Hunt and Prey (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 8) by Kaylie Hunter (novels to read for beginners txt) 📕

turned off. Trigger and Bridget flipped the switch on their body cams to night vision. I watched Trigger walk over to Bones and switch his body cam over for him. In the green hue on Trigger’s cam, I saw Bones raise an eyebrow.

“I’ve got the bogie in my sights,” Jackson said. “He’s slowing down.” There was a pause. “Damn. He’s pulling into the dentist office parking lot.”

I looked over at Tech, pointing to his notepad. “Are we clear to leave?”

“Everything’s marked off except the drywall dust on the carpet where Bridget worked.”

“Bridget,” Whiskey said. “Rub your hand back and forth on the carpet to embed the dust.”

We watched her give the carpet a good rub down before she sprang upward. She walked blindly through the room, counting out her steps, and then down the hall to where Trigger and Bones were. She had night vision goggles in her backpack, but she never used them. Bridget had partial vision in a pitch-black setting which still boggled my brain cells. She could also memorize the entrances and exits, along with distances and directions. On her way past the boys, she grabbed Trigger’s hand and pulled him toward the small stairway. Trigger grabbed Bones’ arm and pulled him forward as well.

“I can’t see,” Bones said. “Stop so I can put my goggles on.”

“You don’t need to see,” Trigger said. “Just listen to Bridget and take Bridget-sized steps.”

We watched Bones stumble about before seeing him transition into pacing out his steps to Bridget’s counting. Within ten seconds, all three of them were ready and waiting at the upstairs window.

“What’s our status, Jackson?”

“Hold. I don’t have a clear view. I saw the taillights on the car go off, but whoever it is never walked this way. They could be inside already.”

“I would’ve heard them,” Trigger said. “No one’s inside yet.”

Bridget reached over and covered Trigger’s mouth.

“Silent, everyone,” Tech said over his mic. “Bridget saw something in the alley.”

Bridget released her hand and leaned forward to look out the window again. Because of the angle, we couldn’t see on her bodycam whatever she was watching. We did see on Bones’ cam when she lifted her hand, and using her fingers, started counting down from five.

“Four, three two, one…” Tech called out for her.

“Got him,” Jackson said. “Security guard. He just exited the alley and is walking past the front of the building. Dumbass isn’t even bothering to flash a light at the windows. He’s on auto-pilot.”

We all waited.

“Shit. He just lit a cigarette. He’s leaned against the building. Let’s hope he’s not a chain smoker.”

“Jackson, keep your head down. We don’t want him spotting you,” I said. “The rest of you stay close to the window until we’re in the clear.”

“Hey, Tech?” Bridget asked in a whisper. “What’s the status on the alarm system?” She held the window sensor out. Trigger had rigged it to show a fake connection which had allowed them access.

“It’s live. Don’t break that connection or it’ll get real loud real fast in there.”

“No worries.” Bridget grabbed Trigger’s hand and placed it on the sensor wire, then lifted his hand upward another three inches. Then she pulled super glue from her B&E bag, and while Trigger held the sensor, she glued it to the sidewall. Then she pulled a scalpel out, removing it from its sheath, and used the blade to carefully cut and pry the old sensor receiver off the glass pane. “All set,” Bridget said, tapping Trigger’s arm to let him know he could let go. She tucked the glue and scalpel back in her bag. “Can we go now?”

“The guard just finished his cigarette,” Jackson said. “He’s walking back to the parking lot. I’m waiting to see if he’s leaving or planning to make another circle.”

“Anyone want to swim when we get back to the house?” Bridget asked.

“I could go for a swim,” Trigger said. “Hey, Tech, what about you?”

“We’ll see. I need to check on Katie. Last time I saw her, she was puking mojitos into a trash can in our room.”

“I told her not to mix the mojitos and long island ice teas. Rookie mistake,” Bridget said.

“The security guard is leaving,” Jackson said. “Pulling out of the parking lot now. Turned north. Exit is clear.”

Bridget had Bones and Trigger slip out the window first, then she slid out, closing the window behind her. She pulled a Jimmie stick from her bag, wiggled it between the panes, then jerked her wrist to the side. We heard over the mic the latch snap closed. “Window locked.”

She turned and dropped down into Bones’ arms.

Bones whispered a chuckle. “You’re good at this shit.”

“It’s so much more fun than working retail,” she whispered back, giggling.

Chapter Forty-Three

CHARLIE

Wednesday, 12:37 a.m.

Arriving at the mansion, I parked and shuffled my gear from the Mustang’s trunk to Wild Card’s rental. Wild Card opened a door on the SUV for Beast, who leapt into the back seat. Doors were closed, and in less than three minutes, we were on our way again with Uncle Hank, Detective Chambers, Gibson, and Quille following us out of the driveway.

Before reaching the truck stop, I pointed for Wild Card to pull into a restaurant parking lot. The lot was empty and the building’s interior lights were off. The rest of our gang pulled in behind us. Getting out of our vehicles, we clustered together in the darkest section of the lot.

“What’s the plan?” Quille said. “And this better be good. Miranda’s livid.”

I pulled my phone and texted Miranda: Will a three-day cruise this weekend get Quille out of the doghouse?

I watched three dots float back and forth for almost a minute before she finally replied: Yes.

I texted Baker to book the trip and sent him Miranda’s phone number. “Your wife