"Who wasn't home Wednesday night?" Hope asked, looking to Hawk. "Were we all accounted for?"
Holding up a finger, he tapped at his phone, eyes glued to the screen. A very long minute later, he looked up and surveyed the room. "Bryce. The only person missing last Wednesday was Bryce. He left just after 10 AM and didn't come back until mid-afternoon on Thursday."
"Well, shit," Griffen said, mostly to himself. "What does he know about that bust that we don't?"
"I've searched his room," Hawk interjected. "I go through it every few days. If he has anything, the bust or other items he's taken from the house, he's not hiding them there."
"Bryce is a problem for later. Right now, we need to focus on finding Thatcher," Tenn said with a comforting squeeze around my shoulders.
Hawk nodded in agreement and looked back at me. "How well do you know your ex-husband?" Hawk asked. "Is he armed? Is Thatcher?"
The thought of my thirteen-year-old son armed with a weapon sent a chill down my spine. "I don't think Thatcher has ever seen a gun except on TV. And Elliott hates them. I can't be sure of anything right now, but I doubt they're armed."
Another long look was shared between Hawk and Griffen. Whatever they were thinking, they appeared to have reached a decision. Hawk went back to typing on his phone, and Griffen looked at Tenn and me. "As soon as Coop gets us a ping on that phone, you two take off to get Thatcher."
"Aren't you guys forgetting something?" Royal's voice boomed through the computer speakers. We all looked up. I'd forgotten he was there. "There's still a week left in the quarter and Tenn already used up most of his days."
I had no idea what that meant, but Tenn's muttered, "Fuck," told me it was a problem. A big one.
Chapter Thirty
TENN
Fuck. I'd completely forgotten about the will and the rules. Based on the surprised expressions around me, so had everyone else. Except for Royal. I was glad one of us was thinking.
Scarlett nudged her shoulder into mine. "What's wrong?"
I let out a breath, counting in my head as I explained. "Our father's will requires us to live at Heartstone Manor for five years before our trusts are released to us. We get fourteen days a quarter for travel. Any more and we break the terms of the will."
"How many days were you away this quarter?" Scarlett asked, the hope in her eyes dimming.
"Twelve, I think," I admitted.
"I should have taken that last trip for you and kept it even," Royal said, regret heavy in his voice. I'd insisted he stay home since he had things going on with Daisy and Griffen, and I'd had nothing tying me down but business.
Meeting his eyes through the camera, I shrugged a shoulder. "We didn't know, and it doesn't matter at this point."
"If you waited a few days, you'd hit the end of the quarter and have another fourteen days," Hawk added absently.
Scarlett's face tightened at the idea of waiting. I'd felt her tension cranking higher with each day that passed. Now that I understood why I knew waiting was out of the question. This was killing her, and Thatcher was a kid who had no business in the crosshairs of people dangerous enough to get Hawk's attention.
"Could you send the Sinclairs after Thatcher?" Hope offered. "Wouldn't that be safer?"
Hawk was already shaking his head. "Coop is tracing the phone, but he's headed out on a job, has to pass the phone off to the in-house team. They're short-staffed right now. Something about an extra bodyguard job that popped up with a regular client who has a stalker and two recoveries." At my questioning look, he clarified, "Kidnappings."
Scarlett's face went pale, but she gave Hawk a nod of understanding. "What happens if Tenn is gone for more than two days?"
I started to answer, but Griffen cut me off. "He loses his inheritance and access to family property, including this house and the Inn."
Scarlett let out a long exhale, her breath blowing her hair back from her face. "So, he doesn't just lose the money, he loses his home and his job, too?" Griffen nodded at her. Scarlett turned to me, her face resolute. "No. You can't risk it. I can go. If August can stay here so I don't have to worry about him—"
"No." I cut her off before she could say more. "You aren't doing this alone. As soon as we have an idea where they are, we'll leave." There was no way in hell Scarlett was going after Thatcher on her own. Not with the Learys in the mix. "We can find him and bring him back in two days."
"And if you can't?" Griffen asked quietly. "I can't change the will. I can't even try without risking everything going to Bryce. Until those five years are up, nothing is really mine anyway. I can't help you if you don't get back in time."