Tucker nodded. “Exactly. Myself, excluded.”
Jace gestured at the satellite image on Tucker’s screen. “But you think this is where we’ll find him?”
I shrugged. “He’s not keeping her at his trailer, and the cabin where his father held me has fallen intovastdisrepair. His mom’s place is too strong a possibility to overlook.”
“Okay then, let’s go.”
“I’m texting Vance the address,” Tucker said as he closed his laptop. “It’s between here and his current location, so he might actually be able to meet us there.”
“Three cars,” I said as everyone started shrugging into jackets and packing up electronics. “Tucker and Austin on four legs, everyone else on two. Shift on the way, please, to save time. I want us ready to go the moment we get there. And we take Dennyalive, unless we have to go through him to get to Davey. Which is my call. Understood?”
Everyone nodded.
Jace drove with Tucker, who shifted in the back of his SUV. Austin shifted in the 4Runner while Bishop drove, because I couldn’t trust Bishop in cat form. Too much speed, power, and built-in weaponry, and too many instincts I’d never personally seen him navigate. He’d be slower and at least marginally easier to control on two human legs.
But I trusted Austin in the field, and I damn well trusted Tucker. And with any luck, two cats and four of us on foot, once Vance arrived, would be more than enough to handle Cam Senet. Assuming he was alone.
Assuming we hadn’t missedanothersilent partner.
My GPS agreed with Austin that it was a 40-minute drive down several backroads, but we made it in under 30. Fortunately for us, there was precisely zero police presence on the county roads, which would not have been the case on the highway.
Vance pulled up at our rendezvous point as we were all piling out of our cars.
“Where is she?” he demanded as his door flew open.
“We just got here,” I told him. “But according to the satellite image, the building is half a mile that way.” I pointed to the south. “We haven’t verified that anyone is there yet, obviously.”
He stared at the image I showed him on my phone, from the link Tucker had sent. “The building faces north. Can’t be more than two entrances to a place that small. So we approach from both directions? Cover both entrances?”
“That’s the plan,” I confirmed. “You, Austin, and Bishop are with me. Tucker’s going on four legs, with Jace.”
Vance looked up and notice Jace for the first time. “Hey, man, thanks for coming.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Jace assured him. “Titus says Spencer is less than an hour out. Though we’re still hoping we won’t need him. He can come straight here or pivot toward the bar. He’s waiting to hear from us, when we determine which is preferable.”
I nodded. “We’ll call him as soon as we know for sure. You and Tucker go ahead. You’ll need a head start to circle the cabin. We’ll be right behind you, approaching from the north.”
Tucker huffed through feline nostrils, his sleek fur practically glittering in the moonlight. Then he and Jace took off toward the south.
“First aid kits?” I asked, turning to Bishop.
“Two of them.” Both of which we’d brought from the bar. He tossed me one, and I tucked it into my backpack. “Jace has the other.”
“Thanks. We bring Cam in alive, if at all possible,” I reminded Vance.
“I know.”
“I know you do, but I also know that this is personal for you, now.”
“I can do my job, Charley.” He hesitated, staring down at me in the dark, deep brown eyes shining. “If it’s still my job.”
“It is. For now.” I propped both hands on my hips. “But I swear to god, Vance, that if you ever break the rules again—”
“I won’t. I love her. Never doubt that. I’d give my goddamn life for either one of you. But this is all my fault, and if being with me puts her in danger… I’d rather have her alive thanhaveher.”
I sighed, guilt gnawing at me. “Okay, I’m only going to say this once. I was wrong to fire you. You were wrong to break my rules, and especially to keep a secret like that, but I didn’t make it any better. And Davey’s definitely safer withbothof us at her back.”
“Char—”
