CHAPTER TWENTY
“We’re coming up on the last known location for that van.” Lucas’s voice crackled in Calliope’s headphones.
The loud, rhythmic whop whop whop of the long rotor blades necessitated the use of headsets in order to hear each other.
The last image Luna had been able to find of them was taken from a gas station about twenty miles outside of San Salsillo, right on the edge of the desert.
“There it is.” Calliope pointed down.
There was a small gas station with three pumps and a tow truck parked off to the side. A rusty, pockmarked metal sign reading Last Chance for Gas hung by a single hook and swung back and forth at the top of a tall pole.
It was like a scene from one of those postapocalyptic movies where the heroine drives into the mountains with nothing but her dog, some basic supplies, and tons of grit and determination.
There were multiple dirt roads leading off in different directions, and they had no way of knowing which one Rios and his band of hairy men might’ve taken.
“It sure would’ve been nice if that rental car still had GPS.” Calliope scanned the ground below. “All I can see are rocks, sand, and more sand.”
“I still can’t believe those idiots figured out how to disable the GPS.” Lucas gave her a quick look, then focused out the front of the helo.
“Luna said there are Frankensteined GPS jamming devices for sale all over the dark web.” She continued surveying the landscape. “And it’s not like some rental agency contract is going to stop those assholes from messing with their car.”
“They’ll be lucky if they even get that thing back.” He tilted the cyclic, and the helo dipped to the left and straightened out. “I’m going to start with those trails to the east and work our way to the west.”
“Sounds good.” She shifted one of her shoulder harnesses and settled in.
The sun was high overhead and especially intense shining through the large front windshield. She was thankful for the tinting that protected them from the worst of it.
Calliope loved flying with Lucas and trusted his skills completely.
She especially loved when he wore his mirrored aviators.
The man was straight-up gorgeous without them on, but when he put them on—hubba-hubba—she wanted to jump his bones.
Then again, she pretty much always wanted to jump his bones.
They zigzagged over the valley for about an hour and flew over about a dozen ramshackle buildings scattered across the barren landscape. They’d seen only one inhabitant, and he’d taken a shot at the helo with a shotgun.
Mark had warned them folks out this way guarded their land and privacy like old gold miners protecting a claim. Fortunately, Lucas’s time as a special ops helo pilot in Afghanistan had given him plenty of practice evading enemy fire.
The sun was beginning to set and they were about to turn back when Lucas spotted something in the distance.
“There.” He pointed off to the right, about five miles to the east.
“Is that a structure?” Calliope lifted her binoculars to her eyes.
“Damn, I wish I had my chopper.” Lucas’s helo was back at their compound in Virginia.
It was equipped with all kinds of high-tech equipment, including long-range infrared cameras.
“If that’s our target, I don’t want them to know we’ve spotted them.” He looked down at his gauges. “The wind’s comin’ in from the east, so I’ll stay to the west. Hopefully, they won’t hear us.”
He banked left a little, dropped down about a hundred feet, and leveled off. The helo was in the shadow caused by the cliffs.
As they approached, the structure became more recognizable.
“Looks like a double-wide trailer.” She scanned the property with the binoculars, smiled, and pointed. “And there’s the minivan.”
They’d parked it behind some thorny mesquite bushes about fifty feet from the building. Perfect cover for someone looking for it from the ground. Guess they never figured someone would be looking for it from above.
“The place appears to be somewhat well-kept.” Considering it was located in the middle of the damn desert.
“So it’s not an abandoned house.” Lucas’s tone was ominous, and he turned to her. “Wonder what happened to the people who live there?”
He tapped a button on his headphones.
Luna’s voice crackled through. “Hey, Lucas. What’s up?”
“We might’ve found where they’re keeping the girls.” He rattled off the coordinates for the mobile home. “Can you find out what the deal is with it?”
“Sure. Are you worried they might’ve done something to the owners?” she asked.
“That’s exactly what we’re worried about.”
“I’m on it.”
“Thanks.” He tapped his earpiece and gave Calliope a sideways glance. “I know you want me to land right now so you can go in there and take out those assholes. But we need the rest of the team.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She huffed out a breath and crossed her arms.
Lucas chuckled, then shifted the cyclic, and the helo turned away from the mobile home.
She grumbled as the house faded from sight.
“Why don’t you call Cole with an update.” Lucas knew she needed the distraction.
She grabbed the satellite phone and called their boss.
“Hey, Cole, we think we’ve found where the girls are being held.” She filled him on what they already knew. “Yeah, we’ve asked Luna to do a deep dive into the owners.”
“Good work.” Their boss was already back at the rental house. “I’ll update Eddie, because I know he’s going to want to be a part of the op.”
“What about Lucia and Isabella?” Calliope had grown to care for both of them and loved how happy her friend was having them in his life. “Who’s going to stay with them?”
“Mark and one of his deputies have volunteered to stay at the cabin,” he said.
“Oh, good.” She didn’t know Mark very well, but as Eddie’s longtime friend and brother-in-law, he had a personal interest in making sure they were safe.
Otherwise, Calliope would volunteer to watch over them. Even if it meant missing out on the action.