Chapter Nineteen
CAM SLID BEHIND the wheel of his SUV with the sweet taste of Sedona lingering in his mouth. Since the chemistry between them was off the charts, he had to break the kiss when he did. If he hadn’t, they both would have burned to ashes.
Two members of his team joined him in his vehicle. The final two Thunderhawks were in Dario’s SUV.
Cam drove from the hospital’s parking lot with Dario falling in line a few car lengths behind him. He handed his phone to Rhys, who sat in the shotgun seat, working on his laptop. “Call David Montgomery.”
“I wonder how good these comm devices are.” Rhys pulled the device from his pocket and slipped it into his ear. “I’ll contact Dario and Isaac so their listening devices are in place for this Zane guy to hook us into a loop.”
The computer geek sent a message to both men, then called David, who would contact Zane from Fortress Security. He put the call on speaker.
“Montgomery,” the sheriff said.
“It’s Cam. We’re on the road and ready to loop our communications.”
“Copy that. Hold.”
Less than a minute later, another man’s voice came through the comm device. “Cameron Sims, I’m Zane Murphy. It’s good to meet you. I’ve heard impressive things about your work since you joined the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department.”
“I appreciate that.”
“David asked me to be your tech support for this mission. Are you okay with that?”
He stilled. “What does tech support do for us on a mission?”
“I make sure your comm devices stay connected, and I monitor you through a satellite if one wanders by while you’re working.”
“You can do that?”
Zane chuckled. “I do it all the time for our black ops teams. I don’t have to do tech support if you prefer using what you normally use.”
Only a fool would turn down that kind of help. “We would appreciate the help, Zane. When can we expect your aid to start?”
“I’m already working. The way ahead of you is clear, as is the road behind you. So far, it doesn’t look as though The Collector sent a team to prevent you from reaching the house where they’ve taken Julio.”
Huh. He could see why the comm support was a serious advantage. “Thanks for the information.”
“Yep. I’ll remain quiet now unless I see something you should know.”
“Copy that.” Cam glanced at Rhys. “What have you got for me?”
“Nothing good.” His expression was grim. “On the dark web, no one has reported The Collector failing to accomplish his mission.”
“You’re sure?”
“That sounded suspicious to me, so I double-checked the reports. It was no mistake.”
Cam whistled. Unbelievable. He hoped Simpson padded his reputation because if he hadn’t, this guy had a perfect average. As good as Cam was, he had an occasional miss. Sounded like Simpson was more robot than man. “Keep digging. We need to uncover the boss’ identity fast.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dario broke into the conversation. “At the risk of sounding like a little kid, how long until we get there?”
His teammates chuckled. “Forty minutes,” Cam said. “Why?”
“Rain is moving in an hour from now. We need to get there, spring the kid, and book it out of the area.”
“Piece of cake,” Spencer said.
Cam smiled, glad to be back with his team. “I’m afraid they brought in reinforcements.”
“We’ll handle them,” Isaac said, confidence in their ability to handle the enemy in his voice.
“Of course we will,” Dario chimed in. “This is what we do, Cam. We find the lost and bring them home.” Left unsaid was their entire goal. Find the lost, dead or alive, and bring them home.
“Four-way stop ahead,” Spencer said. “Left turn.”
“Copy that. Keep us updated on the time until we reach our destination.” His teammates weren’t the only ones pushing to reach the site as fast as possible.
“Yes, sir.”
During the rest of the journey, Cam and the others drove in silence, except for Spencer calling out directions. Twenty-five minutes later, the medic gave directions to a small clearing to park behind a grove of trees.
With nothing else around, Cam maneuvered the SUV into the grove and turned off the engine. “Check your gear, then we’ll meet the others and cobble together a plan. Zane, any updates?”
“No satellite in place. Give me another eight minutes, and I’ll be able to help.”
“Copy that.” Once he and his men checked their weapons one last time, they climbed from the SUV and met Dario and Isaac in front of their vehicle.
