Page 56 of Built of Second Chances

Flynn turned to her. “Anything else you can think of, Tessa?”

She nodded. “A couple of things. If they were smart, they’d be waiting until dusk, when the light is tricky or even night. They might simply be scouting the area or they might be armed with something big and long distance.”

Sam nodded. “Like a bomb or a fire?”

She agreed. “If either my father or uncle are out there, they won’t be in front. They’ll let their team face the danger, so be prepared for someone well behind the others.”

They all nodded.

“And they’ll be ruthless. They won’t give up easily. Please be careful. I don’t want any of you getting hurt because of me.” She refused to think worse than hurt.

They all shrugged off her words as they finished donning protective equipment and loading weapons. They all wore white jackets to provide some camouflage against the snow.

It made her stomach hurt and her heart ache. She forced her feet to remain planted on the floor rather than running to Flynn and begging him to stay.

As if sensing her thoughts, Flynn lifted his head to her. He crossed to her in a few steps and leaned down to kiss her lightly. “Have faith. We’ll see you soon.”

Tansy leaned back from where she’d hugged Sam. “You’ve all got the earpieces I made? Keep them open. We’ll monitor from here and relay any information.”

And then they were moving. Aisling closed the door behind them and locked it. Spike and Willow circled her and she bent to rub them.

The tension in the room was thick, but Tessa appeared to be the only one edging toward panic.

“Tessa? I could use your help.”

Tessa looked to where Tansy was working at the computer. Her friend patted the seat next to her and Tessa moved over. She sat and looked at the screen where dots were moving across the map.

“I’m testing new tracking devices. I’ve added them to the jackets Sam keeps for all the training missions. The dots are our guys. I’d like you to watch the movements of the other men on the laptop. You won’t have the dots to help, but I’m hoping you can spot them through the trees. Or by the way the trees move. You’re good at analysis. See if you can figure out their plan from the way they move.”

Tessa didn’t know if Tansy was making up the task to keep her from that total panic or if she really could use her help. Either way, it was what she needed.

Taking a moment to clear her mind and drop into analyst mode, Tessa turned her attention to the laptop.

She needed to find a way to help.

Flynn jogged through the bush with Joe, Nico, and Sam. They’d split into two teams of four, working with the people they knew best. Graham, Troy, Marcus, and Mitch were on the other team.

Unless there were more cars on their way, the good guys outnumbered the bad guys. Hopefully outsmarted them too.

The big question mark was weapons. What were these people planning? Were they hoping to destroy the lodge along with anyone in it? That seemed an extreme way to take out a single person, but it wouldn’t surprise him. They’d already blown up one house in an attempt to kill Tessa.

Flynn’s team arrived at the training area that included a natural obstacle course. He hadn’t seen it yet, but the others had described it as they ran.

Fallen trees had been woven into a crisscross arrangement that led into and around the trees. There were also areas where they’d piled large rocks and branches to use in strength training. A couple of ladders had been set high between limbs to offer upper body work.

There was more, but those were the pieces they planned to use to lure and trap the intruders.

Flynn swung himself up with one ladder, then clambered into the branches of the nearest pine. Nico followed suit with another ladder. Joe and Sam used the crisscrossing fallen trees to climb quickly beyond where most would look.

Sam had tossed Flynn a net from the garage on the way out. They hoped the surprise of something falling on them would give them an advantage. The net was several old badminton and volleyball nets woven together to create a larger unit. It wouldn’t hold anyone for long, but the confusion it would create could be invaluable.

Tansy spoke through the earbud. “I see three men moving toward the training ground. Graham, Sam’s team is all in place. If you spread your team between them and the lodge, you should be able to surround the group.”

They hadn’t wanted to risk voices traveling in the bush, so none of them would speak unless necessary. He wanted to know the weapons situation, but didn’t want to risk it.

A few moments later, Tessa spoke through the ear bud. “They’re moving in an arrow formation with one in front. We can’t identify faces or much else. They all appear to be armed with handguns and one has a large pack strapped on his back. Potentially a long gun in there. Thicker barrel. Not sure what it is.”

Tansy chimed in. “They’re continuing to head straight for your position. Probably five minutes out. Maybe less.”

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