“Stay down,” she ordered her sister as well as her dog. For extra measure, she gave Haven the down gesture. Slowly, as if reluctantly, the K-9 folded into the down position.
Withdrawing her weapon, Maren rose to peer over a fallen log. Her eyebrows rose as Agent Daniel Russell came into view. He skidded to a halt as his gaze met hers.
He lifted his hands, pointing his weapon up into the air. “Whoa, whoa. Colt called for backup.”
“Where’d you come from?” Maren asked. She’d thought he’d decided against involving the DEA. But he had told his boss. Maybe the SAC had sent Daniel.
“The fire road.” He pointed behind him.
Hesitation kept Maren in place. She holstered her gun. “I need to let Colt know.” She’d long lost the Bluetooth signal connecting her to Colt. She reached for her cell phone.
Daniel beat her to it. Taking his phone out and dialing, he said, “I’ll call him.”
Maren helped her sister to stand. Haven rose, her ears twitching, and her dark eyes trained on Daniel.
“Who’s that?” Suspicion and fear laced Opal’s voice.
“He works with my partner,” Maren told her. “They’re DEA.”
Opal jerked away from Maren. “You did sell me out.”
Outraged, Maren stared. “No. They’ve been helping me find you. I’m helping them to bring down Shadow and his organization.”
Still wary, Opal allowed Maren to lead her to where Daniel was talking to Colt. Haven stuck close to her side.
“I’ve got the women,” Daniel said into the phone. “We’ll meet you. I’ll get them there.”
Maren reached toward the phone. “I want to talk to him.”
Daniel made a face as he put his phone back in his pocket. “Sorry, he already hung up.”
Wondering how far away Colt and the team were, she asked, “Where are we going to meet?”
“The trailhead,” Daniel said. “This way. I’ve a SUV on the fire road.”
Daniel turned and marched forward. Maren narrowed her gaze on his back. The arrogant man thought she would just follow without question. Keeping her guard up, she hoped that letting him lead her and Opal out of the forest to the fire road would bring the comms back in range so she could communicate with Colt and the task force.
She took Opal by the arm, and they moved to follow the agent.
* * *
Rusk alerted before Colt even heard the sound of people descending onto the campsite. Surprise arced through him. It was the whole team. They’d all come.
Each was dressed in tactical gear and the K-9s wore their vests.
Emmett and his Newfoundland, Gemma, moved forward while the others hung back, awaiting orders.
“Is she on comms?” Emmett asked.
Colt shook his head, frustration making his blood boil. “She’s out of range.”
“We’ll find her,” Emmett said confidently. He studied the ground and moved southeast, away from the campsite. “There’s broken grass over here as if people had run through here. I’m guessing this must be the way the twins went.”
Colt berated himself. He’d gone north toward the sound of gunfire rather than southeast as indicated by the trail in the grass. His and Rusk’s training wasn’t in wilderness tracking. But rather in urban settings looking for narcotics.
“You and I will go together,” Emmett said. To the others he said, “Fan out and stay in pairs. Keep your radios on but silent.”
The team members dispersed, pairing off and going in various directions.
