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“Hurry back. Get Ian to turn the generator back on before more come down to investigate,” Hollis said. He picked up the duct tape and started binding the man’s ankles together. Once he was properly secured, he and Rowe carried him back off the porch and into the deeper shadows along the house where he was also taped to a separate tree out of the view of any of his compatriots.
As they were getting him secured, the silence of the woods was broken by the generator chugging back to life. Hollis released a pent-up breath and some of the tension flowed out of his shoulders. They now had access to the interior of the house and as far as he could tell, the guards on the second floor had no idea that they’d been breached.
Of course, everything became ten times more dangerous now. They had no idea how many guards were on the second floor, how they were arranged, or how many kids they were guarding. If something went wrong, Hollis was terrified one of the guards would start executing the kids rather than taking a chance they’d start talking if freed. And that was all assuming there were kids actually inside the house. It was obvious these men were simple thugs guarding…something, but it could have been a shipment of drugs or some other illegal or stolen goods.
“How many do you think are left?” Rowe asked. For the first time since they’d gotten to the schoolhouse, Rowe pulled his gun from the holster in the middle of his lower back.
Hollis frowned. It was hard to guess, even after working undercover in Jagger’s organization for several months. Despite being a complete bastard, he was an incredibly smart man. He was cautious and a very careful planner. It was only because of an unexpected mistake by one of his men that they’d managed to finally move in on Jagger and still, he’d escaped through having an effective backup plan. Jagger would keep the minimum number of guards to effectively keep his product safe. Too many wasted money and risked exposure. Too few and he could lose everything.
“Without knowing the layout on the second floor,” Hollis started then paused, frowning at Rowe, “minimum of two, but probably more. With a building that size, can’t be more than four.”
Grunting, Rowe led the way back to the porch and inside through the partially open front door. The first floor was lit by a single bare bulb from a shop light at the end of a thick orange extension cord. The light hung in the middle of the main room from a nail in an exposed rafter, creating shadows about the room. But it was enough light to show the worn, warped floorboards. Some chairs were set beside a board that had once been balanced across a couple of old milk crates. Playing cards were scattered across the floor. Apparently, this was what the guard had run into when the generator was turned off. The inside of the house was cold and the air stank of rotten food, human waste, rotted wood, and damp earth. His stomach turned to think what the rest of the place looked like, that kids were forced to stay here before they were shuttled off to their next captor.
But as he shoved that thought aside, a new one flared to life in its place and it nearly knocked the breath from his lungs. Ian, here, with Jagger and his men. Jagger attempting to force himself on Ian and Ian fending him off. Ian running…but trapped in the cemetery.
A growl started to slip from his parted lips but a rough hand slapped over his mouth, grabbing his face hard enough to dig the insides of his cheeks into his teeth. He blinked and focused his gaze on Rowe who was staring at him with narrowed green eyes. He didn’t have to ask. The man knew exactly where his mind had gone. Ward had been there when Ian had confessed what had happened in this building.
“Get your shit together,” Rowe muttered, leaning close so his voice carried no farther than his ears. Rowe pulled back, still holding Hollis’s face until Hollis nodded.
Rowe turned around and it was only then that Hollis noticed Noah and Ian standing at the other end of the room. Ian looked shaky, his face pale and eyes wide as if he was also dancing between the past and the present. Everything within Hollis cried out to go to Ian, to pull him from the building and get him as far from this place as he could, but he knew that no matter how painful staying was, Ian would not leave until he was sure that all those kids were safe.
With a quick motion of his hand, Noah indicated that he and Ian would take the back set of stairs while Rowe and Hollis headed for the front set. Above them, they could hear heavy footsteps walking the length of the floor from the front of the house to the back. There was a long pause. Hollis counted almost a full minute before the guard started the route over again. As Hollis and Rowe reached the foot of the narrow and rickety-looking stairs, they heard the guard pause near the front of the house.
