“Here’s my plan. We track down the kids. Make them talk. We’ll have to avoid being seen by Bill’s men, and we have to get to the kids before they do. If Hannah and her boyfriend don’t have any useful information—or if we can’t find them—we approach Nicole. We’ll position ourselves around the camp after dark tonight. If anybody sees Nicole, radio me and I’ll go in after her. Nobody sees her, I’ll have to go over the fence looking for her.”
Sahdev frowned. “After the bomb today, they’ll step up their security. Everyone will be more vigilant. The pastor will likely assign additional patrols along the fence line.”
I shrugged. “Can’t be helped. Not leaving Mac in Bill’s hands for another night. If I can’t find Nicole, might just need to hunt down Bill and have a little talk with him. Make him see reason.”
“It might make more sense for us all to go over the fence,” Kyle said. “That way, if worse comes to worst, we’d have three armed men.”
Might be time to retire Kyle’s nickname. He was still recovering from the flu, but he hadn’t once used that as an excuse to get out of pulling his own weight. Not like in Portland when he was grazed by a bullet and lay around on his ass for weeks, bitching and moaning.
My dad used to tell me to man up. Mac would give me the stink eye if I used that old phrase, but it fit now. Kyle was stepping up, doing his share, acting like a man. Could be time to stop calling him Country Club.
“Something to consider.” Didn’t reject the suggestion, but bringing Kyle and Sahdev into a firefight would definitely be a last resort. What’s that old Bible verse—the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? Got no doubt they’d do their best, but neither man had my training. Wasn’t sure if they could stay calm and in control when adrenaline was being dumped into their systems.
“Want you two to stick together.” I leaned over the map, then drew a circle with my finger. “This is your search area. If you find the kids, make sure Hannah sees you, so they’ll know you’re friendlies and not the pastor’s men. Radio me, then bring them back to the cabin. If you see or hear Bill’s men, hide. Don’t confront them.”
“All right.” Sahdev stood. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. If we come up empty in our search for the kids, we’ll meet back here around five and consolidate our plan to stake out the camp.”
“Got it.” Kyle jumped to his feet and pulled the keys to the jeep from his pocket, clearly eager to get going. He and Sahdev headed toward the door.
“Be careful.” Mac would kick my ass if either man got hurt trying to rescue her.
Kyle glanced back over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom.”
After refilling Hector’s water bowl, I jumped on the bike and rode toward my search zone, the area where I figured the kids were far more likely to be found. Fifteen minutes later, I pulled off the road and hid the Road King behind some brush, then headed into the woods.
Dirt bike’s short pipes made for a noisy ride, so I kept my ears cocked, but heard nothing. They either ditched the bike or were far away. If the boy had a vehicle stashed nearby, likely they raced to the car and were now long gone. That case, we’d be shit out of luck. Girl would be free from the cult’s clutches, but we might never know what role—if any—the boy played in the explosions at the dam and the cabin.
About an hour and a half into my search, I heard a branch snap and two men speaking in hushed voices. Dropped into a crouch behind a fallen log and drew my Colt as the pair stepped into view. A two-way radio sounded, and the older of the men—Pastor Bill’s fourth deacon—pulled it from a pocket.
“James here.”
A crackling noise, followed by Pastor Bill’s voice. “Anything to report?”
“No, sir. If the bomber stuck around to witness his handiwork, he’s long gone now.”
“Keep looking. If you see him, shoot on sight.”
The pastor sounded mighty blasé about ordering a man’s death.
“Yes, sir. Will do. If we don’t spot him, do you want us back at camp in time for the wedding?”
Despite the static, I heard the pastor snort. “No, James, I don’t need you back for the wedding. I expect you to beat the bushes until you find that damned bomber. Over and out.”
James shoved the walkie-talkie back into his pocket, then glanced at his companion.
“You heard the boss.”
“They better save us some wedding cake,” the other man said, his voice sullen.
My radio crackled with an incoming communication.
The men jerked and swung their eyes in my direction.
Well fuck.
“Call for backup,” James ordered.
Before the other man could comply, I aimed, and shot both men in the upper chest. Their bodies dropped to the forest floor, the vessels that carried blood to their brains demolished. I stalked over to them to confirm the kill, pocketed their walkie-talkie, then quickly concealed the bodies under some branches.
Did it trouble me to get the drop on two unsuspecting men? Fuck, no. They had orders to shoot on sight and were calling for backup. And it meant two fewer men to contend with when I breached the camp, increasing my odds of bringing Mac to safety.
I hightailed it out of there, in case anybody heard the shots. As I jogged away, I radioed Kyle.
“We found the dirt bike,” he said. “The kids hid it behind some brush, then apparently took off on foot. No other sign of them.”
Damn. I miscalculated somehow, assumed the teenagers would have headed into my search area. I was in the wrong place.
Glanced at my watch. Ten past four. “Might as well hike back to the road and head to the cabin. We should rendezvous there close to five. Over.”
“You got it.” Kyle signed off.
I loped through the forest, jumping over holes, tree roots, and fallen branches on my way back to the road. My long strides ate up the distance, and I reached the bike by 4:30. I sped back toward the cabin and took the exit for Lost Dog Lake, the jeep carrying Kyle and Sahdev thirty seconds ahead of me on the gravel lane.
When we pulled up to Nicole’s cabin, the front door flew open and Hannah appeared, gesturing and shouting wildly. The teenage boy darted out from the far side of Nicole’s sedan. He dashed toward the porch, taking the steps in one giant leap. Hannah grabbed his arm. He pushed her into the cabin and slammed the door shut.
The boy’s face appeared in the window a moment later, then he dropped the curtain and disappeared from view.
I swung off the bike. Kyle and Sahdev climbed out of the jeep.
Crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. Here I’d been bad-mouthing dumb luck all day, and fate decided to hand us the kids on a silver platter. How ironic was that?
“One of you go round back and make sure they don’t try to get out that way.”
“I’m on it.” Sahdev jogged around the cabin.
“They needed a car, and Hannah remembered that Nicole’s sedan was here, with the keys hanging conveniently on a hook in the kitchen.” Kyle shook his head. “If we’d known, we could have sat tight and waited for them to show up.”
My cheeks puffed when I blew out an exasperated breath. “Ain’t that the way it goes.”