Page 86 of Blackmail
“I didn’t see any. But…” He shrugs.
Yeah. It’s Florida.
Another car pulls up behind mine and Brennan’s. A dark SUV. Looks like a Mercedes. Out jump three guys in camo cargo pants and dark tank tops. Two have light skin, but they’ve covered a significant portion in what looks like war paint.
Liam’s team was chasing a lead on the missing kids, so he could only send a few guys. I guess these are them.
“Why are these guys dressed up like we’re trying to pick off enemy combatants in the jungle?”
Brennan answers for me as he pulls a mask over his face. “Junior here says our guy is most likely at one of a couple of abandoned barns on the far side of the property. A lot of the land is cleared, meaning we aren’t going to have good cover. We’ll need to stick to the trees, and when we run out of trees we want to stick out as little as possible. When you’re as pale as me, you learn even a little moonlight draws attention.”
“Is it really that serious?”
Gabe nods. “I grew up hearing about the evils of the outside world and the need to protect ourselves against it. People here take that very seriously.”
For a moment I examine Simon’s brother. A bit slimmer, a bit taller, but the same intelligent eyes and baby face. “What changed your mind?”
“A little bit of exposure to the outside world. A lot of realizing I was as gay as my brother, and that no amount of praying was going to change me. Plus, I eventually realized that this place—” He nods his head toward the expanse of farmland stretched out before us. “—isn’t everything it seems. I’m quiet. People tend not to pay attention to me or notice when I’m around. Over the last few years I witnessed the leader of our community cheat on his wife. I saw the elders here had plenty of food and firewood while others went without. I saw my best friend shoved into a van against his will and driven away.”
God. This kid’s probably got miles of trauma from that alone. “Does Simon know?”
He shakes his head.
“You should tell him.”
Gabe nods again. “Eventually. He’s already way too worried about me. Right now I just want him back.”
“Incoming,” Brennan warns.
We all duck into the trees as the headlights of a white van speed past us.
“Is that the same vehicle?”
Simon’s brother swallows audibly beside me. “It’s ours. Or rather, it belongs to our pastor. Last time I saw it here, the person driving it wasn’t one of our members. So I guess the no-outsiders rule only applies when you’re not the guy running things.”
Even in the scant moonlight I can read bitterness all over Gabe’s face. Not that I can blame him.
We all track the path of the van as it heads up a side road, far too quickly to be safe around the curves in the road. It bypasses the path that leads to where the houses are and disappears into a stand of trees.
“Other than the barns, what’s on the back side of the property?”
Simon’s brother shakes his head. “A pond. Grazing land. The barns are the main thing.”
Shouting rings out in the distance.
Brennan pulls out a handgun. “OK. Fuck what I said about stealth, get in the cars. Let’s go before we miss our window.”
“What if they shoot at us?” Simon’s brother asks.
Brennan’s grin is sinister in the moonlight. “Then you shoot back.”
“Fair enough.” The kid pulls out a shotgun I hadn’t noticed him holding and grips it tight. Then he nudges me with his elbow. “I’m riding with you.”
We pile into vehicles, with me leading because Simon’s brother is the only one who knows exactly where to go.
When we come upon a couple of old wooden structures, the white van is parked outside the first one with its engine running and headlights blazing, but nobody appears to be behind the wheel. There’s yelling coming from inside the barn.
We climb out to approach on foot. I’ve parked right behind the van to make it a little harder for them to leave. Beside me, Simon’s brother releases a shaky breath.
