Page 44

Forty-Four

Roman

“O kay, it should be right over there,” I said, nodding to a small clearing in between the thick forest in front of us.

“So, what’s the plan?” Quinn asked, already taking her seat belt off.

I parked the truck on the side of the road, hiding it the best I could, given the size of the damn thing. Then, I turned the ignition off and turned to face her.

“We wait a few minutes; make sure it’s safe before we head in.”

Her brows shot up off her forehead as her eyes bulged out.

“Are you kidding me? You think my daughter is in there, and you want me to wait to make sure it’s safe?! Nothing is safe with her in there right now, Roman!” She turned and reached for the handle as my hand darted across to stop her.

“I don’t want to wait either, Quinn, but what choice do we have?

We have to be smart about this, which means we can’t just rush in with guns blazing.

This isn’t some cheesy action flick. It’s real life, and your daughter’s life is at stake.

I’m not willing to jeopardize that. We have no idea how many people are inside and what we’re facing once we get there.

I would hate for them to put a bullet through our heads before we even make it to the door.

They likely have cameras set up around the property which means they’re going to see us long before we see them.

We’re already at a disadvantage; let’s not make things harder than they already are. ”

She sunk back against the seat and sighed heavily.

“Fine, you’re right.”

I knew how she felt because I was just as frustrated that we couldn’t rush in and get Rosie but serving twelve years in the Marines taught me that you didn’t go in unless you knew what was waiting on the other side.

Intelligence was vital, and even though we didn’t have time to get all of the information we needed, we had to be smart enough to get the basics.

Ten minutes felt like hours as we sat and waited to see if any cars would come or go from the road that we needed to head down. A no trespassing sign was posted at the entrance, so I didn’t expect much traffic other than those we needed to avoid.

We got out of the truck and watched our surroundings for any movement as we geared up.

Quinn had taken one of the shoulder harnesses from the cabin before we left and now had it loaded with extra ammo in addition to the .

45 and 9mm she had swiped from the dead guys.

I adjusted the tactical vest and made sure it was in place before leading the way with my AR15 aimed ahead of me.

Quietly, we stalked through the tall grass, making sure to keep off of the road and stay hidden under the thick trees. We had no idea if they had cameras set up or if they had a team stationed outside, but we would soon find out.

I didn’t have to glance behind me to make sure Quinn was still there.

Her soft footsteps were the steady reminder that I needed to push forward.

I knew that she wanted to take off and run to get her daughter and that it was taking everything inside of her not to.

Hell, it was taking everything I had not to do it either.

Finally, the road beside us opened into a large gravel driveway in front of a massive house. There were several cars parked outside, but none that I recognized. We stopped and studied the house, looking for any signs of movement around it.

When we knew it was safe, we slowly moved forward, making sure to stay hidden. We approached the side of the house, and I took my spot at the front of the wall while Quinn trailed around to the back, clearing it before she joined me.

There was an open window above us on the second story of the house, but it was small and likely belonged to a bathroom, given the size. I looked around for other points of entry, frustrated that there weren’t any windows or doors nearby.

What kind of people build a house without windows or doors? How creepy and depressing is that?

The kind of people who kidnap and traffic children.

I was about to tell Quinn that we should circle around to the other side when we suddenly heard a voice and froze.

“But I don’t want to,” Rosie said grumpily.

“I don’t care if you want to. You will learn to do as you’re told.”

I felt my blood pressure rise, knowing that Quinn’s was too.

“I just want my mommy.”

“Well, lucky for you, I’m your mommy now.”