Which didn’t make sense. And it had Delaneyrethinking if this theory that Ava was being used to lure Vivian here. Ava wouldn’t be complicit in something like that.
Would she?
Delaney just couldn’t see that. But a teenage girl might be easy to manipulate.
Eli leaned closer, eyes on the scanner. “And the other heat source?”
“Larger. He’s standing off to the side and appears to be holding something. A phone, maybe.” She tilted the scanner, confirming movement. “No sign of anyone else outside. At least not within range.”
Delaney held her breath and listened. The wind rustled through the trees, rain drumming steadily against leaves and her hood. Beyond that, nothing. No voices. No movement in the shadows. No added heat signatures blinking onto the thermal scanner. Just the same three. Two pacing. One still.
Her grip tightened on the scanner as Vivian’s voice crackled softly in her ear. “I want to go in. Now.”
Delaney pressed her hand to the earbud. “Hold on. Give it another minute. Noah and the sheriff are almost in position. We go together.”
“I don’t want to wait,” Vivian whispered. “They said—”
“Yes, they said for you to go alone.” Delaney kept her voice low but steady. “But if we rush this, you could get killed. Ava, too.”
Delaney scanned the woods again and spotted two figures moving fast through the tree line. Noah and Sheriff Chase. They had parked without headlights, just like planned, and were moving in with practiced care. Each wore tactical gear, both armed and alert.
Delaney dropped her gaze to her phone and tapped her earpiece. “Noah, there are three heat sources inside. One is likely Ava. The other two are male, and Ava appears to be hugging one of them. No movement outside yet.”
“Hugging?” Vivian blurted. “Sonofabitch. What’s going on? I need to talk to her now.”
“Just hold off,” Noah insisted.
Hopefully, Vivian would do just that. Delaney didn’t want the woman rushing in even if it seemed that Ava wasn’t in some kind of immediate danger.
Delaney looked back at the scanner. No changes. Still just those three heat blooms against the grayscale background. Rain blew sideways across her face, cold and sharp, but her thoughts stayed locked on Ava. On whatever twisted game had brought them here.
“New heat source,” Delaney said, tightening her grip on the scanner. “Coming in from the back.”
Eli leaned closer, already pulling up the aerial map on his phone. “There’s a private road that cuts behind the property. If someone’s using it, they’d come in through the tree line right there.”
Delaney relayed the update through the earpiece. “Noah, Sheriff Chase, someone’s approaching from the back entrance. Looks like a man, moving fast.”
Vivian’s voice cut through the channel, sharp and unsteady. “God. It could be someone there to kill Ava. I’m not waiting any longer.”
“Vivian, hold—” Delaney began.
But it was too late. Vivian threw open her car door and bolted into the rain, sprinting toward the building.
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Chapter Eighteen
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Rain hammered Eli’s shoulders as he sprinted after Vivian, his boots slapping through the mud. Delaney ran beside him, fast despite the pain she had to be feeling.
“We’re going in,” Eli said into the comm. “Vivian just made a run for it. She’s inside.”
“Copy,” came Noah’s voice, tight with tension. “We’re closing in from the back.”
The silhouette of the facility loomed closer. Eli caught the flash of movement just ahead—Vivian. She didn’t hesitate. She burst through the broken side door like a woman possessed.
“Damn it,” Eli hissed.
