
“You shaved,” she observed in disappointment.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you liked me with stubble.”
“Of course I did, silly.”
“Well, I won’t shave tomorrow, if you can wait.”
She nodded. “Good things come to those who wait.”
Looking her in the eye, he said, “Good things also come to those who go after them.”
Sophia flushed, feeling hot from head to toe.
Quinn whistled. “I don’t need to hose you two down, do I?”
Rescuing Connor and Sophia, Kris asked her younger brother, “So what’s the plan, sport? Sophia told us everything up to now.”
Connor sighed. “Well, we just need to help her get some things.”
Riley asked, “Do we get to bash Seth’s head in if we find him?”
Connor opened his mouth, but Sophia beat him to it.
“Yes,” she replied.
Connor looked at her in surprise and she flashed a quick smile.
“Do we need more than bats, just to be careful?” Kris asked. In response, Riley lifted up his shirt to reveal hard six-pack abs and a gun.
“The rifle’s in the truck,” advised Quinn. “Did you call Ryan?” he asked Connor.
Connor shook his head. “Not yet. Talked to him last night about the alarm going off.”
“But you didn’t tell him about all of this?” Quinn asked. “You need to. This is really serious. Breaking and entering, attempted rape, possibly kidnapping, even attempted murder for the stunt with the car. This son of a bitch will never see the light of day once we get him. Why didn’t you do it already?”
Connor said, “I didn’t know until a while ago, and Sophia was more worried about just staying safe overnight. You’re probably right.”
“
Probably?
” Quinn was incredulous.
“Relax. I just didn’t call before hitting the shower.”
“That’s just going to make him mad, won’t it?” Sophia asked, fearing escalation.
Kris nodded and put a comforting hand on her. “Yes, but your concern is what abusive people do to their victim—make them afraid to report it, for example. He’s never going to get to you, I promise you that. You’ll have the help of all of us.”
Sophia nodded, realizing the other woman was right. “Okay. Let’s make the call.”
“We’ll do it on the way,” said Quinn, heading for the door. “Ryan can meet us at the house.”
“Let me get some sandals for Sophia,” suggested Connor, walking away.
The five of them piled into Quinn’s big red truck and onto the curving roads around Sugarloaf Mountain, passing some of the many bicycling enthusiasts that filled the rural streets near Comus. They arrived at Sophia’s mother’s house minutes later. From the driveway, they could see the front door still open. Sophia worried that anyone who’d come by might’ve helped themselves to things inside. She hadn’t considered that before now and felt irritated with herself, her hand tightening on Connor’s. He squeezed back and leaned a little closer.
As everyone exited the truck and stood together in the front yard, Kris got off the phone with Sheriff Ryan and announced, “He said it’ll be ten minutes before they arrive and to stay outside.”
“Right,” said Riley, moving toward the house anyway, bat in one hand, his other pulling the gun from his waistband. “Quinn?”
The big man followed with a sheepish look at the others and the two men disappeared inside. Kris rolled her eyes, used to this sort of thing and not worried about them. But Sophia gripped Connor’s hand enough to dig fingernails into his flesh.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “They know what they’re doing, especially Riley.”
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt on account of me, especially anyone important to you.”
The seconds ticked by without a sound from the house. While they waited, three local police cars pulled into the driveway, each white with a green stripe around it. Two were deputies and the third was the sheriff, Ryan Kendall, who got out and came toward them, a restrained smile of greeting revealing straight white teeth. He stood six foot four, broad-shouldered with muscles everywhere on an otherwise lean frame. Ryan gave the impression of being very familiar with the gun, pepper spray, handcuffs, and other items attached to his black belt. He didn’t seem to notice the dirt his feet were kicking up or that his polished black shoes were getting covered in brown dust. Short, wavy brown hair matched his uniform, which he wore like a second skin, short sleeves revealing a tattoo of a dagger on one forearm. Sophia thought it looked familiar and realized Riley had an identical one.
“Hey, guys,” Ryan began, looking around. “I thought you said Quinn and—shit! Did they go inside?”
“Of course,” said Kris.
“God da—” He stopped himself and turned to the deputies. “Get in there! And don’t shoot my cousins. I’ll do that myself.”
The deputies ran for the house, but just as they got there, Riley came out, grinning at Ryan. “House is clear. It’s a mess though. Looks ransacked. I’m sorry, Sophia.”
She sighed and shook her head in disbelief. “Great. That’s just great.”
Connor said, “You don’t have to go in if you don’t want. Kris and I can get some things for you.”
“It’s okay; I can go in. Just come with me?”
“Of course.”
Connor looked to Ryan, who nodded his permission and followed them and Kris into the house, where random chairs had been toppled, anything on tabletops or in drawers had been thrown to the floor, and pictures had been knocked askew or off the walls. One could almost think the intruders had been searching for something, but sometimes an entire table lay untouched, none of its drawers emptied.
“We don’t have to do a full inventory now,” began Ryan, “but if you can give us some idea of how much is missing, and what…”
Sophia nodded, eyes on the empty spot where her purse had been. Then again, maybe she’d put it somewhere else. She led Connor from room to room and upstairs, and when they entered her bedroom, Sophia abruptly stopped.
