Page 50 of Guarded from Corruption

The SUV falls into silence as we wait; a collective breath drawing in.

Then he presses the ignition and the engine comes to life with a low purr.

Dante shifts into gear. “It’s time.”

Time is a flexible thing.

Each mile we drive feels like it takes hours.

While we scan the road for the next turn, knowing it’s critical we don’t miss it, time flickers by in an instant.

The time Jade’s been away from me feels like an eternity.

Anticipation makes me wish time would go faster. More than anticipation—a desperate need to get Jade back as quickly as possible.

From San Marcos east to Blackjack, then continuing into parts of Texas I’ve never been.

I need to explore this place more. Driving into unfamiliar territory isn’t a good thing.

When all this is over, Jade and I can take road trips all over the state. When this is over, and I have her back with me, I’m going to tell Jade how I feel about her.

But first. The mission.

I have to think of it that way, or I’ll lose it.

The mission. I can’t think about my beautiful Jade still in the trunk. In the dark. Alone.

She’s still unconscious, her vitals still holding steady, so that’s one good thing. If I can get Jade out of the trunk before she wakes up; she won’t have to take on that additional trauma.

“They’re slowing,” Matt announces. “Could be turning down one of these roads coming up.”

We’re being careful not to be seen, hanging back about a quarter mile or so, but Matt is watching Jade’s tracker carefully. As am I—Matt’s sitting beside me in the middle row, so I can keep a close eye on the little dot on the screen.

“There are several businesses nearby,” reports Rhiannon, her head down as she stares at her phone. She’s zoomed in on the map of the nearby area, searching for possible locations of the facility. “A self-storage place. A welding company. And a bottle and packaging distributor.”

“Any of those could fit,” Erik replies. “None of those would draw attention.”

“Up ahead.” Matt’s tone sharpens. “They just made a right on Red Hills Road.”

“Got it.” Several seconds later, Dante makes the turn. “Are they still slowing?”

“Going about forty,” Matt answers. “It’s promising.”

My heart jumps, beating in a rapid, staccato rhythm, but I sternly command it to settle.

“The bottle and packaging company is a few miles ahead.” Rhiannon’s voice pitches up hopefully. “This could be it.”

And a few minutes later, we have our answer.

Jade’s dot turns down a long driveway.

“Red Rock Packaging,” Rhiannon says. She leans over the back of my seat to show me her phone. “It has a long driveway with a loop around the building. The main entrance looks to be on the west side. Another entrance—a loading dock—at the rear.”

I study the screen. “Decent tree cover around back. If that’s the way they go in, we can use the trees to our advantage.”

“They’re just coming to the south side of the building now.” Matt peers at the laptop. “Still moving, but slowly.”

Dante turns the headlights off as we turn into the driveway. Pitch-black surrounds us.

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