My husband woke me up in the middle of the night. “Get up. Into the yard. Now.” We hid in the bushes in our pajamas, and when I saw who was entering the house, my hands began to tremble.

Colton took a slow breath before continuing, “About six months ago I discovered that the logistics company I work for in Denver was being used as a cover for a burglary ring that targeted homes using internal delivery data, and when I realized they had flagged our address as part of their plan, I went to the police instead of confronting anyone directly.”

I stared at him in disbelief while the flashing red and blue lights painted the driveway in restless colors, and I asked through clenched teeth, “Why would you keep something like that from me when it involves our children?”

“They were monitoring employees closely,” he answered quietly, “and if they suspected you knew anything, they might have moved faster or changed their plan in a way the police could not track.”

One of the officers approached and explained that tonight had been arranged as a controlled operation where Colton pretended to store a package tied to the ring so that law enforcement could catch the men attempting to retrieve it, and the officer assured me that additional units had been positioned nearby the entire time in case anything went wrong.