Page 57 of Pirate

“You mean when I carried you to your room like a baby?” Jumper asked him with a shit-eating grin.

Pirate’s eyes narrowed. “Anything happenbesidesthat?” Hoping his brother would get the hint and explain why Sophia was in his bed. Not that he minded she was in his bed, it was just unexpected.

Jumper had his laptop open. Sitting catty corner to him, Pirate could just make out the nighttime view of a patio door. Jumper slowed the video slightly and then watched as a man dressed in all black looked to be picking the lock of the door. Hesprayed something on the top and bottom track, then slid the door open just enough to slip inside.

Pirate’s eyes narrowed. As the door opened, it gave him a clearer view of inside the building the man in black was entering. His eyes widened. “That’s Sophia’s house!”

Jumper nodded. “Yup.”

Pirate pushed his coffee aside and grabbed the laptop to put it in front of him. “What the hell is this?”

“Video of her house Sunday night. Keep watching.”

Sunday night? Sunday was the club run. He and Sophia were in his clubhouse apartment until after midnight. He’d followed her home and saw her inside before leaving to come back to his apartment. What time was this? Had Pirate dropped her off while the intruder had been in her house? Why hadn’t she said anything?

He searched for a timestamp. Twenty three fifty seven. They were still at the clubhouse when this occurred. He felt some relief for that.

The figure in black was inside the guesthouse for just under a half hour. Then he exited the same way he came in, using either a key or lock-picks to lock the sliding door behind himself. As he strode away, Pirate confirmed his assumption of a male based on the walk and posture of the dark figure.

Unfortunately, though the camera with night vision was facing right at him, his hood obscured his face too much to get a clear view.

“Based on the height of the sliding door, Keys puts him at five-ten. A footprint left in the mud showed he was wearing tactical boots, size eleven. Around one-eighty in weight.”

“Keys?” Pirate repeated. What the fuck was going on? Was he still asleep and this was some fucked up dream? “What the hell, Jumper?”

“After we got you to bed last night, Sophia confided in me that she felt like she was being watched in her place Monday night.”

“The fuck?” Pirate demanded.

“I called Keys to have him check the security cameras. The Grovetons’ property is gated but this man still got in. Keys hasn’t found where yet.”

“Wait, this is Sunday night. You said Monday night. Why the fuck didn’t she call me?” Pirate was fixing a fucking bike in the clubhouse’s garage while Sophia had been in danger? What the fuck?

“I got the feeling she didn’t want to be a bother,” Jumper answered softly. Fury filled Pirate at those words. Not wanting to be abother? “And to answer your question, he went back Monday night.”

“While she was home?” Pirate shouted. The dogs, Aerial, Pooch, and Kidd, all raised their heads and whined.

Jumper nodded. “According to Sophia, she was so creeped out by the feeling of being watched that she slept with the bedroom and bathroom lights on. She also barricaded her bedroom door so it couldn’t be easily opened and put a chair under her closet door.”

She wasthatfreaked out and she still hadn’t called him? Pirate dropped his head into his hands. Did she not trust him? Did she think he was incapable of protecting her?

“What did he do?” Pirate was loathe to find out but alsoneededto know. How could she not tell him? All she’d said was that she’d hardly slept Monday night.

“As far as we can tell, he moved a pair of her boots.”

Pirate’s head shot up. “What?”

“There’s no cameras inside her home. He went in through the slider door just as he had Sunday night. Ten minutes later, he comes back out.”

“Ten minutes?” That was all?

Jumper nodded.

“What about last night?” If he was there Sunday night and Monday night, there was a good possibility he went back last night too.

Jumper nodded. “Around midnight, just like the other nights. Keys saw him on the camera feed, but Keys, Bulldog, Ghost, and Ranger were inside with the lights on. The camera shows him approach the guesthouse and then leave as soon as he saw the others.”

Pirate was glad the others had been there but pissed they hadn’t caught the guy. “Who is he? Do they know?”

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