Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“I don’t suppose any of you know how to operate a jackhammer?” Hawk asked, already dressed for the chilly December weather.
“I wish,” Griffen said.
“Not me,” I added.
Hope didn’t bother to comment.
“Then we’re going to have to let Billy Bob in on whatever’s up,” Hawk said.
“I think,” I said slowly, “we only need them to break up the top layer of concrete.” If my hunch was correct, it was going to be obvious once they got through that first layer.
“And you know where we’re digging?” Hawk asked, his brows drawn together as he clearly tried to puzzle out what the hell was going on.
“I think I do,” I said. “Bailey Toms gave me a pretty good description of where the hole was.” I zipped up my jacket as I shouldered open the garage door, my heart thumping faster in my chest as my eyes went to the spot Bailey Toms had described.
I had no doubt there would be answers buried beneath the concrete. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to discover exactly what they were.
Chapter Thirty-Two
FORD
It didn’t take long for the four of us to move the vehicles out of the garage and park them in the courtyard in front of the Manor. By the time we had that sorted, Billy Bob’s truck was coming down the drive, escorted by Eli and Wren in their truck, both vehicles peeling off from the main drive to take the side lane around to the garage.
“Now y’all got problems in the garage? Where in this house don’t you have things falling apart?” Billy of Billy Bob asked.
Bob just grinned at us and hefted the jackhammer out of the back of their truck.
I led them to the garage bay at the far end. “Here,” I said, walking in a slow circle, realizing as I did that there was the faintest depression in the concrete, hairline cracks making a loose, wide oval in front of the space where a vehicle would park.
The garage was deep and wide, considering it took up most of the wing of the house. The spot was directly below the hall between my room and Paige’s room.
“This is where we dig,” I said. “Look.” I stood between Billy and Bob, pointing at the area in question, about the size of a compact car. “Can you get this concrete up so we can get to the gravel or whatever’s underneath?”
“Sure. Gonna take a minute, but we can get it up.”
“Thanks.” I patted Bob on the back as I walked away.
“Y’all back up, in case this spits concrete out. Don’t want anybody to get cut,” Billy said, looking at Hope.
“All right,” she agreed. “We’ll stay by the door.”
We moved back about twenty feet. Eli and Wren hovered near the open garage doors, their eyes mainly on Billy Bob, occasionally scanning their surroundings. I noticed they worked seamlessly: Eli watching Billy and Bob, while Wren scanned the driveway, the side yard, and the woods. Then her gaze went to the men with the jackhammer, and Eli scanned their surroundings. Despite their security clearance, they didn’t trust Billy Bob and that jackhammer, but it looked like they didn’t trust much of anything else either.
Billy Bob worked methodically, breaking down the concrete and shoveling it out, trading off the jackhammer and the shovel until most of the space was cleared and chunks of concrete were piled on the side of the garage.
“I hope there’s actually something under there,” Griffen said. “Otherwise, we just made a big fucking mess for no reason.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I kind of hope we just made a big fucking mess for no reason.”
Hope let out a sigh. The door behind us opened, and Paige stepped through, the baby monitor clasped in her hand.
“She took forever to fall asleep, but she’s out,” Paige said, holding up the monitor to show the screen—and a peacefully sleeping Stella. “They got that concrete up pretty fast.”
“They did,” Hope agreed. “I think it wasn’t in great shape. We probably would have started having issues with it soon. Aunt Ophelia’s car is usually parked on this side of the garage because she doesn’t drive much and she’s traveling so often. It made sense to put her here, but I don’t think she’s been examining the floor when she moves the car, and I can’t remember the last time I looked at the floor on this side of the garage,” she said.
“Me either,” Griffen agreed. “Never even thought about it.”
“All right, boss,” Billy said. “Concrete’s up. You want us to grab another shovel and go after this gravel?”
Griffen looked to me, and I shook my head. “Nah, we got it.”
“You want us to leave the jackhammer?”
Griffen thought for a second. “We’ll give a call if we need you back. Thanks, guys, for coming so quickly.”
“Anytime,” Bob said, and they left with a wave, Eli and Wren following them out silently.