Page 60 of Meant for Two

“I agree. Remember, it’s just a possibility. As much as I am a proponent of telling the truth, maybe we shouldn’t scare Blair with our theories just yet,” Zane said.

“That makes sense. Let me call Dad and see if he’s learned anything.” Jeff pulled out his phone and made the call.

“Jeff. I’m glad you called. How’s Carl?”

“David is taking out the bullets. He’ll be fine. I think they tasered him first, which rendered him unconscious long enough for them to destroy the security cameras and drive in.”

“I’m manning the gate now. I cleaned up the glass, but the gate has to be replaced. So far, no blue truck has left.”

“They may have already gone.” At least he hoped they had. “I have no idea how long Carl was out,” Jeff told him.

“Hold on. That’s my brother on the other call now. I'll get right back to you.”

“Sure.” He looked over at Zane. “Dad’s manning the gate, but he didn’t see any blue truck leave.”

“As you said, we don’t know how long Carl was out.”

“No. I’ve never been tasered, but I can’t imagine he’d be out for more than a minute or two. Then again, he was shot. Two incidents—or three if Blair’s is related—can’t be a coincidence,” Jeff said.

“I’m starting to believe someone wants to harm the Development,” Zane said.

“That does seem to be the most likely scenario. We should check into Dad’s nemesis, Phil DePaul.”

“I thought you said he was kind of old,” Zane said.

“He is, which means he would have hired the werewolves to do his dirty work, making it harder to catch him.” Jeff’s cell rang. “Hey, Dad.”

“Adam is staying with the girls so that Noah can check the neighborhood for the blue truck. On his drive, he spotted one house with several broken windows.”

“Several? Are we talking vandalism here?” Jeff asked.

“I’m afraid so. According to Noah, the inside was totally trashed.”

That was bad. “I hope the owners weren’t home,” he said.

“That’s the problem. I’m the owner. It was the Ranchero Model home that Blair and Avery are working on.”

“Oh, shit. Blair and Avery are going to be devastated,” Jeff said.

“I know. I’ll ask Noah to keep an eye on Avery tonight if you make sure Blair stays safe,” his father said.

“You can bet on that. Did Uncle Adam learn anything from Charlene?”

“She said she’d copy the video up until the point where the thieves destroyed the cameras. I haven’t seen the feed yet,” his dad said.

Zane turned into the complex. When he stopped at the gate, his father stepped out of the guardhouse. That was the first time he'd seen his dad manning the gate.

Zane rolled down his window. “We’re on our way to get Blair and take her back to Jeff’s loft.”

“Good. She’s strong, but this will be a blow. We have to figure out a way to contain this and fast. Not only will people start moving out if they fear these incidents aren’t isolated, but Blair might lose her job too if there’s no one to buy my homes.”

Jeff leaned toward the window, his stomach in knots at the thought. “We will do whatever is necessary to help.

“Thanks, son.”

Zane took off for the model home where Blair was working. Thank goodness the thieves hadn’t chosen that model to trash. “You know, if the intruders thought nothing of shooting the guard, why not go to the model home where Blair and Avery were? Not that I wish they had, but I don’t understand their logic,” Jeff said.

“They might not have wanted to kill anyone. If they sensed Carl was a werewolf, they'd know he would recover. His wounds will heal completely, which means Carl can't prove in court that someone had shot him unless David takes photos, which I’m guessing he won’t.”

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