“Crap,” she said. “They’ve got my computer. I don’t see the purse, either, so they have my wallet. Phone, too.”
“Were they locked with a password or code?” Connor asked.
“I was using the laptop at the time, so if they got to it fast enough, no. Same with the phone.”
“Seth could have access to all your accounts then.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. We’ll get you to a computer soon so you can login to everything and change passwords. Or did you have two-factor authentication setup?”
“Wouldn’t have mattered if I did, since the phone was the second thing to prove I’m me.”
“Right.” Connor dug his smartphone out of his pants and began signing himself out of several mobile apps.
Kris stepped up. “Was there anything in your purse you really needed?”
They exchanged a look before Sophia realized she meant tampons and the like. Her contraceptive pills had been in there. Fortunately, she got them in a three-month supply and had another packet in her suitcase, which she’d never gotten around to unpacking. The suitcase was still here, too. She was on the pill to keep her periods regular, not because she ever had sex.
Connor handed her his phone and Sophia tried to get into Facebook only to have the app tell her three times that her password was wrong despite her making certain to not fat-finger it.
“Damn it,” she said, “I think he’s gotten in and changed the password. Let me try Twitter.” She did that one and had no luck there either. Then she just searched for her username and when the account came up, so did several tweets she hadn’t sent. She went cold on seeing one that read:
So in love!!! with @SethMurray666 #romantic #stud #greatsex #hotguy
Wordlessly, she handed the phone to Connor, who read the tweet. Seeing his expression, Kris took the phone, looked at it, and muttered, “Asshole.”
Sophia tried to shrug it off and focused on retrieving some belongings, which was easy, since most of her things were still in suitcases. When they got back downstairs, Quinn took the bags and loaded them into the truck while Sophia fed Minx, who’d crept out of hiding only after the people had been there for awhile. Then Ryan motioned them to sit at the dining room table.
“Listen,” he began, “this is all pretty serious and while me and my deputies can handle a lot, I think we’re looking at putting this guy away for a long time, if everything is handled right.”
“Good,” said Connor with uncharacteristic sternness.
“I’m glad you agree, because what I want to do is call in the Maryland State Police and make sure everything is done right. No fumbling of evidence or missteps. We don’t want this guy getting off on some sort of technicality, once we catch him. We’ve never handled an attempted murder investigation and I don’t want a screw up.”
Kris put a hand on her cousin’s arm. “Good thinking, Ryan. What do you need?”
“Not much from you guys. I just want State to process the scene, and we’ll have to take a look at Sophia’s car, which is a huge piece of evidence. They might be able to help with tracking stuff, too. Come to think of it, did you have any sort of smartphone locator app installed and running?”
She frowned at the lost opportunity to find Seth in a hurry. “No.”
“It’s okay. We have other ways to track phones anyway. Listen, if you’re up for it, I’d like you to come to the station and give a formal statement. The sooner the better, so we can get things rolling on catching him.”
Sophia nodded.
“I’m coming with,” said Connor.
“So am I,” said Kris. To Connor, she said, “Can I talk to you for a minute first?”
Wondering what this was about, Connor followed her to another room, out of Sophia’s earshot. “What’s up?”
“Just wanted to see where your head is,” she replied.
“About what?”
“Her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I can tell you two like each other. If you poked my eyes out, I’d still be able to see it.”
Connor smiled. “What’s your point?”
“Just take it easy. She’s been through a lot in the last day.”
He frowned at the idea he’d take advantage of anyone, least of all Sophia. “Yeah, I know. You don’t have to remind me.”
She patted his cheek. “I know you’ll do the right thing. You always do. It’s why I admire you even though you’re my little brother. I just haven’t seen that look in your eye before.”
Feigning ignorance, he asked, “And what look is that?”
She smirked and just said, “I’m very happy for you. Both of you. Now don’t screw it up, or I’ll have Quinn take a strap to you.”
He rolled his eyes, knowing she was kidding, as Quinn had never done anything like that. But as the oldest, Quinn had been like a father figure to him and Tristan in particular after their parents died. “Yes, Mom.”
Kris kissed his cheek.
Minutes later, they got into Ryan’s cruiser with Sophia and departed. The deputies stayed at the house to meet the state police and secure the scene, and Riley and Quinn left for the inn to drop off Sophia’s suitcases.
From far away, where none of them could see, someone was watching everything.
Chapter 7 – Spying
“Shit.”
Jess looked at Seth quietly, wondering why he’d said that for the umpteenth time now. She sat on a boulder, one untied, yellow sneaker on the brown grass beside it and the other propped on a different rock. Rocks jutted up from the ground all around them except for a small area where Seth’s tent stood. A little green propane stove and cooking utensils sat near two folding chairs, a lantern, and jugs of water. The camp was concealed and everything within camouflaged because camping on Sugarloaf Mountain wasn’t allowed, but he’d been doing it anyway for what seemed like forever. He knew the mountain well, having worked for the park service that oversaw it, and so he knew where he could get away with it.