Chapter Eighteen
BY BEING BLUNT, Cam had scared Sedona. For that, he could have kicked himself. The problem was, his gut said he was right on the money. Somehow, Sedona and Julio had seen and or heard something that Dominic Simpson’s client deemed a threat to himself, and he wanted the threat eliminated.
He pressed a hard kiss on her mouth. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I don’t want to scare you, but you need honest facts, not platitudes that could get you killed.”
“You’re right. I’m an adult. I can take it.”
She sounded like a petrified child, and that was on him. “We’ll find Julio and figure out who’s behind this.”
“And then?”
“Then I focus on something more important to me.”
“Is that right?” Her lips curved slightly.
“Oh, yeah. I’m already planning our first official date without chaperones.”
She laughed, her eyes sparkling.
“Got something, Cam,” Dario said. “Come look at this.”
They crossed the room. “What is it?” Cam asked.
Rhys turned his computer so Cam and Sedona could see the screen. “Watch.” He tapped a key, and the screen showed people at the main hospital entrance walking in and out of the hospital lobby.
Seconds later, The Collector strolled into the lobby as though he owned the place. At his side was a muscular man, similar to the three they’d already arrested. “The Collector has a new sidekick.”
When Sedona shivered, Cam wrapped his arm around her shoulders and settled her against his side. More than cold chills were affecting her. Stress, anxiety, total fear, and more were wreaking havoc on her body.
The screen showed a new view, and seconds later The Collector and his companion walked down the corridor. Cam scowled, recognizing the hallway to Julio’s room. Soon, the assassin and the second man walked to the boy’s room. Although stopped by an officer, he wasn’t deterrent to the two men.
The second man distracted the guard by asking something, allowing Dominic Simpson to slip behind the guard.
Simpson reached into his pocket, pulled out a hypodermic, uncapped it, and shoved the needle into the man’s neck.
The officer slumped and would have fallen if Simpson and his buddy hadn’t caught him and hauled him into Julio’s room.
A split-second later, Julio raced from the room and headed straight toward the staircase. Simpson and the second man were after him in a heartbeat.
Cam mentally rooted for the kid, even though he knew they had captured Julio and the boy was still in The Collector’s hands. Too many signs pointing in that direction to ignore the evidence.
When the figures on the screen froze, Rhys tapped a key on the keyboard again, and the scene changed again. This time, the shot was outside the hospital waiting room at the entrance doors.
As they watched, Julio sprinted from the hospital and across the grass toward the forest with Simpson and his buddy hot on his heels. In Simpson’s hand was a Sig with a silencer screwed into the barrel. “That’s how he fired at Julio with no one hearing it.”
Sedona looked at Rhys. “Please tell me you picked up Julio when he left the forest.”
Forest. A big word for a shallow two acres of trees. If Julio had a good sense of direction, he would have been through the woods in five minutes, tops. Cam scowled. If one man snagged him and tossed the kid over his shoulder, he’d be through the woods faster than the allotted five minutes.
If the men had to track the kid down because he was sharp and fast, it might take a few extra minutes.
They all watched the screen as the action froze.
Again, Rhys tapped the screen and set the action moving forward again.
This time the screenshot was of a dark SUV sitting to the side of the road.
Nothing happened for several seconds, then two men jogged out of the woods.
Simpson had a struggling Julio draped over his shoulder.
When they reached the SUV, Sidekick unlocked the vehicle and opened the back door for Simpson and Julio. The boy, however, was wild in his efforts to escape the hitman’s hold.
Suddenly, Sidekick reached out and grabbed the boy in such a way that he was forced to remain still.
Simpson grabbed another hypodermic needle from his pocket and shoved the needle into Julio’s neck.
Seconds later, the boy went limp. Simpson scooped him up, put him in the SUV, and climbed in after him.
Sidekick sat behind the wheel, and they drove off.
Maria sobbed. “Oh, please tell me you picked them up again somewhere.”
Rhys glanced up. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, thank God. Show us.”
He looked at Cam, one eyebrow raised.
“Go ahead. Show us as far as you have.”
“Copy that, sir.”
For the next several minutes, Rhys played the footage he’d cobbled together from security and traffic cams. The last recording showed an unconscious Julio being carried inside a home by The Collector with Sidekick on his heels.
The recordings stopped with a picture of the house frozen on the screen.
