Carter
The heavily guarded compound flashed through Carter’s mind as he tried to piece together what he had witnessed. The facility was a fortress, intimidating and weirdly oppressive. It felt like a hub of dark secrets, and the fact that his mate was inside, connected to whatever was going on in there made his insides churn.
Returning to his parent’s house, Carter’s mind raced with thoughts and scenarios, but one thing was clear—he needed more information. As he walked through the front door, the smell of freshly brewed coffee greeted him. Seb was seated in the kitchen, scrolling through something on his phone.
“Hey, are mom and dad here?”
Seb shook his head. “No, they said they had a prior engagement they couldn’t get out of. Any luck on the search for your sister?”
Carter shook his head then took a seat opposite his friend. “No, but I think I found something else.”
Seb scrunched his brow together. “What?”
“I think I found my mate.”
Seb looked up, surprise evident on his face. “Holy crap! Really? Well, that’s...unexpected. Wait, youthink?”
Carter nodded. “I didn’t get the chance to talk to her because she was abducted.”
His jaw clenched around the last word, and Seb blinked. “Sayagain?”
Carter heaved a sigh then proceeded to tell Seb everything that had happened since he got to his sister’s condo. Seb listened carefully then frowned.
“What do you think is going on in there?”
Carter rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. “I don’t know. I mean, they literally grabbed her and manhandled her into that car, but when they got there, I watched her enter that facility of her own free will is if she’d done it a hundred times before. Something’s not right. I just can’t put my finger on what is going on—not without more information.”
“Then we’llgetmore information,” Seb said decisively.
“Perhaps we should call the guys,” Carter mused, thinking about their friends back in Texas who also worked for the CIA. “See what they can find out about the place.”
Seb nodded, tapping his phone. “I’ll reach out to them. Between Toby’s intel skills and Arlo’s connections, I’m sure we can get some information about what they do there.”
A sense of urgency hung in the air. While it was a situation neither had anticipated, they both knew the importance of gathering information quickly. Every moment mattered, especially if Carter’s mate was involved and possibly in danger.
“I’ll take care of it,” Seb said, his voice filled with determination. “You just stay focused on finding your sister. We’ll unravel the mysteries of that place together.”
Carter frowned. “Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone. You up for a field trip?”
Seb grinned. “Always.”
“Great. We’ll swing by Maria’s place to see if she can tell me anything useful about Megan then we’ll do some recon at that facility. You call the guys and I’ll leave a note for mom and dad to let them know what’s going on. They’re worried enough without me pulling a vanishing act unannounced.”
Seb nodded. “On it.”
After they had completed their respective tasks, they headed to Maria’s condo complex. Carter’s eyes darted around, looking for any sign of her or his mate. He rang Maria’s doorbell and waited. Moments turned to minutes with no response. He knocked a couple of times, harder this time, but still, silence prevailed.
Carter frowned.
“She’s not home,” Seb commented, scanning the surroundings.
“Seems that way,” Carter replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. The day was proving to be more frustrating than he had anticipated.
With Maria not being an option for now, they drove back to the compound. As they approached, they parked a safe distance away, relying on the natural cover of the trees to remain undetected. They walked around the perimeter of the fence, looking for weak spots.
As they continued to surveil the area, trying to find potential points of entry, Carter’s sharp eyes picked up on something.
“Look there,” he murmured, pointing towards the northern side of the compound. From their vantage point, they could see a section of the fence that looked weathered, perhaps damaged in a recent storm.
