Chapter 9 #2
“Thanks.” He took one phone, sliding the other toward Kendra. “Now we just need to figure out how to set a trap for Levy.”
Raine arched a brow and glanced at Griff. Nobody spoke for a long moment. Finally, Justin said, “He has a point. We should try to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Levy is guilty.”
“Or innocent,” Raine said on a sigh.
Dom sat back in his seat, feeling satisfied that they’d agreed to his plan.
How they operationalized his idea, he thought grimly, was up to them.
Kendra wished Justin would tone down the big brother act. Although she had to admit, Dom handled it well. Still, it was annoying to be treated like fragile glass.
“We should set up another safe house,” Griff suggested. “We’ll give Levy the location and be waiting for him when he shows.”
“And if he’s not involved?” Raine asked. “We can’t just shoot first and explain our suspicions later.”
“We can hide along the perimeter,” Griff said. “We won’t shoot first, but if he opens fire, all bets are off.”
“I like it,” Justin agreed.
Kendra glanced at Dom. “You’re being awfully quiet.”
“This isn’t my area of expertise.” He shrugged, then added, “But I like the idea of using a safe house. The only issue is that I’d rather not obtain that using the Sullivan name.”
“We can try using Owen’s last name of Ross.” Kendra glanced at Griff. “I don’t think Levy knows Owen is pretty much a part of the family now.”
“That may work. Owen’s wife, Emily, had a different last name from Doug even before she and Owen were married, which helps. Good idea, Kendra.” Griff picked up his phone. “I’ll let Owen know what we’re up to.”
Dom shot her an admiring glance. “We should have tried that ourselves.”
“I didn’t honestly think about it until now.” She grimaced, rubbing her temple. The excess caffeine was getting to her. “Chalk it up to not having time to think clearly. Let’s just hope Levy didn’t do his homework, or he may suspect a trap.”
“It’s possible he’ll play along,” Justin pointed out.
“He hasn’t so far,” Dom argued. “We barely left Grady’s house before he showed up guns blazing.”
“And you’re sure there isn’t another way someone could have found you?” Raine glanced between Kendra and Dom. “We need to be open to all possibilities.”
Kendra gestured to Dom. “Dom did a fancy technique to hide our ISP location. I don’t see how the average gunman would be able to figure that out.”
“Who said the gunman is average?” Griff shot back. “For all we know, he’s got a computer whiz on the payroll.”
“We considered that possibility,” Dom admitted. “I’m not bragging, but my skills are better than most.”
There was a long pause as her brother and in-laws digested that.
Finally, Griff nodded. “Okay, we’ll move forward on the basis it’s Levy who’s managed to track your disposable cell phones.
We’ll obtain a rental property under Owen’s name, then contact Levy with the address.
” He gestured to the server carrying a large tray toward them. “After we eat.”
The topic turned more mundane as Justin, Raine, and Griff ate. Kendra had been making plans for a Christmas gathering, but she wasn’t in the mood to discuss the holidays.
The moment they finished eating, Justin pulled cash from his wallet for the tab while Griff worked his phone.
“Owen is fine with us setting up a rental in his name,” Griff announced. “I found a place on the east side of the city. That should be far enough from Grady’s place for our purposes. Especially as it’s situated on a large one-acre lot with the backyard butting up against the woods.”
“Sounds a little like Bailey’s old place,” Kendra said.
“About six blocks away,” Griff confirmed as he set his phone aside. “It’s going to take a few minutes for the rental to go through.”
Kendra hoped and prayed this would work. Once they had Levy in custody, the danger would be over.
Unless, of course, Levy refused to cooperate. The thought made her sigh. Still, having him off the streets would help.
They lingered over coffee while waiting for the rental property to go through. Griff glanced at his phone, then grinned. “We’re all set.”
“Let’s get to the rental before we call Levy.” Raine rose to her feet.
“Works for me,” Justin agreed.
Dom stood, towering over her brother and Griff. Kendra gave Smoky the hand signal to come. Her K9 crawled out from underneath the table, wagging her tail at the idea of going to work.
“I should put booties and a vest on Stone.” Justin bent to pat his yellow lab. “He doesn’t have Smoky’s fur.”
“That would be best.” Kendra eyed his K9. “We don’t know how long we’ll have to wait outside for Levy to show up.”
“I’m betting it’s not long,” Dom said. “He didn’t waste any time earlier.” He turned toward Raine. “Make sure you let him know that we’re at the rental house, but you’re on your way. That way, he’ll assume Kendra and I will be there alone.”
“I will.” Raine shrugged into her coat. “If he’s dirty, he’ll make his move.”
Kendra could tell Raine wasn’t convinced of Levy’s culpability. It was surprising, considering her sister-in-law’s recent experience proved that with enough money involved, anyone could be corrupt.
Even those sworn to uphold the law.
She and Dom strode to her SUV. Once Smoky was settled in the back, they headed toward the east side of the city.
