Caitlyn paced, the floorboards squeaking beneath her feet. They were meeting at Whiffle Beach at six a.m. It wasn’teven sixp.m.yet.Christ. She would not survive the wait without a distraction.
No way could she sleep. She needed something to do, something to feel productive. If only they had access to weapons and a range for target practice. At least then she would be able get out some of her aggression and feel like she was doing something proactive that might help tomorrow.
Lambert couldn’t possiblyexpect her and Kurt to show up unarmed.
God,Kurt. If she thought turning herself over to Lambert alone would protect Kurt and his family and friends, she’d do it now. She couldn’t live with him getting hurt or killed.
Though chances were she wouldn’t have to live with it. She’d probably be dead in less than twenty-four hours.
To prevent that from happening, she had to stop fretting about everyoneelse and focus.
“Where are you, Rose?”
Forcing her leaden body to move, she returned downstairs. Kurt stood at the counter spreading peanut butter and jelly on bread.
Before he could start throwing out suggestions about how to handle the message from Lambert, she said, “If there’s any way we can find her, I think we need to hit first, tonight.”
“I agree. And it turns out we might be able to.”
Her shoulders relaxed a fraction. Dare she hope? “How’s that?”
“I was about to come get you. Valerie was able to trace the IP address of the email. Believe it or not, it was sent from St. Isidore.”
“Wouldn’t we expect that?” Caitlyn asked. It made sense that Lambert’s men would be holding Rose close by if they were going to bring her to the exchange tomorrow.
“Yes, but not if they were maskingtheir location. If they were using an anonymizing browser or a virtual private network, it wouldn’t have traced back directly to the island. It might’ve looked like it was coming from somewhere like the Netherlands or Russia or Chicago.” He gave a little head tilt. “According to Valerie.”
“So if they’re not masking their location, can we narrow it down to an area more precise than the island?”
Little red indentations from Kurt’s glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. “Yes. She was able to do just that, and it looks like they’re on the northwest side of the island. It’s not definitive, she can’t pinpoint their location like GPS, but she can get within a mile or less. Something to do with local routers or something, I don’t know. But Tara thought to narrow it down by looking at propertiesor known connections that Lambert has on that end of St. Iz, based on the financial info Valerie put together.”
Damn.Kurt had amazing people on his team. As much as Caitlyn hated getting him involved, where would she be without Steele’s resources? She’d have little or nothing to go on right now. Or she’d already be behind bars.
Or worse.
“Assuming they’re operating somewhere nearby and haven’tmoved,” Kurt said, “she found two possibilities. One is Zanana Shores, a resort that’s currently under renovation, located on an isolated spit of land at the top of Zanana Bay, just north of Terre Verte. According to what Valerie dug up, Lambert purchased Zanana two years ago after the economy started to improve, and it’s set to open next month.
“The other is a private home that belongs to theDevaux family, who appear to be beneficiaries of Lambert’s cheap labor.”
Caitlyn couldn’t stop her lip from curling. What was wrong with people?
“The resort seems like a perfect place to stage trafficking victims,” Kurt said. “If there’s a dock, it would be simple to bring them in via boat from other islands, and St. Isidore’s minimal coast guard presence doesn’t present much threat. If doneright, no one would notice the new faces among the resort’s tourists. There are also a couple of airfields near TV that would make it easy for them to come and go.”
Against her will, hope lodged itself in Caitlyn’s heart like an axe into wood. “The hotel makes more sense, right? It’s isolated and not open yet, so there’s less risk of Lambert’s men being spotted with Rose.” She mentally swipedaway imagined scenes of Rose struggling with her captors. Going down that path was immobilizing.
“I agree,” Kurt said. “Plus I messaged Dan and Jason. They confirmed that north of TV, the island is pretty quiet. Lambert’s men would likely see it as more difficult for Rose to escape from. I’d put my money there too.”
Kurt threw a concerned look Caitlyn’s way. “If we had backup, I’d send someoneto the house too, but we’ll have to make it our Plan B instead.”
“And if she’s not at either one…”
Kurt’s somber midnight gaze held hers. “We go to the exchange at six.”
For dinner, Kurt heated canned stew in a pot while Caitlyn sliced a loaf of French bread. With a little olive oil and vinegar on the side for dipping, the meal was almost first-class.
They ate to the sound of spoons clinkingon ceramic bowls, the air in the room taut. Next to him, she tapped her toe on the stool’s footrest as if trying to drive the nervous energy from her body. Her shoulders were so tense they nearly touched her ears.
He was almost as tightly wound. Everything hinged on tonight.