Leaves on the trees fluttered wildly as the wind whipped around them, bringing with it the promise of rain.
Cam eyed the surroundings. Once the rain began to fall, it wouldn’t take long for the trail to become a slippery and dangerous journey.
“So, here’s what we’re going to do.” He talked for a solid two minutes, then paused.
“Questions or suggestions?” When no one said a word, Cam gave a slight nod.
“The Collector must suspect we’re on his trail.
He’s ready for us. So, watch your backs. Let’s move.”
Leading his team single file through the grove toward the house and The Collector and his crew felt natural. Knowing Sedona was safe at the sheriff’s office gave Cam the freedom to focus on his surroundings and on protecting his team.
“Zane, you did research on The Collector’s habits, right?”
“Yeah. What do you need?”
He had this feeling. Cam hoped he was wrong, but his gut wouldn’t shut up about this being a trap. “Was one of Simpson’s tricks to set up a trap for those coming after him?”
“Yeah.”
“What traps does he use?”
“The kind your friend Dario would appreciate.”
Bombs. Great. Just great. “What about perimeter traps?” He held up his fist, stopping his teammates in their tracks.
“Landmines and other explosives. He’s also fond of grenades.”
Dario growled.
Yep, that’s how he felt. If The Collector was standing in front of him right now, Cam would be tempted to choke the guy. He’d seen too many good men die because of IEDs. He didn’t want to be responsible for the injuries or deaths of his best friends. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”
“I bet. Look, there’s something weird going on here.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You didn’t hear this, but I hijacked a satellite link.”
Cam groaned. “I definitely didn’t hear that. You know I’m a cop, right?”
“I figured you were a Montgomery kind of cop.”
Oh, boy. Did Zane have his number or what? “Okay, okay. You’ve got me. I might bend the law a little here and there. So, what’s bugging you?”
“A vehicle arrived an hour ago. From what I saw, no one left after the SUV arrived. I pulled the latest thermal pass. The building shows six heat anomalies that weren’t there before.
None have moved toward an exit. Two of those signatures are concentrated in the same interior zone. One’s small. One adult-sized.”
“That has to be them,” Spencer said. “We’ve got to get to them, Cam. Julio could be hurt.”
“Zane, where did the satellite pick up the two overlapping signatures?”
“Back bedroom on the east side. Corner room.”
The skies opened up, and the promised rain arrived in a steady downpour. Within minutes, the path became as slick as ice.
The mission clock continued to tick in Cam’s head along with the familiar need to get moving and end this assignment on a wonderful note. Except this wasn’t just an assignment, and a small boy’s life was at stake.
They were close to finding his buddy. Cam knew it to his core. “Fall into line. Watch your footing. I need all of you to get this done. Julio is depending on us to find him and bring him home.”
“Copy that, sir.”
Cam continued on the path that he and his teammates decided was the safest and least likely to attract attention from inside the house. Thank goodness for thick trees and foliage cover this time of year. He could do without the rain.
Five hundred yards ahead, a thin silver wire lay stretched across a clear path. Cam held up a fist and pointed out the hazard. Not wanting to waste time dismantling an IED, he opted to give the danger a wide berth.
He skirted more IEDs the closer he walked to their target. Although Cam grew impatient with all the delays, speeding up would endanger his team.
Finally, the trees thinned out, and there it was. “Target house in sight. Back room, east side, corner is our priority.”
“Copy.”
He signaled Dario and Isaac to take the front door while he, Spencer, and Rhys took the back door.
Cam waited five minutes to time the guards’ rounds.
When no one appeared, his gut knotted. Zane was right.
Something was off here, but what? Glancing at his men’s grim expressions didn’t make him feel any better.
Yeah, they knew something was wrong, too.
So, what now? Go ahead or hang back? He debated for a split second, then turned to Dario. Was there a choice? Not if he wanted to free Julio today. “Set the charge on the front door and wait for my signal to go.”
