“All clear. I’ve got eyes on every one of them.”
“He has to have somewhere else.” I stopped pacing. Started again. “A backup location. Trav, it would be somewhere remote, similar to the compound.”
Travis didn’t stop typing as he glanced at me. “Why do you think that?”
“He was talking about hunting her again. Doesn’t like that his prey escaped last time.”
Stay alive, Kitten.Whatever it takes, just stay alive.
“Wait.” Travis’s fingers stopped moving.
We all turned.
“The USB.” He started typing again, faster now. “The data you pulled from Oliver’s compound. I went through it looking for buyer information, but there was other stuff on there too. Financial records I didn’t flag as priority.”
He pulled up a new window. Spreadsheets filled the screen.
“There.” His voice went tight. “A shell corporation based out of Delaware. Owns a single asset—an abandoned copper mine about forty miles east of here. Nothing else around it for miles.” He clicked a few more times.
“Hasn’t had any action for years. Until today.” Travis grabbed an energy drink and sucked down a gulp. “Utility records show power was activated six hours ago.”
An abandoned mine.
Isolated.
“That’s where he’s taking her.” I was already moving toward the door. “It’s perfect for a hunt. That’s exactly what he wants.”
Hunter was off the phone. He didn’t argue. Didn’t ask me to wait for more details that would confirm the location.
Waiting for those details might cost Mia her life.
“Gear up,” Hunter said. “Full tactical load. You want to bring the feds in on this?”
I ran through it fast. More manpower, legal authority, backup if things went sideways. But mobilizing a federal team would take hours we didn’t have.
Beckett shook his head. “I wouldn’t. They’ll want warrants, tactical plans, a full briefing. By the time they’re ready to move?—”
“Mia’s dead.” I couldn’t say it any other way. “No feds. Just us.”
Hunter didn’t argue. “We leave in five.”
The next few minutes were controlled chaos. Weapons checked and loaded. Tactical vests strapped tight. Communication gear tested. Travis sent electronic maps of the mine’s layout—old, probably outdated, but better than nothing—that we could study on the way.
I moved through the motions with mechanical precision. Loading magazines. Checking sights. Securing my knife.
My hands were steady. Years of training had taught them to stay steady even when everything inside me was screaming.
“Coop.”
Beckett’s voice cut through. I looked up.
“We’ll get her back. Just like you helped me get Audra back.”
That was different. We both knew it. I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
We loaded into the vehicles—two SUVs, blacked-out, armored. Travis promised to keep us updated on any info that came in. I climbed into the lead vehicle, checked my weapon one more time, and stared out the window.
The Montana mountains stretched ahead of us. Their beauty was lost on me today.
