Page 79 of Dangerous Obsession

“We’re not sure if Barnum is at the cabin yet or not. He may have come at it from a different entry point.” Viking rested his hands on his hips. “This guy is a violent narcissist, and he has a deep,deepdisdain for women. His obsession with Marigold has made him irrational and unpredictable.”

“He’s not former military, and from what we know, he doesn’t have any type of formal firearms or explosives training,” Cole said. “However, he did purchase a revolver and extra ammo from a pawn shop. It’s unknown at this time if he was able to secure any other weaponry. So be alert and proceed with caution.” Cole looked at his team. “Everyone clear?”

They responded in unison. “Affirmative.”

He nodded, and Hawk, Eddie, and Calliope jogged over, loaded into the truck, and the engine rumbled to life. The big knobby tires crunched over the gravel. Hawk turned left onto the road and drove away.

Cole and Viking checked their weapons again and stepped over the split-rail fence that separated the gravel lot from the adjacent woods. Viking switched on the DAGR, waited for the screen to light up, then entered the coordinates for the cabin as their waypoint.

“Alert radius is set for fifteen meters,” Viking said.

A message would appear on the display when they were fifteen meters out from the cabin. This would give them time to assess the surroundings and decide the best course of action.

“This way.” Viking pointed his hand toward a spot at the tree line and clipped the DAGR to his belt.

Cole nodded, and they took off into the woods.

The terrain started out with areas of patchy grass, sparse trees, and minimal bushes, all bathed in muted sunlight. Birds of varying kinds chirped, whistled, and sang high overhead. A couple of squirrels scurried about, chasing each other up, down, and around tree trunks, across the ground and through the ferns and bushes.

It wasn’t long before an eerie silence fell over everything. No more birds, no more squirrels. A peculiar stillness surrounded them—even the branches above them remained motionless. The dense canopy of trees blocked the late afternoon light and doused the area with a dusk-like darkness. NVGs weren’t required yet, but visibility would quickly become a challenge without them.

“We’ve reached the insertion point and are headed toward the target.” Hawk’s voice seemed deeper through the earpiece.

“Roger that,” Cole responded.

Viking checked the GPS, headed off to the right, and Cole followed.

Thirty minutes later, deep into the woods, the ground had become mossy and slick, and they had no choice but to use their machetes to hack their way through the thick undergrowth. The trees were bigger, older, and their broad trunks were shrouded by lichen. Branches laden with pine needles and heavy with moisture released droplets that pattered down on them.

The sound of trickling water cut through the heavy silence, and Viking held up a fist.

Cole moved up next to him. Viking checked the display and wasn’t surprised to see they were nearing their alert radius.

Straight ahead of them was a small stream about five feet across, no more than a foot deep. On the other side, set back in amongst the trees about sixty feet, was a small, rundown cabin. The thought of Shayna being held captive in that awful place pissed him off.

They squatted down behind a thick fern, checked the perimeter, and listened carefully. The only sound was water rippling over rocks.

“We’re in position,” Hawk whispered.

“In position. Twenty feet up, oak tree, behind the southeast corner of the structure. And I have eyes on the east side of the target.” Calliope grunted, and branches snapped in the background.

“You good?” Viking knew how challenging and dangerous it could be to find a stable perch.

“Yep. Just clearing a place for my rifle.” Calliope faced her own unique challenges because her rifle was the same size as his, but she was almost a foot and a half shorter than him.

“Hawk, position yourself twenty feet to the right of Calliope.” Cole kept his voice low. “Eddie, do the same to her left.”

By doing this, the team now had a perimeter set up around the target.

A couple of minutes later, they confirmed they were in position.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Cliffsloweddowntomake the turn onto the road behind Marigold’s store. He clicked off his headlights, came to a stop at the curb, and cut the engine.

He stretched across the console, snatched up the bag from the floor, and set it on his lap. He rifled through it until he found the cloth mask. A tag dangled from the strap, so he used his teeth to cut it loose. He slipped the loops over his ears, checked the street to make sure he didn’t have company, then slid the revolver from his pocket. He pressed his thumb to the cylinder release, and it dropped open to show it was fully loaded. With a quick twist of his wrist, he flipped it shut—just like they did it in the movies. He stretched across the console and dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor. He picked up the box of ammo and shoved it into his other pocket.

After a last look around, he swung the door open, climbed out, and gently pushed it shut with a barely discernibleclick. He adjusted the mask, tugged the ball cap down and dashed over to the fence at the back edge of Marigold’s parking lot. There were a couple of broken slats, and he peeked through them.

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