Page 59 of Todd
She nodded, and they opened the back door and slipped through. They emerged into the desert night through an exit concealed behind landscaping, the Arizona wilderness spreading before them. The air carried a clean scent, a stark contrast to the piped-in scents that permeated the spa.
“Casper, we’re outside the building,” Todd whispered into his comms. “Need an update on patrol positions.”
“Eli’s moving toward your previous exit point,” came the immediate response. “I’m tracking three additional heat signatures in the compound. Looks like they’re just on a patrol. You need to avoid the main paths and stick to the desert approach.”
The compound’s carefully manicured desert terrain forced them to navigate across ground littered with obstacles designed by nature rather than landscapers. Todd set a pace that pushed Sadie to her limits without exceeding them, his protective instincts warring with operational necessity.
Behind them, the spa resort remained peaceful in the desert darkness, its low, elegant buildings betraying no hint of what went on within their walls. No alarms sounded, no searchlights swept the manicured grounds. Their infiltration had gone undetected, buying them precious time before Dr. Selinski’s operation realized their darkest secrets had been exposed.
“They don’t know yet,” Sadie observed, her voice carrying quiet satisfaction despite her physical exhaustion. “We’re still ghosts in their system.”
Todd nodded as they navigated the sprawling acres between the main complex and the perimeter fence. The desert landscape stretched endlessly around them, dotted with vegetation that provided sporadic cover as they moved toward freedom.
“We’re approaching the back fence,” Todd whispered into his comms device. “Status report?”
“All clear,” someone immediately responded. “Security feeds are still looped, and I’m not detecting any patrol activity in your sector. You’ve got a clean exit.”
The chain-link barrier rose from the darkness, the moonlight hitting the geometric patterns. Sadie stood at the bottom and looked up. “Oh God,” she moaned softly.
Todd bent and created a step with his interlaced fingers. “I’ll boost you up. We’ve got this… together.”
She held his gaze as though seeking strength and then resolutely nodded. “Together,” she agreed.
Placing her foot in his hands, he knew she trusted in his strength despite the tremor in her limbs. Todd lifted her smoothly, his muscles compensating for her compromised coordination as she reached for the fence’s top rail. Her fingers struggled to maintain their grip on the metal mesh, and Todd could see the concentration etched in her features as she fought against her body’s betrayal.
“Take your time,” he murmured, steadying her legs as she swung them over the apex. “I’ve got you.”
Her descent was careful rather than swift, each movement calculated to avoid falling. When her feet finally touched the ground on the freedom side of the fence, Todd saw her shoulders sag with relief. Their eyes met, their connection filling his heart. “Good girl,” he murmured.
A slow smile curved her lips as her fingers still gripped the fence links. Shaking her head, she let out a long breath. “Why does your saying ‘good girl’ make me feel like grinning? I must be exhausted.”
He chuckled as he followed, hauling himself over the barrier and dropping beside her with the soft thud of boots meeting hard dirt. He lifted his hand to cup her face, his thumb sweepingover her cheek, wishing he wasn’t wearing leather gloves and could feel her skin. “I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “Maybe because you’re not just a Keeper to me. I hope it didn’t sound derogatory because I sure as hell wouldn’t have said that to one of the guys.”
She leaned into his palm. “It didn’t sound derogatory. It sounded…”
He nodded in understanding without her having to label what they felt. “Good.” He wanted to say so much more, but knew it wasn’t the time. “Cole won’t be here for several hours,” Todd said, checking his watch. “We need to find concealment and wait for extraction.”
But instead of moving toward the rocky outcroppings that would provide shelter, Sadie turned toward the deeper desert, her expression carrying the kind of determined intensity that usually preceded her most dangerous decisions.
“I want to find the old mines,” she said, her voice steady despite the obvious effort required to form the words. “The place where they take people forrebalancing.”
Todd’s protective instincts flared, every fiber of his being rejecting the idea of taking her deeper into the desert and possibly dangerous territory at any time, but especially when she was impaired. “Sadie, you need medical attention, rest, and time for those drugs to clear your system?—”
“What if someone’s still alive out there?” Her eyes blazed with the fierce compassion that made her willing to sacrifice everything for justice. “What if we find more proof of what they’re doing, evidence that could save lives?”
The plea in her voice cut through his objections. This was why he’d fallen in love with her. Not just her beauty or intelligence, but the unshakable moral courage that made her incapable of walking away when others might still be suffering.
“You can barely stand,” he said, though he could already feel his resistance crumbling. “If we encounter hostiles, if you collapse?—”
“Then you’ll protect me, and I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she replied with the quiet confidence of someone who’d learned to trust his strength absolutely. “Please, Todd. I can’t leave knowing there might be someone out there who needs our help.”
The weight of her faith in him, combined with the righteous fury that burned in her eyes, finally broke through his protective hesitation. She was right. They couldn’t abandon potential victims simply because the rescue would be dangerous.
“Logan,” Todd said into his comms. “We uncovered evidence that there is an old mining building nearby where clients are taken, possibly to be dispatched. We want to go see if anyone is there needing rescue.”
After a few seconds of silence, Logan replied, “Agreed. I want no chances taken. Your safety is paramount.”
“Understood,” he agreed. Looking over at Sadie, he knew he’d get her away from danger at the first sign. “Casper, I need satellite imagery of mining operations near here.”