A slight nod from his friend, then he and Isaac took off. Cam waited five seconds, then gave the signal for his team to fall in behind him.
Seconds later, he placed a charge on the assigned door. “Team One in position.”
“Team Two in position,” came the response.
“On my count.” Cam counted down from three, then snapped, “Go, go, go!” He pressed the button.
The door blew inward, and a second later another explosion rocked the front of the building. Cam’s team streamed into the kitchen behind him.
The beams from multiple flashlights sliced through the dim, silent interior. Throughout the building came, “Clear left, clear right, hallway clear.”
Cam stood still in the entryway to the hall. No gunfire. No movement. Nothing but silence. The knot in his gut grew.
He gritted his teeth. He had a job to do, and they hadn’t checked the target room. They still might find Cam’s buddy. He prayed they found the boy alive and unharmed. “Let’s go.”
Together, they checked every hiding place in the kitchen, then moved on to the living room and bathroom.
All empty.
They hadn’t reached the target room yet. There was still hope. There had to be. Cam couldn’t bear the thought of telling Sedona that not only had he failed, but her student was…. Nope. He couldn’t say it or think it.
“Team Two, report.”
“All clear. Nothing on the front, first floor.”
“Copy. Nothing on the back, first floor. Go to the second floor.”
“Copy that.”
Both teams surged up the stairs. They repeated clearing rooms until they reached the closed back room door, the one intel said held Julio.
Cam signaled the team to fall in behind him. He was taking this door himself.
“On my count. Three, two, one.” He raised his booted foot and kicked in the door.
He pushed in, weapon up and tracking. His teammates surged in behind him, weapons up and ready.
Empty.
Cam wanted to puke. The room was empty.
He drew in a slow breath and forced himself to really look at the room where they believed Julio had been held.
He was right the first time. The room was empty, but it wasn’t clean.
“The room’s empty, sir,” Dario said softly.
“No, it’s not empty,” Cam insisted. He walked over to the far corner of the room where the bed was and picked up a child-sized blanket. He stripped off his left glove and coasted his hand over the bare mattress.
Cam looked at the others. “It’s still warm.” Pain and disappointment speared him in the heart.
“Cam.” Rhys cradled a cut zip tie in the palm of his hand.
Cam straightened. “He’s gone, and we just missed him by minutes.”
He ran from the bedroom, down the stairs and out the kitchen door with the rest of his team on his heels.
To Cam’s eyes, nothing had changed in the past five minutes.
His gaze scanned the yard again and came to a sudden stop on the detached garage.
The detached garage with the door now up when it had been closed. “Door’s up.”
Spencer hissed. “It was closed when we arrived.”
Cam shifted mentally to search mode. Time to get to work. They had a job to do.
The men split up, carefully scanning the ground for any signs to give them another starting point. Less than a minute later, Dario called out from behind the detached garage. “Back here.”
His teammates found him crouched beside a muddy patch of ground. Cam crouched beside his EOD man. “What do we have?”
“Tire tracks.”
He studied the marks in the mud. “SUV. A big one.”
“Hey,” Spencer called. “Here’s another set of tracks. The tracks all lead in the same direction.”
“Let’s hope The Collector likes to park in different parking spaces each time,” Rhys said.
“Load up. Rhys, you’re with me. Spencer.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re kicking me out.”
The rest of his teammates gave the medic a hard time as they ran to their vehicles.
Soon, Cam climbed behind the wheel and cranked his engine. “We missed him by two or three minutes, at the most.”
Rhys’ fingers flew over his laptop keyboard. Then it was his turn to growl. “We’ve got three vehicles leaving the area on traffic cam. Black SUVs. No plates. They’re definitely traveling together at a high rate of speed.”
Cam’s fingers clenched around the steering wheel as rage swept over him. “Simpson knew we were coming. They were already in the SUVs when we arrived here.”