Lark #3
Lark looked down at Isabella's journal. Something nagged at the back of her mind—something she'd overlooked.
She opened the book again and stared at page after page of names, account numbers, and shipping routes.
But near the back of the journal was a folded page corner.
She hadn't noticed it before. Lark carefully unfolded the page, and she discovered a rough pencil sketch. It wasn’t a map, but a floor plan.
Dante walked closer. "What is it?"
"I don't know,” Lark admitted.
Rocco leaned over her shoulder. "Wait." His finger traced one section. "I've seen this before."
"You have?" Lark asked.
"It's not a building." Rocco looked up. "It's an underground bunker."
Lark frowned. "How do you know?"
"My father helped build emergency shelters during the nineties,” Rocco said. He tapped the drawing again. "This ventilation layout—the escape shaft and generator room- I've seen this design before."
Dante's pulse quickened. "You think Sofia's there?"
"I think—" Rocco turned another page. "That your mother wasn't drawing random buildings."
There was writing beneath the sketch that was almost too faded to read. Lark held the page closer to the light. "The children are beneath Saint Michael's."
Dante looked up. "The church."
"No.” Rocco shook his head. "Saint Michael's Mission." He looked at Lark. "It’s about thirty miles from here, and it’s been abandoned for years."
Lark's heart began pounding. "My mother knew."
Rocco nodded. "I think Isabella found Keller's first holding site."
Dante grabbed his rifle. "We're going."
"We'll never make it through twelve mercenaries,” Lark said as she looked toward the window again.
Rocco smiled. "We're not going through them." He disappeared into the basement, and Dante and Lark followed him. He pulled a dusty tarp aside, and beneath it sat an old ATV.
Lark blinked. "You've been hiding that down here?"
"My dad believed every cabin needed two ways out.
" He looked toward the stone fireplace that sat in the corner of the basement.
It looked completely out of place. "And one secret.
" He walked to the hearth and knelt in front of it.
A loose stone came free beneath his hand, and a hidden latch clicked into place.
The entire fireplace shifted several inches, and cold air rushed upward.
Lark laughed in disbelief. "Everybody has secret tunnels."
Rocco grinned. "It was the nineties. They loved hidden rooms." Even Dante laughed, and Lark realized that the sound eased some of the tension knotting her chest.
“I guess it’s time to head back into the creepy tunnels,” Dante said. “I’m driving.”
Within ten minutes, they emerged nearly half a mile from the cabin. The ATV remained hidden beneath fallen branches while the three of them climbed a ridge overlooking the road. From there, they watched Hale's men storm the cabin. Doors burst open, and windows shattered as Rocco muttered curses.
"They think we're still inside," Rocco whispered. A tremendous explosion rocked the clearing, and flames erupted through the roof of the cabin.
Lark gasped. "They blew it up."
Rocco stared silently at the burning cabin. "My dad would've hated having to watch that."
Lark slipped her hand into his. "I'm sorry."
He squeezed her hand in his own. "We'll build another."
“Damn straight we will,” Dante growled.
“But first, we need to go get your sister,” Rocco insisted.
“And then, we rebuild the cabin—together,” Lark said.
They started walking towards town, keeping to the shadows of the forest. Saint Michael's Mission appeared just before sunset. The old stone buildings stood isolated against the mountains, surrounded by rusted fencing and towering pines. It looked abandoned.
Rocco studied it through binoculars. "There,” he said, pointing to the left side of the building. “Two guards.”
Dante grabbed the binoculars from him and took a look at the old mission. “There are four more guards over on the right back side of the building. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s a hidden snipers nest up on the ridge.” His expression hardened as he handed the binoculars back to Rocco.
"This place isn't abandoned,” Rocco breathed, taking a second look. “They're guarding something." Dante took the binoculars back from Rocco.
Lark looked toward the old chapel, and a strange feeling settled over her—hope and possibly fear. A figure appeared briefly in one of the second-floor windows. She was sure that it was a young woman—thin with dark hair. She looked frightened and disappeared almost instantly.
Dante inhaled sharply. "No."
Lark looked at him. "What?"
His voice cracked. "That was her in the window." He lowered the binoculars, his eyes glistening. "That was Sofia." For a long moment, no one spoke, and then Lark reached for his hand.
"We're getting her out." Dante looked from Lark to Rocco, and then back to the mission where his sister had spent years waiting for someone to find her.
His jaw tightened with determination. "No." His voice was calm and certain. "We're bringing everyone home. If Keller has hidden Sofia there all this time, then she’s probably not his only prisoner. We’re going to get them all out.”