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He says something to the man I can’t hear, but from the looks of things, he asked him to dump the bag’s contents into his trunk. He takes a minute to inspect what I’m guessing to be more money and nods.
Wilson steps to the side, and the men retrieve more assault rifles from his trunk. They also remove a green plastic container that’s large enough to hold four oversized bags of flour. Whatever’s in the container must be heavy. It takes two bulked-up men to carry it to the warehouse.
I survey the faces of the men in the compound, doing my best to make out their features. A man resembling Ethan Philips from where I’m crouching is with them.
Christ, please tell me I’m wrong. Of all the people who could have been mixed up with these men, it had to be a man I’d come to respect from working with him during our past several SAR missions.
It’s possible Wilson is part of an undercover sting, but it’s more likely he’s been on the other side of the law if his recent behavior is any indication.
I pull out my phone to take photos, but they won’t prove anything. Not from this far away.
I need a camera with a telephoto lens. Or I need to get closer to the action.
A twig snaps behind me.
And a surge of adrenaline fires up my synapses, puts my body on high alert.
I’m flat on my stomach, forest debris digging into my skin. There’s a chance I haven’t been discovered. That my military survival skills have done what I’d hoped—made me invisible.
“Get up and turn around,” a male voice barks, louder and sharper than my CO when he was beyond pissed.
Shit. So much for being invisible.
58
Jessica
August, Present Day
Maple Ridge
* * *
I watch Violet’s house from the safety of Lucas’s SUV, my fingers itching to sink into Bailey’s hair and calm the panic pulsing through me. We couldn’t risk bringing her with us, and now I’m regretting that decision.
Lucas is still watching the back of the house. I haven’t heard from Troy or Kellan or Garrett since they drove away. I’m not sure what to make of that. So I try to avoid thinking about it.
Looking at the exterior of Violet’s house, a passerby would never guess the danger Violet faces every day behind the facade. Her house resembles every other home on the street. White picket fences. Cheerful blossoms coloring the gardens and porches. Blossoms that have been tenderly cared for.
A restrained quiet reigns over the house. A nothing-to-see-here quiet. A light is on in the room at the front, but the curtains are drawn, so I can’t check if Violet is all right. Or if she’s even in the room.
Helplessness wraps around me like an oversized python, squeezing me tighter and tighter to the point I can’t breathe. I can’t sit here doing nothing. The least I can do is give Violet hope and let her know she hasn’t been abandoned. She’s not alone.
I search through Lucas’s glove compartment and locate scrap paper and two pens. I click on the end of one pen and try writing on the paper. Nothing, other than a slight indentation where I wrote. Dammit.
I try the other pen. The ink flows this time, but it’s intermittent at best. I write the short message and fold the paper into a tiny square.
I climb out of the SUV and walk down the sidewalk to Violet’s front door. I lift my hand to ring the doorbell, but a crash from inside the house causes me to go still.
Then there’s a scream.
The woman’s scream isn’t loud enough to be heard by the neighbors, and no one is on the street to notice it. Lucas might have overheard it from his position on the other side of the house, but I can’t be sure.
The sound comes again and galvanizes me into action, without giving a second thought to the risk I’m taking. Violet. Sophie. I need to make sure they’re okay.
Praying the door is unlocked, I grab the doorknob and turn it. I take a deep breath that does nothing to calm me, and I brace myself for all possible scenarios I could be stepping into. Many I don’t even want to consider.
The doorknob easily twists, and I release the air from my lungs, relief not bothering to wash over me. I cautiously push the door open, doing my best to not make a sound that will alert anyone in the house of my presence.
