Page 61 of Stay Baby Stay

Jonah chuckles, and even though I can’t say I appreciate his comments, I can’t help snickering to myself.

Looking back on last night, I can hardly believe that girl still wanted to be with me in the morning. More than once, I came close to losing grip on my demon and letting him have his way with her. There were times when I swear to God he was talking through me.

Guilt eats at my conscience when I recall the vulgar things I said to her. The indelicate things I did to her untouched, untried body. Thankfully, I managed to keep the worst of it in check. I have no intention of sharing Holly with my darkness.

If I can shield her from even half the demons in this fucked-up world, it’ll be a goddamn miracle.

I make sure Mike and Austin are still following as I merge onto the highway, heading north. As keen as I am to get where we’re going, I don’t drive more than nine miles over the speed limit all the way to Morristown. Getting pulled over in a van filled with guns and dubiously acquired surveillance equipment might raise more than a few eyebrows.

We park the vans about two hundred yards from King’s house on a dirt road Mike guides us to using real-time satellite imagery. We set up camp and organize our gear. By eight o’clock, we’ve got a pretty decent arrangement going.

Clad in full camo and armed with two guns, a radio, and tactical binoculars, Austin heads off into the forest to set a perimeter. Mike begins the process of hacking into King’s wireless network, while Jonah and I park ourselves at the edge of the woods on the south side of Russell’s property.

“Perimeter secure,” Austin says through the radio. “So far I’ve spotted King, a housekeeper, a chef, and two guards on the premises.”

“Roger that,” I say. With any luck, both the housekeeper and chef will be gone by sundown.

“I’m in,” Mike says through the radio. “Any idea why King would have cameras installed in his guestrooms?”

It takes a second for Mike’s words to sink in. “Say that again.”

“He’s got what appear to be hidden cameras installed in all of his guestrooms. Looks like they livestream directly to his office computer.”

Abby’s CI, King’s former assistant, never mentioned anything about cameras. Has Russell King been secretly filming his guests having sex with minors?

We watch the house all morning, peering in windows, monitoring doors. Watching for people coming and going. The king himself makes an appearance on his back patio around noon, wearing a red speedo and barking into his phone.

“Can we get audio on this?” I ask.

“Not yet,” Mike says. “Give me...twenty minutes.”

King ends the call before we can tap in. He goes for a swim, takes lunch on the veranda, does a few lines of what looks like coke and then goes inside.

Both the housekeeper and the chef take off just after sundown. A little while later, Austin’s voice crackles through the radio.

“Car,” Austin says. “Black sedan, coming up the driveway.”

I switch on night vision and aim my binoculars at the front entrance.

The car stops. A dark-haired girl gets out. She looks young—too young. One of the guards greets her at the door and lets her inside the house.

“You know,” Jonah growls. “I think I might actually enjoy making this guy piss himself.”

I lose track of the girl as she moves further into the house. The sedan departs.

“Looks like the girl’s here to stay,” Austin says. “What should we do?”

“Continue as planned,” I say. “We can let her go before the fun starts.”

“Go where?” Mike asks. “Car’s gone and there’s nothing for miles.”

“We’ll figure something out. Can I get a location on the guards?”

“Both guards are watching TV in the living room,” Austin says. “One of ‘em keeps nodding off. Shouldn’t be too hard to put ‘em both down for a nap.”

“Reconvene at camp in five,” I say. “I don’t want that girl in there any longer than she needs to be.”

Back at camp, we change into dark-colored clothes, masks, and gloves. Austin and Jonah take the shotguns, plus two handguns apiece. I keep it simple with my nine, while Mike fits two Glocks into a shoulder holster to keep his hands free.

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