Page 57 of Operation: Return

“Go ahead and ask them for their location. I’m assuming they are paired together now?” Edwyn said.

Dominic reached for his phone and pressed a voice text. “Guardians Frank and Artemis, location?”

He held out his phone and the room filled with a heavy silence. Dominic waited about a minute and a half before he repeated the request with a little more force. He was about to repeat it a third time when a man’s voice came over the phone.

“Artemis here. Frank is gone. He hit me over the head. I just woke up behind a tree. Last thing I remember it was about 1800 hours.” His words were slightly slurred.

“That was about the time we left for the Lakely ranch.” Cole leaned forward in his seat, confirming that Erica had heard them leave. “So, if he had Pete hidden while we were there, where did he hide him and why didn’t he meet us for the trade.”

Erica finally found her voice to ask the question that to her mind mattered most. “I think the more important question now is, where is Pete and where is this man right now?”

Brendon opened his laptop and waited for it to start, then clicked on something and typed for a moment. “I’m just looking up the newly installed trail cams along the east side of the ranch. Assuming there was a reason he mentioned the Lakely place and the request for a trade wasn’t to gather intel, we might see something.”

“And assuming Frank didn’t tear them down the first chance he got,” Dominic added. “I should go and check on Artemis.”

Erica hoped they didn’t just let Dominic leave. She still wasn’t completely trusting. He’d allowed this man to come. He’d put the blame for the incorrect files on his administrative team, but since she’d worked in a fair number of offices, that didn’t seem right. Parts of files didn’t merge with others. Either the person sitting in their office was in on the kidnapping, or Dominic was.

“Why don’t you send one of your men to check on him. We’ve got a situation we need to deal with here.” Edwyn pulled up a chair and sat. “I think it’s time we find this guy and finish this.”

ChapterTwenty-Two

The air in Brendon’s office seemed to thicken with tension and Cole wished he could spare Erica dealing with it. She needed to be there though and would probably be offended by his desire to protect her. Still, he moved closer to her to be at her side.

Brendon made a strange noise in his throat, then connected his screen to the large television screen behind him. Sixteen images appeared behind him in full color.

“Watch as I scroll,” Brendon said. He slowly hit a key on his keyboard and each image moved up the screen, showing new images on the bottom so that it was like a stop-motion video.

“What’s tripping the camera to make it take pictures?” Edwyn squinted at the photos that all looked the same and empty.

Brendon clicked three more times, revealing four openings in the ground along the edge of the Lakely ranch. Someone had planned ahead and dug bunkers, then hid the entrances with brush and leaf cover. Cole fought the anger building in his gut. He’d almost walked right on top of those entrances.

“So, that’s probably where they’re keeping Pete. But again, what are they hiding and why didn’t they come out when we were there?” About ten men came out of the four holes, one of them holding Pete. His red shirt stood out amidst all the dark-clothed men.

“As of thirty minutes ago, we know Pete was alive. The camera doesn’t show the house, we only got the very edge of the property. Frank appears to be working with others. Would you agree, Dominic?”

Dominic looked utterly disgusted with his lip curled into a sneer. “Those are not my men. I know that much. They’re wearing skull caps and they aren’t wearing the body protection I require my team to wear.”

Cole hadn’t noticed in the images, but Dominic was right. Their clothing was more urban-warrior than combat vet. “Is it safe to assume these guys work for Viceroy?”

“But how did this Viceroy know about the connection between you and I?” Dominic looked at Cole. “Very few people know we served together. When I got the call that you wanted my help, I was willing to come. More than willing, because I owed you a debt. But there is something that isn’t adding up.”

Erica looked confused and her mouth opened slightly. “That’s . . . not how it happened. You called me and told me you’d heard Cole was in need of your help. We weren’t sure how you heard that, since no one knows what we do here. We thought your call was a divine appointment, but now I’m not so sure.”

Dominic tilted his head, his brow deeply furrowed. “I received a call from Lacy, she left me a voicemail saying that I needed to get in touch with Cole and left the number. I called that same day. As I said, I wanted to repay what I feel was a life-saving situation.”

Brendon shook his head. “I think there is someone in your office who’s working with Frank. You’ll need to do some housecleaning when you return home. Lacy is in Cheyenne with Connor, who is still in the hospital after being shot. I think someone left you a message acting as Lacy so you would call, which would then be their ticket inside and on the ranch.”

Cole’s mind raced, filling in all the blanks. “And because all the clients, including the two Frank really wanted, were heavily protected because of what had happened to Gabby, they took Pete instead hoping to trade.”

“Yes, I think that’s exactly it.” Edwyn finished. “Frank must have been hired to infiltrate your ranks, somehow knowing the connection between Cole and Dominic. That means Viceroy knows more about this team than we thought.”

Cole hated to believe that, but facts were facts. Wayside was never going to be the same until this threat was gone. They could put up fences and cameras, hire people and get the law involved and it didn’t matter, Viceroy would still beat down their door until he got what he wanted. He wasn’t even so sure Viceroy would go away once he got Scarlet. At this point, the fight felt personal.

“We need a distraction, something that will keep Frank busy while we go and check out those men at Lakely ranch. It will be dark soon and I don’t want to think about Pete being out there.” Edwyn gave Erica an apologetic look.

“I’ll do it. Tell me where to go to find him and I’ll distract him.” Erica stood, as if speaking had suddenly given her the strength to stand.

“Erica . . .” Cole understood her desire to go, but this guy was a well-trained military veteran who didn’t care about her. There was probably a reward in his future for bringing Scarlet back, but he wouldn’t care what happened to Erica.

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