Page 78 of Lion’s Den

“We both might chase the wrong SUV, and then he’s gone for good.”

Silence filled the cab of his vehicle, the silence of failure.

Rhys said, “They’re outpacing us, sir. I’m losing them. I can’t track all three.”

Cam gritted his teeth. This sucked so badly. How could he tell Sedona? She would be so disappointed in him. In his mind’s eye, he saw Julio’s blanket and the cut zip tie. “Bring the drone back. We regroup.”

Dario snapped, “We’re just letting him go?”

“The Collector slipped past us. He planned every step and outsmarted us. We’ve got to be better than this. Also, we don’t chase blind. Ever. Hopefully, the roadblocks will pick them up, but I’m not counting on it, not with The Collector’s track record. Rhys, bring the drone back. Zane, do you have time to help us?”

“What do you need?”

“Pull traffic cam footage within a ten-mile radius and send a copy to Rhys. Rhys, build a trail. I want to know where these guys go.”

“If I can figure out what vehicles they switched to,” he muttered.

“What else can I help with?” Zane asked.

“Cell tower activity mapping.”

“Copy that. I’m on it. Rhys, I’ll let you know when to check your email for traffic cam footage.”

Their tech man’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember giving you my email address.”

“You didn’t. Cam, anything else?”

“Nope. Thanks for all your help. We owe you.”

“Not yet. You can owe me a favor when we find the boy. Murphy out.”

“David?”

“Right here.”

“We found three sets of tire treads on the SUVs around the detached garage. The rain has likely destroyed the tire treads by now, but see if we can match treads to vehicles.”

“You’ve got it. Nailing it down might take us a beat. We have three crime scenes to process.”

“Move this to the top of the list. This might give us that break we’ve been looking for.”

“Copy that. I’ll call when I have something to report.”

The corners of Cam’s lips curved. In other words, don’t bother him with questions he couldn’t answer yet.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and noted that Dario was tailgating him. Only one reason for that. Much as Cam understood and longed to keep going, continuing the pursuit could endanger Julio. “Break off pursuit, Dario.”

“We can still catch them.”

“Break it off. That’s an order.”

A growl of frustration filled the SUV’s cabin. “Copy that, sir,” Dario spit out.

“Dial it back, or when we have a confirmed location on Julio, you’ll be riding the bench.”

“Yes, sir.” He remained silent a beat, then added, “I hate dead ends.”

Cam chuckled. “Same, my friend.”