Page 54 of Operation: Integrity

Three men and a dog had no business in one tiny room except for that was all the hotel had. Sam had argued that there had to be more hotels in Denver, but Connor had said he was in communication with someone at FREE International and he’d told them the name of that hotel.

Zeus looked at the door and whined, his large eyes shifting from the door to Sam and back again.

“You don’t have to go out, you’re just nervous.” He sat on the bed and turned on the TV, scrolling until he found a nature channel for Zeus. The poor dog had been either in a car on duty for a whole day. He’d managed to get Edwyn to go to a store and get dog food, so at least Zeus could eat.

The dog sat on the floor at his side, but he didn’t miss the dog’sharrumphas he settled in. Connor picked up his phone on the second ring, “Connor.”

Sam tried not to listen in. The conversation could be private. Then again, he could be talking to someone abouthow and when they would go after Nathan Klein in the hopes of finding Kelly.

“Yes. Understood,” Connor said. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.” He pressed the screen of his phone to end the call then set it on the small table in the corner of the room. “Okay, it’s go time.”

“Go? Where?” Sam barely kept his frustration under control. “Even if we know Nathan is back here, we don’t know that Kelly was with him.”

“We do. Remember I called right away when we got in the car to head for Denver? Well, FREE has contacts in Denver. They’ve done big searches here and have friends on the police force and in the FBI. They were able to verify that not only did Nathan arrive back at the apartment complex he manages, but there was a man and a woman with him.”

“A woman. That doesn’t mean it was Kelly.” He wanted to hope that it wasn’t. He wanted her to be anywhere but back with her captor.

“We have no other leads. The police are going to meet us there in ten minutes.”

“And will someone from FREE be there?” Sam glanced at Zeus. Having him there would lead them to Kelly and might even help them in a pinch but if he was aggressive, like he was before Sam trained him, he could lose his chance to become a service animal. As it was, Sam would already have to have compelling evidence that Zeus was completely reformed.

“No, the local contact will be, but he’s only a friend of FREE International.”

Sam whistled for Zeus. He’d take the chance, so he didn’t have to face regret later, wishing the dog had beenthere. Zeus could go where others couldn’t and he was still looking for a way to make it up to Sam.

Edwyn handed Connor the keys, and they all piled into the car. Connor pulled up the directions on his phone and they took off within seconds. “Police will be there. We may not be able to do much, but I hope they’ll allow us to see Kelly.”

Sam resisted the urge to be negative. He still wasn’t certain Kelly was there. He still couldn’t understand why she would walk away again. Why choose Nathan’s lies over him? He had tried to be truthful with her about everything. Nathan had done nothing but lie. Where was the security?

“A known enemy is easier to overcome than a stranger. We know how these guys operate. The hope is to arrest Nathan and any offenders on the premises. We’ll save all we can,” Connor mumbled. “So, go into this with your eyes wide open.”

A known enemy is easier to overcome than a stranger.Connor hadn’t meant to, but he’d answered Sam’s concerns. Nathan was an enemy, but Kelly knew how to live with him. She’d constantly felt uncomfortable at Wayside because she didn’t know what to do. Church had been the cherry on top, forcing her to want to run. He’d been as welcoming as he possibly could, but that didn’t change the fact that he was not as known to her as Nathan.

“Let’s get her out of there.” He headed for the door with Zeus at his side. There was still no way to be certain she was even there, but he wouldn’t know until they checked, either. “What else did they say?” Connor had been on the phone for a minute, so they had to have given him more information than that.

“Not much. We need to rely on the police or risk having them complain that procedures weren’t followed. We don’t want these people to get off on a technicality.”

That meant he wasn’t going in there for a rescue, but that also meant that people inside would be safer. At least, that was the hope. No one ever knew for sure how an invasion was going to go down. Sam laid his hand on Zeus’s back and prayed that Kelly and anyone else they found would be alright. He prayed that they would take Nathan down without having to draw a single gun. The people in there didn’t need that kind of fear.

Connor pulled into the parking lot of a ratty-looking apartment complex. It was five stories tall with cracked windows and chipped tan stucco. The dark vanity shutters had seen better days, and the roof shingles had curled like aged paper.

“Isn’t this place . . . charming?” Edwyn didn’t usually turn to sarcasm, but the scene warranted it.

Three squad cars sat parked in the street along with a black large SUV. “Looks like they’re already here.” Connor unbuckled and opened his door. “Not sure if they’ll let us close since we asked for the help or if we’ll have to stay back.”

There were no police lines up yet, if they would put any up. Three women in their twenties stood by the front door, looking unsure about what they should do. None of them were Kelly.

“I want to go in,” Sam said, holding Zeus’s lead. He tugged against the hold with his nose to the ground. “Is she in there, boy?”

Zeus halted and his whole body went rigid. In the next instant, he lunged, breaking free of Sam’s grip. He racedinside the open front door. Sam raced after him, but a uniformed officer stopped him at the door.

“You have a reason to go in here?”

Sam pointed toward the dog running up the stairs. “That’s my dog, but I don’t live here. I was the guy who called in the request for help.”

The officer raised an eyebrow. In the next instant, Zeus’s barking and growling had the officer racing for the stairs. Sam didn’t wait for the invitation he knew wouldn’t come. Zeus had to have found Kelly, but what would he find when he got there?

Kelly stoodin the corner with her back exposed to the room. This kind of shaming was meant to keep people in line, but she’d long ago lost her ability to feel anything. She’d been standing there for what felt like hours, alone, waiting for Nicolas Viceroy.

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