Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 222

CHAPTER 128-2

By lunchtime, the site looked considerably better. It was still damaged, but it no longer looked abandoned.

That mattered to me.

The expansion wasn’t dead. It was delayed. There was a difference

Jace returned shortly after lunch with Derek, and I immediately knew something had happened.

“What?” I asked as he smiled.

“Replacement equipment is confirmed.” Jace said.

“When?” I asked.

“Tomorrow morning.” He said and I smiled.

“You’re serious.” I asked.

“Very.” He said and I hugged him before I could stop myself.

“Thank you.” I said as he wrapped his arms around me.

“You’re welcome.” He said and I pulled away.

“I’m still paying you back.” I said and he laughed.

“We’ll discuss that later.” He said and Derek cleared his throat.

“I’ve got something else.” Derek said and my smile faded.

“What?” I asked.

“I’ve been looking at the security system.” He said.

“And?” I asked as he glanced toward the workshop.

“Someone knew exactly where the cameras were.” He said making me frown.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“The exterior cameras were disabled in a specific order, and whoever did it avoided the main field of view.” He said as Jace’s expression hardened.

“So they knew the layout.” Jace said.

“Or they watched it beforehand.” Derek said.

I looked toward the road and that thought made my stomach tighten.

Someone hadn’t simply stumbled onto the property. They had planned this and Derek continued investigating while the rest of us kept working.

He checked the camera recordings from the hours before the vandalism, and he also checked the

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CHAPTER 12.

surrounding businesses for anything that might have captured suspicious vehicles.

By late afternoon, I was exhausted.

I washed my hands, changed my shirt, and sat on the edge of the workshop floor and Jace crouched beside me.

“You okay?” He asked.

“I’m angry.” I said.

“That’s allowed.” He said.

“I don’t want them to keep taking pieces of this away from me.” I said.

“They won’t.” He said and I looked at him.

“You can’t promise that.” I said.

“No.” He said as he took my hand.

“But I can promise we won’t make it easy.” He added and I smiled faintly.

“That’s better.” I said.

We closed the garage just before sunset, and I followed Jace back to the clubhouse.

After dinner, I showered and changed into comfortable clothes, while Jace checked a few messages downstairs.

When I came back into the living room, Derek was waiting.

His expression immediately caught my attention.

“What happened?” I asked as he held up his phone.

“We found something.” He said as Jace stood.

“What?” I asked.

Chan

“One of the cameras at a business across the road caught movement near the construction site.” He said and I stepped closer.

“Can we see it?” I asked so Derek nodded and he turned the phone toward us.

The footage was dark, but headlights appeared on the road. A vehicle stopped near the property, and several motorcycles followed behind it.

“How many?” I asked.

“Four motorcycles.” Derek said.

The riders got off and moved toward the construction site. Their faces were impossible to see and every rider wore dark clothing, helmets, and masks.

“They’re masked.” I said and Derek nodded.

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CHAPTER 120

“And they’re moving like they know exactly where they’re going.” Derek said.

Clam

Jace watched the footage without speaking. The recording continued and one rider pointed toward the cameras, while another walked toward the machinery.

Then the screen showed the lights flickering as the cameras were disabled.

“They knew.” I asked as Derek looked at me.

“They knew enough.” He said and Jace’s jaw tightened.

“Can you identify the bikes?” Jace asked.

“Not yet.” Derek said as he paused the footage.

“There’s something else.” He added.

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