Page 71 of Bleed the Shadows

“Here you have the driveway leading to the compound,” Rafe said.

He narrated the rest: the big main house at the top of a hill, a series of pathways that led to the outdoor space, the twoguesthouses, and a series of walking trails that led up into the woods behind the house.

“The fence doesn’t go all the way around the property,” Rafe said, "but it is electrified. It extends about a hundred yards on either side of the gate, right up to the heavily wooded areas that surround the house. I’m guessing whoever built it wasn’t as worried about security as its current owner. Either that or they figured the woods offered enough protection from outsiders, which was a fair assumption if you’re just talking about the average hiker.”

“So we can get in through the woods,” Bram said.

Rafe tipped his head. "You could, but you’d still have to deal with security. Hang on.”

He exited the current video and pulled up another one. This one was a zoomed-in view of the main house.

“I’ll put this one in slo-mo.” He pressed play and the video unfolded slowly.

Now I could see that there were men at the back of the house.

Men with guns.

“You can see this guy’s got some pretty heavy security,” Rafe said. “Way more than I’d expect even for an influencer who has a lot of haters. Any idea if this is new?”

“None,” Poe said. “This is the first glimpse we’re getting of the place.”

The drone swung around to the side of the house. “Not a lot of coverage on the side.” Rafe hit pause. “But if you look closely here, you can see the security cameras, and the lights, which are probably on a motion sensor.”

The video continued toward the outdoor space, the guesthouses, and the back of the property where there were no security guards.

He pressed a button on his laptop and the camera zoomed in.

“Again, you can see the cameras.” I might not have noticed them on my own, but once Rafe pointed them out it was obvious they were there.

Bram, Poe, and Remy were glued to the footage. I could almost see their minds working, trying to reason the best way in.

“Would it be better to try and take him out away from the house?” Remy asked.

“Do we even know if it’s really him?” Poe asked.

Rafe exited out of the screen and pulled up a third video. On this one a figure was frozen onscreen.

Rafe pressed play and the drone footage zoomed in increments until Rafe pressed pause again.

And there was Ethan Todd’s grainy face.

“That’s him.” My heart beat like a war drum in my chest.

Bram leaned in to look closer. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Excitement gave me a shot of adrenaline. I was closer than I’d ever been to getting justice for June. “I knew it.”

43

POE

Rafe and Lilahwere barely out the door when Maeve turned to us, her face flushed with excitement. “He’s there. We can go in now.”

“Hold up,” Bram said. “Let’s think about this.”

“What’s to think about?” Maeve’s eyes were bright. “He’s there. He’s right there!”

“That’s not all there is to know,” Bram said. “I want to look at the footage again, get a handle on how many guards might be there, think about the best approach to the property,” Bram said.