He focused on Jude. “How old are you, anyway? Thirteen or thirty? You little worm. You weren’t man enough to go after Abby yourself. You had to hire your buddies to do your dirty work.”

“I-I don’t know what y-you’re talking about.”

Abby felt her own temper climbing. She marched up in front of her cousin. “So I guess you haven’t heard about your good friend Boyd McGrath.”

“What about him?”

“Boyd is dead,” Gage said coldly. “Your friend Sean is in jail, along with the two guys McGrath hired to follow us into the mountains.”

The color drained from Jude’s face. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That so?” Gage drawled. “That’s not what Sean said. He was singing like a bird as the sheriff hauled his sorry ass away.”

Jude swallowed, his glance straying to the open door. Olivia Farrell appeared out in the hallway, as haughty as a queen, though she still wore her robe.

“Don’t worry, son. I called the police. It won’t take them long to get here.”

A sharp knock sounded at the front door. “Police! Open the door!”

Olivia smiled smugly. “My, they are certainly efficient. I just hung up the phone.”

Gage didn’t move. Abby looked at him, but he just shook his head. Abby had a feeling this wasn’t going down the way her aunt thought. Olivia went downstairs to open the front door, and a few seconds later, the thunder of heavy footfalls pounded up the stairs.

Uniformed officers swarmed into the bedroom. “Jude Preston Farrell?”

“That’s right. These people are trespassing in our home. Please arrest them.”

One of the officers, tall and silver-haired—Jennings, his badge read—cracked a smile. “Sorry, buddy, you’re the one under arrest.”

Jude’s eyes bulged. “What? What for? I-I didn’t do anything.”

“Tell that to the judge.”

Two of the officers grabbed Jude’s arms and hauled him up from the chair. “Put your hands behind your back.”

Olivia returned to the doorway. She gripped the wood to steady herself, then marched into the room. “What are you doing?”

“Making an arrest, ma’am,” Officer Jennings said.

“You’re arresting my son?” Her chin went up. “On what charges?”

“Conspiracy to commit armed robbery and assault. Though I’m fairly sure there’ll be more.”

The cuffs locked into place with a click. Jude swallowed. “Mom . . . ?”

Olivia stared at the policemen down the length of her nose. “At least give him time to put on some decent clothes.”

Officer Jennings glanced from mother to son and nodded. One of the other officers leaned down and unlocked the cuffs.

“We’ll be right out in the hall,” Jennings warned.