Page 116 of Fatal Intent

Grant gave a curt nod. “I’ll remember.”

Andre said, “We’re ready, Seth.”

“Let’s go. Be ready for anything. I doubt we’ll have a warm reception.”

Fifteen minutes later, the group walked under a faded welcome sign and into the center of the camp.

Rayne’s skin prickled. Someone was watching them. Probably more than one person. She squeezed Grant’s hand.

“I feel it, too,” he murmured.

Footsteps crunching on the gravel alerted them to someone’s approach. Rayne listened closely. More than one person.

Gino Savage, Barry Fritz, Chase Freeman, Ellis Lindsey, and Rex Lawson emerged from the shadows, each man carrying a rifle and wearing a holstered pistol. Each of them had Ka-Bars strapped to their legs. The group of men took up positions in a circle around the Fortress operatives.

Gino Savage greeted Seth with a chin lift. “Long time. How did you find us?”

“It wasn’t easy.”

The men surrounding them shifted uneasily.

“And yet you still managed it.”

“There’s always a trail.”

“We buried it,” Fritz snapped.

Seth shrugged.

“What do you want, Dixon?” Savage stroked the trigger guard of his rifle, never taking his gaze from Seth’s face.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Donovan Vance.”

Savage and his buddies stiffened. “What about him?”

“You don’t seem surprised to hear his name.”

“Word gets around.”

“So you know about the murders of Red Dawn survivors.”

“We heard.” Chase Freeman folded his arms across his chest.

“Is he the reason you’re hiding out?”

“We have the right to go on vacation,” Ellis Lindsey spat out. “Haven’t you heard of the word before?”

“That’s not what’s happening here. You’re in hiding.”

“Do you blame us?” Rex Lawson said. “Vance is trigger-happy, and he’s picking our team off like flies.”

Seth folded his arms across his chest. “You have proof?”

Color flooded Rex’s face. “Nope, but who else could it be?”