Overhead, the cloudy sky hinted at more snow to come. Normally, she loved snow as much as Smoky did. But now she hoped it held off for a while.
The house was dark brown in color and was set back nearly fifty yards from the road. It looked nice enough. Kendra pulled into the driveway and glanced at Dom. “Probably best to leave the car out here.”
He nodded. “I just hope he doesn’t shoot the tires out or something equally drastic.”
“If he does, we’ll grab him.” She pushed out of the driver’s side door, opening the hatch for Smoky.
Justin and Raine stopped on the road. Her brother opened the driver’s side window. “We’ll park on the next block and head to the back.”
“Okay.” Kendra strode over to Griff as he pulled up next. “Do you have the code?”
He nodded and rattled it off. “I’m going to park on a different street as well. We’ll all come in through the sides or back of the property.”
“Understood.” She stepped back and watched as Griff drove away, following Justin and Raine. When they were gone, she walked up to the garage door and punched in the code.
The garage was empty, as expected. Dom followed her as she headed into the house through the attached garage door, flipping lights on along the way. While it was daytime, the overcast sky kept the interior dim enough to warrant the light.
Their plan was to have Dominic stay inside the house, while the rest of them waited outside, covering the back and the sides of the property.
She didn’t like exposing Dominic to danger, but he’d insisted that without someone inside, their plan may not work.
After the way the gunman had found Grady’s house vacant, she had to admit that was something the US Marshal might check this time around.
Dominic followed her into the open-concept kitchen and living room, setting his computer on the table. He stood and looked around. “Not bad. I hope Levy shows his face very soon. I don’t want you and the others freezing to death outside.”
“He will.” She glanced at her watch, eyeing the time. “Raine is going to make the call in five minutes. That means I need to head out.”
“Okay.” Dom held her gaze. “Be safe.”
“You too.” Leaving Dom there alone wasn’t easy. She stepped closer and quickly gave him a hug. “I’ll be mad if you get hurt.”
“Same goes,” he murmured, surprising her by pulling her closer. He held her tight for a long second but then released his grip and stepped back. “Be careful out there.”
“That’s the plan. Time for me to get in position.” She turned to see Smoky waiting by the door. The poor dog probably needed to get busy too. “If bullets fly, get under the table. We’ll handle him from there.”
“I know how to duck,” Dom drawled. “Seems that’s all we’ve been doing since this started.”
Since that was true, she nodded and turned away, resisting the urge to kiss Dom. “Come, Smoky.”
Kendra walked back outside through the garage, then used the code again to close the garage door.
Griff had brought the rental property up on a map application to show them the location.
The house faced south, and Griff had assigned her to the northern position along the back.
Raine and Justin would be stationed on the east, while Griff covered the west.
They were assuming Levy would approach from the road, which made sense. Yet remembering the shadow that had inched along the woods at the cabin, Kendra knew she needed to be prepared for anything.
The good news was that Smoky would let her know with a low growl if someone approached. Levy wouldn’t anticipate there would be anyone waiting outside.
Kendra jumped over the snowbank on the side of the house closest to the garage to hide her footprints, sticking close to the side of the house as she made her way to the backyard. If Levy noticed the footprints in the snow leading around to the back, he might get suspicious.
Or maybe he’d assume she was taking her dog out. Which was something she would do upon arriving to a new location. When she reached the corner overlooking the backyard, she paused and scanned the area.
The snow was undisturbed. Maybe nobody had rented the place since the most recent snowstorms.
She stayed close to the house, hunching her shoulders because the wind was coming at her through the trees. She waved a hand at the yard. “Go on, girl. Get busy.”
Smoky leaped through the snow as if shot out of a cannon. Her dog buried her snout in the snow, then lifted her head and ran in a circle. After a few minutes of burning off excess energy, the K9 got down to business.
Less than a minute later, another dog joined the fray. Stone romped and played next to Smoky for several minutes, until Justin called him over.
“All set?” Raine asked. “I called Levy three minutes ago. Let’s get in position.”
Without protest, Griff headed to the west. Justin and Raine went to the east, the side of the house that was closest to the garage.
“Come, Smoky.” Her K9 bounded over, her curvy tail wagging with anticipation. Her dog along with the others on the ranch preferred to work.
Kendra wished they could play the search game. Having a scent source for the K9 to track would be easier than setting up a sting operation.
She huddled next to the house, keeping her gaze focused on the yard. Through the patio doors, light from inside shone like a beacon. She peered inside, not surprised to see Dominic sitting with the laptop, his long legs stretched out before him.
He didn’t notice her watching him, but that was okay. She expected his attention to alternate between his work and the front of the house.
The wind picked up, rattling the bare branches of the trees. Again, she scanned the yard, making note of the footprints that had been left by Justin, Raine, and Griff. Along with the myriad of paw prints.
Drawing a slow deep breath, she pressed her back against the wall. At this point, all she and the others could do was to wait for Levy to show.
While praying nobody gets hurt.