“Is that all?” Maria demanded to know.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What does that mean?” Sedona asked. “Is Julio still at that house?”
“I’ve tapped into the live security cam feed. What you’re seeing is live. To the best of my knowledge, Julio is inside that house.”
“Can you find the address?”
“I already have it.”
She and Maria stared at Rhys. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, but I am. I know where Julio is being held.”
Eddie wrapped his arm around his mother. “Then why are we just sitting here? Do something.”
“Whoa, Eddie.” Cam rested his hand on the teen’s shoulder.
“We are doing something. For one thing, my teammates aren’t law enforcement, but I am.
I have to secure permission from my boss for us to go after Julio and have the documents signed to give us legal clearance.
Second, we need satellite images of the house and surrounding area to make a plan to get your brother out of there safely. ”
“I’ll tell you how to keep him safe,” Eddie snapped. “You kick down the door, kill the creeps who took him, and bring Julio back to us. That’s how you keep him safe.”
Dario chuckled. “I say the kid has the right idea.”
“Let’s get the satellite images first, then we’ll make a plan.” And he’d wrangle permission from David Montgomery to take his team on another hunt.
“Orders, Cam?” Rhys asked.
“Send a copy of what you showed us to David, then give me that address. Do it fast, buddy, or Fortress Security will have all the fun.”
“You’ve got it.” Rhys grabbed the laptop, set it on his lap, and got to work.
Five minutes later, Cam’s phone rang. “How hard did giving me a copy of that footage hurt?”
“You don’t want to know, sir.”
The sheriff laughed. “I bet. Good work, whichever one of you is the computer geek.”
“That would be Rhys, sir.”
“So noted. I’ve worked with you long enough to know that’s not all. Tell me the rest of what you need.”
“Rhys will give us the address. Once we have that, I want to take my team into the field to rescue the boy.”
“I’m okay with it as long as your teammates know they’re bound by the same rules as we are. No Cowboy antics. I’m not military now, but I will nip in the bud anything which will mess up a case against Simpson and his buddy. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” His boys wouldn’t be happy. That meant their freedom to act as they saw fit had been cut. He would hear about it, too.
“How is Sedona?”
“Better than I thought at this point.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate your woman. She will repay you for that.”
He froze. Uh oh. The sheriff had a point. “Noted, sir.”
“I want to know where you are at all times, Cam. We just brought you to Maple Valley. Losing you is not an option. We also want to provide backup in case you need us.”
This was why he loved working in a small town that valued its law enforcement.
It all started with respect for the officers at the top of the food chain.
At the top of his food chain was Sheriff David Montgomery.
“I appreciate that, sir. Do you want a call every fifteen minutes?” Doing that would drive The Thunderhawks crazy, but he’d do it if that’s what it took to remain a Morgan County deputy sheriff.
“Nope. Call me before you infiltrate the perimeter, and shove the phone into your vest pocket. Leave the call live and take care of business the right way.”
“You ask little.”
The sheriff snorted. “You’re supposed to be the Army’s Cowboys. Now prove it by being creative. Whatever it takes legally to free the boy.”
Nope, not asking much at all. Just freeing a hostage with his hands tied behind his back. “Copy that, sir.”
A ding from Rhys’ laptop had the rest of The Thunderhawks turning to Rhys. “Well?” Dario asked. “Did you get it?”
“Of course.”
Of course. Cam blew out a breath. “Where is he?”
Rhys turned his computer around so they could all see the pin with the address on the screen.
Cam sucked in a breath. Man, this was not good news. Of all the places to hide the kid, this was one of the worst in the county.
“Hey,” David snapped. “Silence doesn’t help me. Where is Julio?”
“Rattlesnake Canyon.”
Silence, then, “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Can’t. Sorry.”
David groaned. “We’ll all be sorry except for Elliot. For some strange reason, he says the place is an excellent challenge for his skills, and he enjoys it.”
“Respectfully, sir, your brother is weird.”
“You’ll get no argument from me on that score. Send me everything Rhys put together. You won’t see us, but we’ll be around to lend a hand if you need us, and we might bring a few friends to the party.”
“Fortress?”
“Who else?”
“How will we know they’re friendlies, sir?”
“They’ll be wearing all black with no reflection, plus tactical boots.”
That should do it, but he wanted to be sure they didn’t make a mistake. “How do we confirm in a split second? The Collector’s man at the hospital was wearing all black. What if he has friends who dress like he does?”