Gabe nodded in acknowledgement. “What do you need me to do?”
Rachel gestured toward an empty chair. “Sit down and get comfortable.”
He was thinking,with a bunch of people staring at me.
But the others must have picked up the thought because Craig said, “Why don’t we give you some space?”
He got up and went into the adjoining room. Everyone but Olivia followed. She looked at him and asked in a not-quite-steady voice,” Can I stay?”
“Sure,” he said, not because he wanted her to but because he suspected he was too open to her for it to make any difference whether she stayed or went.
Rachel nodded.We can teach you how to shield your thoughts,she silently told him. “But now we’ve got urgent business. Smith could decide that his current location is too hot and clear out. We want to get him before he does.”
“So what do I do?” he asked.
Just chill out,she answered in his mind. Her next remark was addressed to Travis.When Smith first brought you to his house, it was by boat. And you left the same way. Could you recognize the dock?
He felt Travis’s hesitation, and he had the strange feeling that the other man was maybe asking permission to speak.
Go ahead,Gabe said.
Thanks.
He felt the word form in his own mind, and he tried to stay calm, tried to accept that he was now two people—who weren’t exactly comfortable with each other. Could he really cope with this...duality?
Rachel waited through the silent exchange before saying, You’ve already proved you’re strong—and adaptable.
How do you know?he shot back.
Because I can see you dealing with it. But we’re not here for a Tarot card reading. I need facts.
That was the first time he realized that reading the cards was Rachel’s profession. He had always thought that fortune-telling was a bunch of hooey. This woman could change his mind. She’d said he was strong. He sensed that in her as well.
His musings were cut off when Travis began to speak.I think so. I was trying to mark where it was so we could come back. If we got a chance,he added with a dull, angry note in his silent voice, and Gabe knew that Rachel picked it up.
You thought it might be a one-way trip.
Yeah. But I was hoping you might get here in time to make a difference. I know what the back of the house looks like. It’s got to be on the Miles River. That’s the main waterway leading from the bay to St. Stephens. That’s how I take my boat to open water. I’d seen the house a thousand times. I don’t know how long it’s belonged to Smith.
A picture of a large gray stone mansion came into his mind. It was a two-story house with a portico that ran along the back. Outdoor furniture was arranged in conversational groupings along its length. And closer to the water, there was a gazebo with a blue roof. The shoreline along the water had been reinforced with more gray rocks, larger and more jagged than the ones from which the house was built. The pier was about thirty feet long. A sleek speedboat was moored along the left side.
Getaway boat?Rachel mused.I guess we have to cover the front and the back. What can you tell me about the interior of the house?
Normal-looking living room, dining room, and kitchen along the water. The coercion facilities are in the left wing.
Again, there were all too clear mental pictures of the room where Travis and Olivia had been tortured and the cell where Gabe had been held in the basement.
Okay, let’s look for the place on Google Maps,Rachel said.Then we can plan an invasion with one assault team coming in by boat and another by car. How many henchmen does he have?
I’ve seen six different men including the ones who captured us at Olivia’s house. I don’t know how many will be there at any given time. Maybe it depends on how relaxed Smith is feeling now that he thinks he's gotten rid of a major threat.
Or maybe he keeps several guards on duty at all times,Rachel put in.Thanks. I think we’ve got what we need. And now we’d better get busy.“I’m going to call in the others for a tactical meeting.” She gave Gabe and Olivia a critical look. “The two of you almost drowned a few hours ago. Are you in shape for a raid tonight?”
“Yes,” they both answered.
“I’d give you more time to recuperate, but I don’t want to give Smith a chance to slip away,” Rachel added.
Gabe stood up and stretched, testing his muscles. He’d automatically answered her question in the affirmative, but he wasn’t exactly in prime shape. Still, he agreed with Rachel. “Yeah. The sooner we deal with the bastard, the better.”
