Page 51 of Operation: Return

“She’s right. Let’s just sit down and form a plan.” Cole stood, but instead of going back where he’d been before, he sat at her side. He took her hand, cradling it in his own.

She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve his loyalty, but having him there helped her to feel like she belonged, like her voice mattered to all these strong men who made life and death decisions all the time.

“Connor would get out the whiteboard.” Teddy stood and headed for Connor’s closet. He opened the door, then rolled a giant whiteboard out and placed it at the front of the room. Brendon came in and waited for an update.

Edwyn grabbed the marker from the bottom and wrote down the facts they knew, when the trade was supposed to happen, and how it was to be made. Then, on the other side, he wrote, clandestine operations.

“This part of our conversation has to remain completely top secret. None of the men outside of this room can know. Not Wayside men nor Dominic’s men. Understood?”

“Does that mean Trace and Scarlet will not be there for the trade?” Dominic asked.

Erica wasn’t sure if it was possible, but the man looked even more unhappy than usual.

“Deputy?” Edwyn asked, finally deferring to the only law enforcement in the room.

“I think we should substitute either someone fully trained in hostage situations or one of my men. Otherwise, we risk people getting hurt,” Deputy Blake answered.

“We risk that anyway,” Brendon rolled forward. “That ranch doesn’t even have the tree coverage we have here. It’s not like the roadside rest stop where they set up the trade last time. We’d planned to have men hiding there then. This trade is completely on their terms. Any wrong move and people will die.”

He rolled to the board and started drawing the layout of the Lakely ranch. She’d never been there, but it looked similar to the setup on Wayside.

“There’s nowhere else to keep Pete except the house. We have no idea how many men are watching him, how many men they have in town waiting for us, and how many men they have watching us. There are a lot of unknowns in making this plan.”

He glanced over his shoulder. “I also think that we need to make sure Trace and Scarlet are aware of this plan, even if we don’t bring them. This situation impacts them, even if they never leave the safety of the underground. Last time we relied on that safety, it failed. They need to be aware.”

Cole nodded. “I’ll talk to them right after this meeting. Finding a decoy is going to be difficult, but I agree. They need to know.”

There was a deep comradery in the room, one that would be changed if Cole wasn’t there. He belonged. Erica glanced around at the people sitting nearby her and realized she could never be with Cole, no matter how good of a father he might be. There was no way she could stay on the ranch after this. She didn’t belong here.

Raising a child on a healing ranch sounded like a wonderful prospect, but not when that prospect meant the child could be in danger. When she thought of home before, her little house in Rock Point had come to mind. Now, she couldn’t picture home as anywhere.

Was that because Pete was missing or was her heart changing? Where would she go when Pete was returned and she was safe to leave? They had very little to pack at the old house, but she also had no way to move. She had no car, nor any friends besides Cole to help.

How would he respond to a request to help her move? He’d said she could leave whenever she liked once they could be sure she was safe. Would he ask her to stay or understand that she couldn’t live here?

She glanced at the men who had moved to a huddled position by the whiteboard while she was musing. Her mind and body were exhausted, but rest wasn’t an option. She wouldn’t be allowed to go along to get Pete, meaning she’d have to say behind and pray.

She knew God held all the strength needed but staying behind to pray still felt like doing nothing. She wanted to be active, but they’d asked her to be passive. She stood while they were distracted and headed back to Teddy’s office.

In all the questions from so many people, she’d forgotten about the dentist. He’d been the one strange part of her day, but there was no way the dentist could know her son or what was going on out at the ranch. There hadn’t even been time enough for someone to drive between Piper’s Ridge and Wayside, yet she still felt like holding back the information about the call was wrong.

Was she hindering her son’s return by keeping the call a secret? Would Lacy have said anything? This was just more proof she didn’t belong here. Just like every other job she’d had; she was doomed to fail and be asked to leave.

The difference was, at this job she had Cole by her side. Somehow, deep down, she’d hoped the men at Wayside would be so happy with the work that they would find a job for her and ask her to stay. Even if it meant she had to live in town and drive out to the ranch.

Wishful thinking.

Everyone who worked at Wayside lived there. They weren’t going to make exceptions for her any more than any other job she’d had. And if anything happened to Pete and they didn’t get him back, she didn’t ever want to see Wayside Ranch again. Maybe not Cole either, since his sudden appearance in her life was what ultimately led them down this path.

But that still left her with the question, where was home now?

ChapterTwenty

After the meeting, Cole lost track of Erica. He’d wanted to talk to her and make sure she understood that, despite all the discussion, her son was the top thing on their minds. They were concerned with Scarlet and Trace as well, but at the moment they were safe. He’d checked through the building but couldn’t find her.

Junior met him in the kitchen at the entrance to the underground hideout. “I hope Scarlet isn’t having flashbacks. She told me as she’s started to deal with what she went through, she gets scenes in her head, like feelings from her past. Last time she was down there was right before the last trade.”

Cole could imagine. If he had to deal with the same situation as the battle that had cost him friends and the life he knew, the battle they’d used to kill Taylor and create Cole, he might not handle it well either. “What do you think of the plan?”

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