Page 53 of Operation: Return

“You thought we’d marry too?” Scarlet gave a rare smile. “Not all relationships need to be amorous.”

He thought about his and Erica’s relationship, how they’d quickly moved right back to kissing instead of talking like they should. He needed to be the one to set the standard for them, to keep them discovering their path without clouding things the way they did the first time.

“You’re right. I’m just surprised.”

“So you see our issue? Neither of us want to be married to the other, but we don’t want to keep bringing danger to Wayside. Now that they know where we are, finding us won’t be as difficult. So, Montana is a good choice in that it’s far away.”

Cole held up his hand. “Let me talk to Edwyn and maybe Connor, since he should be back very soon. We’re not giving up on you and this conversation feels like giving up. Junior and I came down here to tell you what the plan is with Pete.”

Trace stood and strode forward, thrusting his hand forward for Cole to shake.

“He wants your word that you’ll take him with you,” Scarlet said. “He will not back down until you give your word.”

He still wasn’t sure about Deputy Blake’s plan, but Trace’s was even riskier. “What does he have in mind? We can’t put Pete in danger by just rushing in and punching people.” The gas station incident had been an eye-opener.

Trace thrust his hand forward again.

“He will do what you tell him to do, but Trace will not rest until Pete is home safely. He feels a little retribution is his due. I’ve tried to tell him about forgiveness but I’m still so new to all of it that I don’t think I explain it well. I told him about my 3:16 tattoo.” She tugged her sleeve up, showing off the tattoo that Viceroy had forced her to get. It had originally just been the number. She’d added the colon as a way to take ownership of it. She wanted to add the word John above it at some point too, to show she belonged to Christ.

Cole was a man of his word. Even though the plan wasn’t his and he’d hoped that both Trace and Scarlet would refuse, he’d do whatever he needed to do to make the plan successful. He gripped Trace’s hand and gave it a shake.

Trace nodded once and paced back to the other side of the room. Junior stood and took a deep breath. “We only came down to tell you what’s happening. When the police are ready to do this, we’ll come back down here to get you. If you hear people coming and it scares you, don’t feel like you have to sit in this room and wait.”

Cole stood, offering his agreement with Junior. “It won’t be long now.”

* * *

Erica slowly turnedthe blinds on her bedroom window until she could see the various men swarming around in pairs. The façade of a trade was supposed to happen soon, but she was keeping her eye on the men she didn’t know for treachery.

Cole seemed to trust Dominic and he hadn’t done anything that should make her distrust him, but something about having all the men around bothered her. This was a place of healing and rest learning to be comfortable with the world, but these men were the opposite of that. They represented war, fighting, and everything about the world that felt the opposite of peaceful.

Dominic had insisted he trusted all his men, but Erica hadn’t missed that look of disbelief on his face when Teddy had turned the computer screen and a man that could’ve just as easily been Dominic as anyone else looked back at him. Her first thought was that it was one of his men.

But which one?

She followed the pairs of men working together as well as she could, wishing she had binoculars. Pairing them up meant that either two men might be working together, or one would have to break off from the other. She was hoping for the latter. She would notice if someone was working alone and left toward the east, where Cole had said the property line was.

She knew she shouldn’t feel guilty for letting her son use the bathroom alone, he was six and they were in a building that was much like a home. She still felt responsible for finding him. Everyone else seemed to assume these Guardian guys were fine. Was she the only one questioning the timing?

If these guys were as elite as Dominic made them sound, then they had time to research the area before they came. They would know about the ranches by Wayside and which ones were empty. Maybe there was even some connection to the area that no one else noticed as suspicious.

Two men stood about fifty yards away from her window behind a building that she would guess was a tool shed. They moved where no one could see them from the ranch house and looked like they were talking to one another. One patted the other on the shoulder, then left. The one that remained kept an eye on the house, then headed off for the trees.

She heard a vehicle start up in front, distracting her. She couldn’t see the parking area from her house in the back row of cabins but she assumed that had to be the team headed to get Pete. She prayed they would be successful.

In the seconds she’d been distracted, the man was too deep in the trees to be seen anymore. The other man was completely gone as well. Erica glanced up at the sky, trying to figure out the direction of the sun. He might stay hidden in the trees, but he was generally headed east, which meant she had to act.

Who would still be in the house? She’d seen Edwyn out with Sam, Eric had gone with Teddy, meaning the ranch house was largely unprotected. Her heart sank to her toes. What if that was the whole goal? They would distract the men of Wayside, then descend and conquer.

She shoved the thought from her head. Now was the time for action, not worry. Brendon would be there. He was one she could turn to. Brendon was trustworthy and he wouldn’t laugh at her theory.

She shoved her hair behind her ear as she rushed for the door. As soon as she left the security of her front door, she felt the eyes of the men following her. Were they watching out for her or watching her every move? She picked up her pace to the front of the ranch house.

In the parking area, she noted that they’d used a different car from the one she’d come in and she wondered if that was to keep the kidnappers guessing, assuming it was the same men as those who’d followed them from her house.

She went inside and slowly walked down the hall, noting the camera she’d never noticed before. How many cameras were all over Wayside? They had to keep an eye on the guests for safety, but they could also use it for other purposes, ones not so innocent.

“Erica?” Brendon’s voice called from inside his office. “What are you doing?”

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