Page 52 of Mountain Refuge

Chapter One

“We found her. I’ve texted the coordinates to your phone. Meet us there ASAP.” The line went dead.

Taya Trapp stared at her cell phone. For the first time in months, hope leaped in her chest. Her niece had been found.

Shaking herself into action, she shoved clothing, ammunition, and all the money she’d squirreled away into a camping backpack, along with Mylar blankets and other camping supplies. She knew enough to know that once she had Tracy at her side, they’d have to run. Her niece knew too much about the trafficking ring that took her and her best friend. They’d snatched the girls right from the coffee shop they’d gone to after school.

Once Taya had packed the necessities, she tossed her bag in the back of her Jeep and sped toward the assigned meeting place over an hour away. By the time she drove into the parking lot, lights off, the others had already gathered.

Mason Jackson, night-vision goggles obscuring his features, strode toward her. “This isn’t the place. We’ll have to move a couple blocks north.” He handed her goggles. “You ready?”

“Yes.” She donned the goggles and grabbed the automatic rifle from his hand. “Are there others?”

“We believe there to be five other girls besides your niece.”

“Great. We’ll rescue them all.” It wasn’t a question.

“If it’s in our power to do so, but your niece is our top priority.” Without waiting for her response, he dashed back to the group.

Taya agreed, but her conscience wouldn’t let her leave any of the innocent behind. She caught up to the others. The group immediately set off at a jog, skirting behind empty warehouses and staying in the shadows.

She fell into the familiar routine of special forces as if she’d never left. After Tracy had been taken, Taya didn’t give dropping out a second thought. She knew she’d have to leave once they found her niece.

Mason held up a fist for them to stop, then pointed toward a red-brick, two-story warehouse nestled against the side of a small mountain. Taya took a second to recheck her weapon, then followed close on Mason’s heels.

Inside the building, the team split into two lines. Taya went left after Mason. If not for the goggles, they’d all be thrust into total darkness. Now, she saw the world through a green glow. Other than the occasional soft scrape of a shoe, the building remained silent. Her breathing sounded louder than her surroundings. Her heart thrummed in her throat only to slow when she willed it to.

The hall she followed Mason down cut into the mountain. Concrete walls gave way to dirt. A whimper reached Taya’s ears.

Mason held up a fist again. They stopped, then inched forward.

They passed cells carved into the mountain. Behind bars huddled teenage girls, their eyes wide. There were many more than the five Mason had mentioned.

Behind Taya, someone shouted an alarm. She whipped around, lowered to one knee, and fired, dropping the first man to step into view. Mason took down the next. Screams from the girls joined the sound of gunfire. From the direction the rest of the team had gone, more gunfire rang out. Taya dropped one clip and jammed in another, barely pausing in her shooting.

When no more men came running toward them, Mason shouted for her to find the key to open the cells. “I don’t know how much time we have.” He started searching the pockets of the men they’d shot.

Taya plunged her hand into one man’s pockets and pulled out a set of keys. “Here.” She flipped through the keys until she found one that would fit in the lock. Cell by cell, she unlocked and pulled doors open while Mason gathered the girls against the dirt wall. Tracy was nowhere to be seen.

“She isn’t here.” Her eyes burned.

“Don’t despair. She could be with the others.” Mason faced the girls. “Stay close. Stay quiet. Trapp, bring up the rear.”

Hope wasn’t lost yet. Maybe there were girls on the other side of the warehouse. If Tracy wasn’t there, Taya had no clue where she could be. The team would be back at the starting point. No. They were saving a lot of girls. The night wasn’t a total waste.

Mason ordered one of the other men to lead the girls to a van outside before leading Taya in the direction the others had gone. A shot rang out. Mason fell.

Taya spun around and fired in the direction from which the shot had come. Another shot. Her arm burned.

Seconds later, the rest of the team surged forward and joined the fight while a handful of girls were rushed from the building. Taya tried to see if one of them was Taya, but rapid gunfire kept her attention on sheer survival.

When things died down again, she crawled forward to check on the team leader. Mason stared through his goggles, gone. Tears burned her eyes as two of the team members took him by the arms and dragged him from the building. She started to follow when a voice stopped her.

“Aunt Taya!”

She turned to see Tracy dashing toward her. The girl launched into Taya’s arms. Taya wrapped her tightly into a hug, tears spewing from her eyes.

“You’re bleeding.” Tracy’s voice sounded muffled against Taya’s chest.

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