Page 50 of Operation: Return

When he thought of it that way, her hesitance to tell him made complete sense. It bothered him to be the man she couldn’t trust, but he could understand. Whether or not Pete was his though, the boy needed to be returned. Time was of the essence. “What are they asking for?”

Erica glanced at him as if she wasn’t sure what to think of him, but he kept is focus on Edwyn. He needed facts and options. As much as he liked thinking about options with Erica, this had to be his focus.

“What they’re asking for is a trade. They want Junior, Scarlet, and Trace to come alone to the old Lakely place. They are to drive in one car, unarmed, with no one else. If they see anyone else, they will shoot Pete. If all the orders are followed, once they have Scarlet and Trace, they’ll give Pete to Junior.”

Cole fought the urge to roll his eyes. “We know how this scenario plays out, it’s how Connor ended up in the hospital for months.” Between the gun shot so close to his heart and the infections, they’d almost lost him multiple times.

“Do they really think we believe for a second they will release the boy? They won’t. Just like they never actually released Gabby. She was still in the car after the bullets were done flying the last time they suggested a trade. They know they have the upper hand.”

“What are you suggesting?” Edwyn crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, waiting for Cole to finish.

“I’m suggesting we don’t let them have control of the entire situation when they have a little boy who is probably scared and is absolutely in danger. I’m suggesting that we already know they are going to break their own rules of engagement that they’ve set. So, we need to break the rules. Send more than one guy in. Find a way to get more eyes on the situation. It’s not that I don’t trust Junior. I do. But sending one guy who is trying to protect the lives of three people, against who knows how many, is not a fair fight.”

Dom appeared at his side. “He’s right. We need a way to even the score. You have access to all my men. Use them to help get Pete back. We are good at getting into places unseen.”

He hadn’t expected Dominic to offer help. Cole knew he couldn’t sit by and wait while Junior risked his life. That wasn’t happening. But Dominic had no reason to.

Last time a trade had been set up, everything that could possibly go wrong, had. Scarlet had taken matters into her own hands by bringing a weapon with her. The shock when Scarlet pulled her weapon had turned things around, but since even Connor hadn’t known about it, he’d been shot in the ensuing chaos.

If Cole could avoid getting shot, he would. But the outlook was bleak. They had very little information to go on.

Teddy glanced around the room. “That ranch has been empty for at least three years. The house has a leaky roof, and it’s off the road far enough the house can’t be seen, which makes any sort of surveillance ahead of time impossible. Connor had thought about buying the place years ago and making it into a secondary ranch location, but all the buildings were just too dilapidated,” Teddy said. “I don’t like the idea of them holding Pete there. If he doesn’t get injured by those men, there’s a bunch of natural things that could hurt him in trying to make an escape.”

Wild animals liked to take over homes that had been abandoned for a long time, which only added to the danger. What if there was no one watching, and Pete was just held there where he could get hurt by something wild? They could take a chance and go look, but that might get Pete killed.

“I just realized that the dog probably came from that property. The border attaches to ours in the far east corner. He came from that way when he charged Pete.”

“And now we also know how they probably got Pete off the property from the main house. That narrows down the cameras we have to search through.” Teddy flipped open a laptop sitting on Edwyn’s desk.

The computer looked like a toy in the man’s huge hands. After pecking at the keyboard for a minute he smiled. “Would you look at that. Got him. No facial shot, but it’s better than the one from the house. He’s got on dark camo, similar to the uniforms The Guardians are wearing.” He glanced up and arched a brow at Dominic.

Dominic frowned and his brow furrowed. For the first time since his arrival, he looked unsure of himself. “I’d like to see that, if I can?”

Teddy turned the screen to the room, and everyone moved forward to get a better look. A man, holding tightly to a boy in a red t-shirt, was frozen mid-step on the image. The brim of his cap covered his face, but the clothing looked very similar to what Dominic was wearing. That didn’t prove much of anything though because that type of clothing was readily available online and common for anyone wanting to hide.

Edwyn pointed to the image. “It’s interesting that up until now Viceroy’s thugs have either worn cheap suits or looked almost homeless. This guy looks like someone who knows what he’s doing,” Edwyn propped his chin to his palm. “He doesn’t fit with the type of men we’ve dealt with in the past. Either Viceroy has changed tactics, or we’re dealing with a new arm of this particular spider.”

Dominic studied the image, pulling the computer closer. “I wish I could say with any kind of faith that isn’t one of my men. The only thing I have to go on is the trust I have for them, because, you’re right, that looks just like my uniform. It’s hard to tell his build the way he’s standing, but I don’t immediately recognize him.”

Cole didn’t either, but at least now they had something solid to go on.

* * *

Erica forcedherself to stay seated, to wait until they had a concrete plan. The picture of Pete being carried off by that goon tore at her and she had to look away. How had that man found her son, and why? Why had they chosen her son of all the people in the world to choose?

“We need a plan. This can’t wait. When are we supposed to make the trade?” Cole took charge once again.

She’d noticed that he was the first to decide to take action. He was the first to dispute the claims of the kidnappers. He was the first to offer to go with Junior. But what did he have to gain by doing it? She’d all but told him Pete wasn’t his.

Was he being selfless? That didn’t jive with the way he was acting. He was back to being caustic, glaring, and short-tempered. He was back to being all-Cole. But was she making him out to be a Jekyll and Hyde where there wasn’t one? Were these just two sides of the same man?

She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the flurry of arguing going on around her. Arguing that had nothing ultimately to do with getting back her son.

“What if I would go?” she interrupted all of their bickering.

“No,” Cole answered before anyone else. “I won’t allow that.” He finally came and crouched in front of her, locking eyes with her. “I know you want to see him returned. I know waiting here is probably harder than anything you’ve ever done before. But please let us get him back.”

“Then work with the police and do it.” Her voice shook and she swallowed hard to be heard. “We’re sitting here arguing over an outfit when Pete is alone and scared and waiting for us to come get him.” She wanted to reach out and shake Cole, just for emphasis, but touching him would break the dam and she would melt into tears.

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