Page 40 of Crew

Her hands ached from carrying buckets back and forth and she was sure she was covered in soot, but no one had been hurt and they’d stopped the fire before losing all of the harvest.

Crew kissed the top of her head. “You okay?”

“Pissed. But yes.”

“Me too,” he said with a mirthless chuckle. “Damn it, I wish they’d fuck off and leave us alone.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair with a frustrated grunt.

The walkie squawked and Crew hummed. “Yeah?”

“It’s Tris. Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine, the fire is out.”

“Some of the chickens are gone.”

“What?” he asked.

“A few chickens are gone and the door wasn’t closed right. I noticed it when I went to take the laundry off the line. I’m back in the house and the door is locked, but I think someone came to the property and took the chickens.”

“Shit. Okay, stay inside, Tris, we’re on our way back.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Why would they take chickens?” Zara asked.

“I don’t know,” Crew said. “To drive us insane?”

“Fuckers,” Avi said.

“We need to watch the field for a while to ensure it doesn’t relight,” Ford said. “Do you guys want to finish the harvest?”

“I’ll handle the harvest if someone watches the patch to make sure it doesn’t catch fire again,” Avi said.

“I’ll go back to the house and check out the livestock,” Grey said.

They parted ways and the three of them returned to the farmhouse. They’d had a dozen chickens and there were now six, so someone had gone in and taken the chickens, but to what purpose? The gate at the front of the property was still locked, but they hadn’t been able to replace the damaged cameras by the blackberries in the woods, so they most likely snuck in that way.

Zara stood on the porch with Tris and watched as Crew and Grey checked on the animals and patrolled around the yard.

“This is really crazy,” Tris said. “It seems like such a dumb thing to do—take chickens.”

“I know,” she said. She mused on it for a few moments, then said, “I think they’re trying to figure out how to come after us, you know? They took out the cameras and the technology didn’t recognize it wasn’t working right. Then they set a fire that took us away from the house and barns and took some chickens. It’s like when someone calls the cops to see how long it takes them to show up, so they know how long they have to commit a crime.”

Tris shivered. “I don’t like that idea at all.”

Zara looked at her. “It’s safe at your house, right?”

“Absolutely,” she said. “Khyle and Dexter installed state-of-the-art security systems at both houses. It’s just like what you have at the farmhouse, it’s just not the kind of system that you can install on a huge property like the farm.”

“I wish we could.”

“Me too.”

Crew walked over and gave her a kiss and greeted Tris.

“I don’t think we’re done with them,” Zara said. “I think they’re gearing up for something big. Something bad.”

Crew looked at her gravely. “I think so too.”

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