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Boone glanced at the phone in his hand. Grant was calling and Boone had almost missed it. “Talk to me.”

“I just got off the phone with the sheriff. He said the complaint about the damaged cabin was lodged by Judson Clark. He has those older cabins that butt up to the quarry. There ain’t that many, so we should be able to spot the one Nico’s men are using.”

Boone figured he was right about that. “When did Judson lodge the complaint?”

“Yesterday after he drove by them, but they were fine last week when he checked on them. So they could have been broken into any time after that.”

“We’ll head toward the cabins from the east. That way if they run, they can’t make it any further than the quarry. GPS is showing her phone at Cabin 44. That’s the next to last cabin on the left. We’ll park the trucks behind Cabin 37. That will give us plenty of room to maneuver. I’ll give you more specifics when we get there.”

“You got it. We’ll follow your lead. If you come up with a solid plan in the seven minutes it’ll take us to get there, let us know. If we don’t hear different, we’ll go in quiet but armed and prepared for a fight.”

“Roger that.” Boone disconnected the call. No one spoke. What was there to say?

Leave it to Grif to think of something. “I don’t get why she thought she had to go with them. She’s seen what we can do. What was she thinking?”

Wasn’t that the question of the day? It was one Boone would be putting to Tildi personally as soon as he had her back in his arms. If there was one thing he’d learned as a Daddy, it was you never got to a point where you understood Little logic.

The only thing he did know, because he knew his girl, was that in her head, she was doing it for them. His girl would do anything for the people she loved.

At least she’d been smart enough to take her phone. She knew they’d be able to track her. If they let her keep it.

They could get to Cabin 44 and find it empty except for her cell phone. It’s what he would have done. He was praying these men weren’t that smart.

He was more worried about what they might be doing to her. Was Nico’s “me first” policy still in play? He had to know Tildi was his. Would he have told his men they could have her? Hurt her?

He dropped his chin to his chest and stared at his Glock, thinking about the night before. She was finally starting to trust him. Even more, she was starting to trust herself. He couldn’t lose her now.

This was not the same as three years ago. It was not going to end the same way. He checked his gun and made sure it was loaded, then shoved it into the waistband of his pants, putting two extra mags in his side pocket. Then he dug through his bag.

He had this same type of bag almost a month ago when he found Tildi. He pulled out two knives, one tactical and one stiletto. He buckled the leather sheaths they were in to his belt. He almost put the bag down but then spotted a hank of paracord and grabbed that, too.

Mission. He needed to think. Right now, all he could see was that thug manhandling his Little girl. The pain she’d felt when that miscreant grabbed her, the fear in her eyes when she entered the back seat of the vehicle.

“Boone,” Sev called, interrupting his concentration.

Fuck. If he was going to be of any use to his babygirl, he had to get a grip.

Sev shook his head. “Not to be crass, but my father needs her alive. She’s bait. He knows, if you ask for proof of life, he must be able to provide it. We’ll get her back. And when we do, he’ll never bother her again.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

Sev’s eyes hardened. “I can. And I am. He won’t bother anyone again. Ever.”

That was what he needed to hear. He knew Sev better than most people realized. This was not the first time one of them had helped the other. If Sevin said his father would be contained, then it was as good as done.

A plan fell into place in his head. It wasn’t fancy. Then again, they weren’t going up against a Tier One squad of soldiers. He shared it with his men.

Grif shrugged. “Sounds good. Shoot the bad guys. Save the girl. Make the mafia Godfather disappear. I don’t even think we need a backup plan.”

Boone nodded. By the end of the day, he’d have his Little girl back in his arms. She had faith in him. Now he needed to have faith in himself and his men.

Right now, he felt like a failure but tonight he needed to be the hero Tildi told him he was.

For her sake he had to be.

CHAPTER 20

Tildi was a fairly patient person. An ideal prisoner, if she did say so herself.