Page 44 of Shadow of the Moon

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GPS led them along a dirt road skirting the base of a mountain. The ranch that was semi-outlined on Google would start in about three miles, but it was bordered by another dirt road that ran straight up into the mountain. That was where Devlin wanted to be. If he could get the high ground and scope out the terrain a little bit, he would have the advantage.

It was late afternoon. The sun had already dipped beyond the mountain, giving Dev enough light to see but not outline himself in any way. The Jeep bounced along the track, ready for anything. Unable to help himself, Dev glanced to the side, trying to watch Amberly’s boobs bounce, but the vest wouldn’t allow that.

“Quit it, you letch,” she laughed. “Let’s get through tonight, then we’ll talk about us.”

“Agreed.”

She was right. They needed to concentrate on what was before them.

Dev watched for any kind of lookouts or security cameras. He probably wouldn’t see them at this speed, but if they had game cams or the like, they wouldn’t see the images until after the fact. As far as he could see, there were no power lines up here at all. They looped around a hairpin curve, and he knew he was where he wanted to be. Driving off the road and into the woods, he navigated toward the east, between trees and rocks and scrub. As they neared a rock embankment he’d noticed on the satellite map, he turned the Jeep around and shut off the ignition.

Climbing from the Jeep, he headed toward the rock embankment to look down on the ranch nestled in the valley below them. Sitting on his ass, he braced his elbows on his bent knees and peered through his binoculars. This place looked to be a working cattle ranch. Rusty coated cattle numbering in the hundreds dotted the fields between them. Horses were in corrals near the huge, two story wooden barn. After searching for records through official channels for more than an hour last night, they’d determined that the place must belong to one of Regent’s father’s friends, Landon Smith. The man was older, in his seventies, but his son Chris was Regent’s age, almost forty. Amberly had found several pictures of the Chris, but there was no mention of him in the original case file or the pictures that Necco had gotten out. Chris Smith had to be a new follower, willing to put everything on the line for Regent’s wild conspiracies and terroristic tendencies.

They watched the comings and goings of the ranch for more than an hour, and when the night faded, he drew out the NVGs that had been in his pack. He’d had to replace the battery pack, but that was a small thing to have this convenience.

“Are you looking at that building off on the far side, almost across from us?” Amberly murmured.

“Yes.”

He wasn’t surprised she’d noticed the cabin in the woods on the far side of the valley. Several trucks were parked outside, and armed men had been coming and going. A few women, as well. And then a figure stepped out onto the porch that he recognized, both from dreams and nightmares and from real life.

Cole Regent.

Dev was too far away to see the features of his face, and more importantly, to take the shot, but he recognized the man’s body shape and the way he moved as he walked down from the porch to look into the back of a truck. There was a lot of nodding and laughing as about six men leaned on the rails of the truck, looking inside.

“We need to figure out what’s in that truck,” he murmured. “White Ford, Montana plate, Echo Charley Tango one three two.”

“Got it,” Amberly murmured. “I’ll send it to Brown. Maybe he can get a local on it for a traffic stop.”

He read her off three other plate numbers he could see at least partially, then started giving descriptions of the men he could discern.

“A couple of those match descriptions of known associates of Regent, a couple are new.”

A car was driving from what looked to be the main house and down the main drive of the ranch, toward town. It was a maroon SUV with two people inside, but with the glare of the headlights, the NVGs couldn’t see the plate. Dev swung his focus back up to the cabin.

One of the men were moving to the door of the truck. Inside, Dev could see a packed duffle. “I think they might be moving out tomorrow. He has a stuffed bag in the front seat.”

“Damn it,” she murmured. “So, it’s tonight or nothing.”

“Seems like it. I’m heading down.”

Dev pushed to his feet, then held a hand down to Amberly, pulling her up beside him. She’d clipped her dark hair back to keep it out of her eyes, and she wore the darkest clothes she had, with the vest over top. If he worked things right, she wouldn’t be anywhere near the action, but there was no sense drawing attention to herself. They had earpieces in, again, thanks to Charley, and he’d showed her how to use them.

“I’ll update you as much as I can. My plan is to head to the main barn and try to get a viewpoint there. That’s close enough to the cabin I can take a shot if I get it.”

She nodded, her luminous silver eyes dilated from the dark of the night. Reaching out, she rested her hands on his vest. “I need you to be more careful than you ever have before,” she murmured. “I don’t like separating, but I understand the need. Just know that if you call, I’m hauling ass in there and blasting you out.”

He gave her a grin. “I know you will, babe. I expect you to.”

Then he kissed her, slow and deep. It was a promise to her that he would do his best, because they had so much to get back to. If they both made it out alive, he would be back in her life again.

Amberly drew in a ragged breath as she pulled back, but Dev wrapped her in a hug. “Don’t worry, babe. We’ll get this done.”

She nodded against his chest, but he could feel the doubt in her. “Give me an hour to get to the barn. Watch what’s going on down there. If anything happens, let me know. In half an hour, go ahead and start down the mountain. Then park in that spot I showed you. That’ll put you about five minutes from the front gate.”

She nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

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