Page 8 of Lion’s Den

But that didn’t mean Sedona was with her phone. The possibility she and her phone were separated threatened to punch a hole through his self-control. He beat it into submission. Barely.

“Gear up,” Elliot murmured. “We don’t know what’s going on, but it’s a given that whoever took Sedona didn’t have good motives.”

Cam set down his bag, quickly pulled out gear, and tugged it on. When he finished, David dropped a small object into the palm of his hand. “What’s this?”

“Communication device. Put it in your ear. To make this operation work, we’ll have to split up.” Elliot turned to David, his brother. “Right?”

He nodded. “Tap your earpiece,” David said and reached up to do the same with his device, as did Elliot. “We’re ready, Zane.”

Seconds later, a male voice came through the small device in Cam’s ear. “No change in the phone’s location. For the moment, I have access to a satellite feed. Don’t ask whose I’m borrowing.”

“Copy.” David glanced at his phone’s screen. “You’re on speaker with Cam Sims and Elliot. What are you seeing?” He motioned to the others to follow him.

“Three heat signatures. They’ve split up to look for Sedona.”

Cam broke in. “Do you see her heat signature?”

After a momentary pause, Zane said, “I think so. What I don’t understand is why they don’t see her.”

“What do you mean?” Elliot asked.

“About fifteen minutes ago, two of the three kidnappers were in the same area as Sedona. They should have seen her, but they didn’t.”

Thank God they hadn’t. Cam frowned. “She must have found a great place to hide.” Perhaps a large, hollowed-out tree trunk or a fallen log. Maybe rocks out in the open.

“Get moving,” Zane snapped after several minutes of silence. “The three kidnappers are returning to the place where Sedona is hiding.”

David picked up speed, phone in one hand, a Sig Sauer in the other. A quarter of a mile out, he used a hand signal to tell Elliot and Cam to split up and surround the area where Sedona’s signal originated.

Veering off to the right, Cam placed his feet carefully to avoid announcing his approach to the kidnappers. His brows knitted. Who were these people and what did they want with Sedona? For goodness’ sake, she taught kindergartners every day. He couldn’t think of a woman less likely to be involved with criminals than Sedona Hart.

Sedona must have seen or heard something that she shouldn’t have. No other explanation made sense.

The low rumble of men’s voices told Cam he was close to the target coordinates. He closed in on the men, staying in the deepest shadows as he crouched in the darkness and listened to three men argue while he visually looked for Sedona.

The big, muscle-bound man folded his arms across his chest and scowled at the other two men. “You lost her? I practically gave her to you on a silver platter, and you let her escape. The boss will not be happy about this.”

“Then he ought to be out here helping us look for her. It’s pitch black out here. We can’t see our hands in front of our faces without a powerful flashlight turned on.”

Cam looked down at his hands, perfectly visible in the moonlight, and looked back at the skinny guy. Someone wanted to pass the blame to anyone other than himself. He’d known quite a few guys in the military who had the same habit.

His lips curled. Cam had kept his distance from them. The last thing he’d needed then, or now, was someone who didn’t complete his job and pawned off the blame on someone else.

He slid his phone into his pocket, half-listening to the three men in the small clearing argue between themselves while he scanned for Sedona’s hiding place.

When he didn’t spot her right away, his gut tightened into a knot. What if she had escaped again from the three kidnappers, this time without her phone? Once she left this forest, he wouldn’t have a clue where to look for her.

His jaw tightened. That couldn’t happen. He had to find her before she escaped the forest. Cam didn’t know if these three men were the only ones involved in taking Sedona from her school. Staying in the deepest shadows, Cam moved closer to the men and crouched behind a broad tree trunk.

“I don’t care what you thought,” Muscle Man snapped. “So what if she heard the boss’ name? If you had grabbed her like he ordered you to do, it wouldn’t have been your problem,” Muscle Man snapped as he shoved one thug aside, beginning to walk away.

Big Guy scowled. “Are you going to help?”

“Not my problem. I didn’t lose her.” Muscle Man walked from the clearing, blending into the shadows within seconds with his black clothes and running shoes.

Through the earpiece, Cam heard David say, “Elliot.”

“On it.”