Page 61 of Todd
She rushed forward as recognition dawned in Melinda’s eyes, immediately followed by tears that spoke to relief too profound for words. She launched herself from the cot with what remained of her strength, falling into Sadie’s arms with the desperate gratitude of someone who’d given up hope of rescue.
“They didn’t kill me,” Melinda sobbed against Sadie’s shoulder, her words muffled by emotion and exhaustion. “They were going to, but they couldn’t just make me disappear like the others. I’m a reporter. People know where I went, and my editor would ask questions.”
Sadie held her tighter, feeling the other woman’s body shake from the trauma. “You’re safe now. We’re getting you out of here.”
“They were arranging an accident,” Melinda continued, her voice gaining strength as the reality of rescue began to penetrate her shocked mind. “I overheard them planning it. They were going to have someone rent a car using my identification, then crash it somewhere remote. My body would be put inside afterward to make it look like I’d left the spa and died in a tragic accident during my drive home.”
The clinical precision of the planned murder sent a shiver down Sadie’s spine. Dr. Selinski’s sophisticated operation wasn’t just systematic. He was capable of manufacturing evidence and manipulating authorities to cover their tracks. How many other “accidents” had they orchestrated over the years? She thoughtof Natalia and how someone using her credentials to fly back to Italy after they had probably killed her here now seemed more like a possibility.
Todd appeared beside them, his expression grim as he processed the implications of what Melinda had revealed. “We need to move. If they’re planning to stage your death, they might come back tonight to finalize the arrangements.”
But as they helped Melinda to her feet, supporting her weight between them, she grabbed Sadie’s arm with sudden urgency.
“There are bodies buried here,” she whispered, her voice carrying a haunted quality. “I heard them talking when they first thought they’d just kill me here.”
The words hit Sadie, confirming her worst fears about the spa’s operation. They not only discovered evidence of unauthorized medical experiments but also the elimination of witnesses who could expose their crimes.
“How many?” Todd asked, though his voice suggested he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
“I don’t know,” Melinda replied, a tear staining her cheek. “But as they were driving me here, I looked around to see if I could find a way to escape. There’s a section behind the building where the ground looks disturbed.”
Todd was already talking to his communication device, transmitting coordinates and intelligence to their team back in Montana. “Landon, we need a federal response immediately. We may have found evidence of multiple homicides, and we have a surviving witness.”
Through their earpieces, they could hear the organized chaos of LSIMT coordinating with federal authorities.
“FBI tactical team was on stand-by and is now en route,” Landon said through their comms with professional efficiency. “ETA twenty minutes to your location. Local law enforcement isbeing mobilized to secure Serenity Dunes before anyone else can disappear.”
“We’re heading to rendezvous. Let Cole know we have an extra passenger who will also need medical care when we get to Phoenix.”
As they helped Melinda toward the exit, Sadie felt something shift inside her chest. They’d found proof, rescued a survivor, and ensured that Dr. Selinski’srejuvenatingspa would be permanently shut down. Even though justice was coming, it was arriving too late for the women whose bodies lay in unmarked graves beneath the desert stars.
At least Melinda and I made it, she thought, tightening her grip on the reporter’s hand as they emerged into the clean night air.We survived to tell the truth about what happened here.
As they walked outside, she knew the night, and the nightmare wasn’t over until they were safely away from Serenity Dunes.
30
The desert stretched endlessly before them as they made their way toward the predetermined extraction point. Todd and Sadie supported Melinda, though Sadie could offer only minimal assistance. Todd watched her carefully, wanting to have his arms around her. But her sense of duty had her struggling not only to walk but also to make sure Melinda was taken care of. The reporter’s determination to escape the nightmare matched their own desperate need to get her to safety.
“Casper, what’s our status?” Todd whispered into his comms, scanning the horizon for any sign of Cole’s approaching helicopter while maintaining awareness of their vulnerable position in the open desert.
“Cole’s fifteen minutes out,” someone said, followed by a pause that made Todd’s blood run cold. “But I’m picking up heat signatures moving toward the mining facility. Three vehicles, coming fast from the direction of Serenity Dunes.”
They know.The realization hit Todd in the gut. By now, someone at Serenity Dunes had discovered their infiltration and realized that Sadie had disappeared. Hopefully, they were just looking for Sadie and didn’t know that their computer files had been confiscated. Searchers for a missing guest wouldtake an easier approach than if they knew their operation was compromised.
“How much time do we have?” Todd asked, already calculating distances and movement rates while supporting more of the women’s weight as their strength began to fail.
“Maybe ten minutes before they reach the mine site, another five before they realize the reporter isn’t there anymore.” Casper’s voice carried the controlled urgency of someone coordinating a life-and-death extraction. “Cole’s pushing the bird as hard as he can, but you need to move faster.”
Todd looked at their ragtag group as he carried tactical gear and weapons. Sadie was compromised by days of pharmaceutical assault, and Melinda was struggling to walk unassisted. They couldn’t outrun vehicles across open desert, which meant their only hope was to reach the extraction point before their pursuers found them.
“We need to move,” he said, adjusting his grip to better support Melinda while freeing one hand for his weapon. “Can you manage a faster pace?”
Melinda’s response was to push forward with renewed determination despite her obvious physical limitations. “I didn’t survive a day in that hell to die in the desert,” she said, her voice carrying the steel core. “Let’s go.”
Her renewed energy gave Sadie a break from supporting too much of Melinda’s weight as they walked.
They picked up the pace, half-running across terrain that seemed designed to twist ankles and stub toes. Todd’s night vision goggles revealed the rocky outcropping that marked their rendezvous point, still hundreds of yards away across ground offering no concealment from pursuing vehicles.
