Page 83 of Mountain Refuge

“Let me call the office.” He stepped out of the room and made the call. “Doris will text it to me, but it might take a few minutes. Can you tell me what you have while we wait?”

“I can, but I can’t be certain I’m right without that list.” She straightened. “I think Misty Hollow is the center of the targets. Which means—” She met his gaze.

“The ring is here.”

She nodded. “How much do you want to bet it’s the group at the campground? Where else could someone hide in plain sight?”

“Anywhere on this mountain?”

“Do you have another group of men who recently arrived?” She arched a brow.

“No.” He muttered something under his breath and glanced at his phone screen. “I have the list.”

Ryan handed him paper and a pencil. “Let’s see whether Taya’s hunch is right.”

When Sheriff Westbrook had scribbled down the list, he slid it across the table to Taya. “I hope you’re wrong. If not, I’m going to hang up my hat and hand over my badge.”

“FBI here yet?” She started circling the places where the girls had gone missing.

“Tomorrow.”

“Good. We’ll have something to show them.” She turned the map so they could see and tapped the center with the marker in each spot a girl had gone missing, then on Misty Hollow. She’d drawn a perfect triangle. “It won’t be long until someone from this town is taken. Maybe in town, maybe outside city limits, but it will be close.”

Ryan and the sheriff bent closer to the map. After a couple of minutes, the sheriff straightened, his features hard. “I have some calls to make. You three be careful.” He strode from the house.

“My guess is he’s gathering together enough people to pay a visit to the campground.” Taya wished she were one of them. She’d give almost anything to face The Boss down the barrel of her rifle.

“Now what?” Ryan sat across from her, motioning his head toward the living room. “She’s been hanging on every word you said.”

“Tattletale.” Tracy tossed a throw pillow at him.

“We need to fortify this place. They’ll be coming if the sheriff isn’t successful in rounding them up. The dogs are a great warning system, but they can’t keep several men from bombarding this place.”

“Booby traps,” Tracy called out.

“This isn’t a movie.” Taya shook her head.

“She might have something. Maybe we can’t dig trenches, but we can put out traps that will give us a head start. We also need to come up with an escape plan.” Ryan bolted to his feet. “Be right back.”

~

Bill listened as one of his scouts informed him of Taya and the girl visiting the parents of the girls missing from Langley. It wouldn’t take someone with Taya’s brains long to figure out he was in town. “Prepare to leave. I’ll let you know where in ten.”

Because nothing was easy, he’d made a plan B before overtaking the campground. One of his men’s relatives owned a farm several miles out of town. The farm was secluded enough and large enough they could hide there with no one the wiser. Several chicken houses would hide the campers. A barn would house the men. The house had several bedrooms in which they could stash the girls.

He grabbed a walkie-talkie from his table and let the others know before calling for Jason and Hank to help him vacate the campground. If anything went wrong, Bill wanted to make sure he was nowhere near the place.

Most likely, they should’ve gone there in the first place, but there were neighbors who might notice a convoy of campers driving past. They’d have to be taken care of before the largest part of the group arrived. Bill made another call to a few other men and gave them orders to clear out the two farms they’d have to pass, and another call with orders to gather the girls into a vehicle and out to the farm.

“Make sure the neighbors’ bodies can’t be easily found. If you can make it look like an accident, all the better.” The more dead bodies, the harder it would be to hide. Thus, the main reason for the campground. They’d only had to dispose of the host.

What he’d really like to do is have the freedom to run his business. But, Taya had ruined that. She and her niece. The girls could ruin it all for him.

That’s why Bill felt like a prisoner. Why he’d not left the campground since arriving. Why he’d be stuck at the farm same as he was here. Because accidents happened, and he wasn’t about to be seen by anyone. What he needed was to get his hands on that girl!

“Ready, Boss.” Hank poked his head through the open doorway. “One of the others will drive the camper. Ready?”

“Yes.” He followed the man to the truck idling outside and took a last glimpse around the campground bustling with his men. Satisfied with how they were following orders, he climbed into the passenger seat of the truck.

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