This wasn’t a random act.
Someone had deliberately found their home and tried to break in.
Sam grunted, and Tansy looked down at his phone again.
The camera feed was from the sawmill. The hooded figure was climbing the fence from the road.
Was this a new attack? “This is now?”
Sam shook his head. “No. An hour ago. It’s not some hiker lost in the woods looking for a warm place to stay. I’m going to need to install more than cameras at the mill.”
“Like what?” Tansy had learned a lot about security from Sam that week, but she didn’t have anywhere near his knowledge.
“I think I’ll loop up some beams across the trailhead and a few more places. I’ll get an alert if anyone crosses them, but it won’t sound an alarm.”
She nodded. “That would give us advanced warning.”
Sam tucked her under his arm. “It will. But your property is huge. It’s fairly easy for anyone who wants to get in to come through the woods.”
Tansy leaned into him. “You think that plane was scouting the property, don’t you?”
“It’s a strong possibility. I’ll call Graham in the morning and get him to stop at the airfields on his way here. He knows how to ask questions without arousing suspicion. We’ll see if he can find out anything.”
She didn’t want to live in a world where people were always after her and her ideas. “This will be my last project for the DOD.”
Sam turned to face her fully. “What? Why?”
“Every instinct I have is telling me to run and hide right now. I don’t want to do that for the rest of my life. I want to be left alone to work on my projects. To do what interests me. I don’t want to be a focus for criminals and terrorists.” Her voice wobbled, so she clamped her teeth together, then whispered. “I’m a coward, Sam. I just want to live in peace.”
To her surprise, instead of being disgusted by her words, he chuckled and pulled her in for a hug. One of his grizzly bear hugs that never failed to warm all of her insides.
“Honey, that doesn’t make you a coward. It makes you smart. Most people want exactly that. To do what their heart calls them to do and to live in peace. That’s completely normal.”
His hands ran over the t-shirt she wore. “We’re going to find this guy and stop him. We’re not going to let him hurt you, and we’re certainly not going to let him stop you. You were born to create a better world, and we’re going to make sure you get to do that for the rest of your life.”
A soft mechanical whir had them both flinching, but Tansy knew that sound. “It’s okay. Jane and George are starting their shift.”
Sam huffed out a laugh. “Let’s leave them to it. There’s no way that asshole will be back tonight. We’re safe and secure. Come on back to bed. We’ve got a few hours before dawn.”
“I don’t know if I can get back to sleep.”
“Who said anything about sleep?”
Sam held Tansy as she drifted off. They’d warmed each other in the very best way and now he hoped she could get a couple of hours of sleep.
And he could plot.
Fury zipped through him now that he wasn’t putting on a calm face for Tansy.
Someone had tried to invade her home, probably with an eye to hurting her. Or coercing her.
And the bastard was going to pay.
Sam used his phone to search for local law enforcement. He found Phail had a local deputy who worked out of an office in Phail General.
That was good because he wanted to chat with Troy Phail about this as well.
Knowing Joe and Nico were in different time zones, he held off on texting them. No sense in ruining anyone else’s sleep.