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Paul shuffled toward them. “He sent the details to my email a minute ago. He’s demanding that Cannon personally exchange Rosalie for Julia.”
Rosalie spun toward Cannon.If she thought dark clothes and a scowl made Cannon look like law enforcement, the exchange instructions made him look like an avenging angel from a place darker than hell.
An angel she loved.
The words she wanted to say wouldn’t form on her petrified tongue. When she told Cannon she loved him, it would be on her terms, not a forced play by Malgor.
But what if the worst happened? Cannon would never know…
A motor whirred from the wall near the head of the long conference table. Rosalie jerked to the screen that rolled down from the ceiling. A few sentences accompanied by Malgor’s signature rose appeared. The room fell silent as everyone digested the message that instructed Cannon—and only Cannon—to deliver Rosalie to a set of coordinates, escort her into a clearing, and then wait for Julia to be sent out.
If anyone else was in the vicinity, Julia would be shot.
If Rosalie or Cannon were armed, Julia would be shot.
She had no doubt Malgor would shoot Cannon, too, after he made him watch his sister die.
She’d thought she hated the monster with every cell in her body, but he’d managed to unearth a level of hatred she hadn’t known she possessed.
“Motherfucking scumbag.” Cannon turned from the screen, white-hot fury flashing in his eyes as he searched for Rosalie. “I won’t deliver you to your death.”
He shoved his chair back as he jammed his fist into his palm.
She shot up and stalked toward him. “You’re not delivering me anywhere. We’ll find another way.”
“Damn fucking straight, we’llfind another way.”
She turned to Jimmy. “Any luck with finding the daughter of Cannon’s mentor?” They could really use some intel about now.
“Working on it.” He nodded to the big screen. “The exchange location is coming up.”
An aerial view of the forest replaced Malgor’s instructions.
Cannon studied the image. “That’s the old summer camp. It’s about five miles from here.” He pointed at a large structure about a quarter of the way up the mountain in the middle of a sizable clearing of trees. “That’s the dining hall. That has to be where he’s holding Julia. Other than the guard shack at the base of the mountain, it’s the only building that has a roof left after a huge storm tore through the camp a few years ago.”
A melancholy smile ghosted his lips. “Julia loved that place. We used to go there for two weeks every August when we were kids. It’s been deserted for years, but it’s still one of our favorite playgrounds on the mountain.”
Rosalie’s pulse quickened as she stepped closer to the screen and ran her fingers along the topography lines.
Cannon’s mountain, in his town, on his turf.
For two years, Malgor had held the advantage while she’d chased and he’d taunted, but now she had the ball on a playing field he didn’t dominate.She bolted to the door and yelled for Irene.
The older woman hurried in. “What can I do?”
“Get Easton and Grady up here if he’s feeling well enough.” She looked to Paul for approval to ask for their help. His nod said they were on the same page.
Easton bounded into the room. “We’re already here. What can we do?” His brother limped in behind him.
Cannon pointed at Grady. “You should be in bed.”
“Screw that. What’s going on?” Sweat furrowed Grady’s brow as he eased into a chair by the door.
Cannon heaved a sigh. “We know where Malgor is keeping Julia.”
“At the old camp?” Easton pulled off his cowboy hat. “Well hell, we were out there a few weeks ago hunting.”
Rosalie nodded. “Exactly. We’ve got the home-field advantage and need your local expertise.”
