Page 25 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

“What the hell do we do now?”

“Cade, I know this is tough for you, but—”

“Tough?” Cade exploded at Carter. He knew it wasn’t going to do him any good to be mean to the people around him, but he felt like he was going crazy.

He’d felt like this ever since Hannah had rushed back from their trip to town to tell them that some men had snatched up River off the street and she had no idea where they had taken her.

He’d never forget the look of panic and fear on Hannah’s face when she’d burst into their meeting in Lawson’s office to tell them what happened.

After kissing River goodbye at their cabin, Cade had called Lawson to see if he and Xavier were available to talk about River’s past with the Shepards.

Lawson was still miffed that Cade had never gotten back to him the night before but agreed that he and Xavier would meet him in Lawson’s office to discuss the specifics and make a plan for what came next.

Cade had barely finished telling them what River told him before Hannah had exploded into the office.

“She could be anywhere!” Cade continued as Xavier got to his feet to try and calm him. “It’s been hours. Where the hell is she?”

“We’re doing everything we can to find out,” Lawson reminded him as Cade began to pace once more. “We’ve got guys out doing another patrol of the woods.”

“She’s not in the woods,” he muttered, shaking his head. “They couldn’t have gotten their cars up there, it’s too dense.”

“Well, they didn’t take the roads, either,” Carter reminded him. “There are police stationed on every road in and out of this place. They’ve been there since she was taken. They couldn’t have gotten past them. So she can’t have gone far. The woods are the best bet.”

Cade rubbed a hand over his face, trying to settle his scattered thoughts. He knew he couldn’t let himself spin out of control like this, but it felt like it had been an eternity since River had been taken, not just hours. He was terrified at the thought of what the Shepards could be doing to her.

If she was even still alive.

The moment Hannah had finished detailing what had happened in town, they had all launched into action.

Calls were made to send out guys to patrol the area, including searching close to town, and alert the local police.

Cade hadn’t left out any detail of what River had shared with him about her past in hopes that the smallest thing might give them a leg up in tracking her down.

But so far, nothing. No sign of her, or any of the Shepards, either.

What had they done to her? Where had they taken her?

“So, what’s our next move?” he demanded.

Cade couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.

He had to get out there and help. He had to hope they were right when they said she couldn’t have been taken too far from the lodge.

But even the distance between them right now was more than he could take.

He had promised to protect her, and now she was out there, trapped in the middle of a nightmare he couldn’t pull her out of.

“We have some thermal imaging cameras,” Xavier suggested. “We could set up a camp at the edge of the forest and send out a couple of drones to see if we can find any people out there. Should be easier than normal because of the snow.”

The snow. Cade had been trying not to think about that part.

He hated the thought of her out there in the snow, freezing and lost and wondering if anyone was coming to find her.

He prayed she knew that he was coming for her, no matter what.

He wouldn’t stop searching until he found out where she was.

“What are we waiting for?” he demanded again. “I’m getting the guys together to set it up now.”

“I’ll come with you,” Xavier replied, getting to his feet. They were in the main office, and Cade couldn’t sit around any longer. He had to do something. Xavier had seemed just as invested as him, and Cade wondered if it had something to do with how close Hannah had come to getting snatched up too.

“Okay, good,” Cade replied. “Let’s go.”

They grabbed a few more guys and everything they needed and packed into the truck. Cade insisted on driving, even though the cold had his shoulder aching more than usual. He needed to take control of something, needed to drive this thing forward in any way he could.

He was already cursing himself for letting her go without him by her side. They never would have gotten to her if he had been the one with her in town. But it was too late to worry about that now. What mattered was getting her back.

At the east edge of the forest, the guys unpacked the supplies and began to set up the drones. Cade paced back and forth, feet crunching in the snow, wondering if they could go any faster.

“How long is this going to take?” he muttered to Xavier.

“Not long,” Xavier assured him. “You just have to wait a little longer. We’ll find her.”

“We have to,” Cade replied. And then, he heard something—the crack of a footstep on the snow in the woods.

His head snapped up. “What was that?” he demanded.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Xavier replied, but Cade grabbed one of the flashlights and shined it into the woods. It bounced off the shadows, and then he saw it—a man darting back into the trees.

“There! There’s someone there!” he yelled, and he took off after him.

The man was winding in and out of the trees, trying to vanish back into the darkness, but Cade wasn’t going to let him get away.

His eyes were pinned on his target as he cut in and out of the branches around him, feet crunching on the compacted snow beneath him, until he was within grabbing distance.

He threw himself at the man, wrapping his arms around his waist and tackling him to the ground with a sharp thud. The man tried to scramble away, but Cade held on tight. Soon enough, Xavier and a couple of the other guys appeared through the trees to help.

“Get him back to base,” Cade spat, pulling the man upright and shoving him toward the other men. They dragged him back through the woods toward the truck, where a couple of the lodge’s men were setting up the thermal drones.

“Who the hell are you?” Cade demanded, shoving the man back against the side of the truck, fisting his collar in his hands. The man wore the same ragged clothing River had worn when he first met her, and he knew at once he had to be part of the Shepards.

“Let me go,” the man muttered as he struggled in Cade’s grasp.

Cade narrowed his eyes at him. “What are you doing out here?”

“It’s a free country, I was just hunting—”

“Not without a permit, you weren’t,” he shot back. “Tell me what you’re doing here. Are you with the Shepards?”

The man’s eyes widened in surprise, but he did his best to cover it up.

“Who’s that?” he asked. “I’ve never heard of them—”

“Don’t you lie to me,” Cade snarled. “You’re with the Shepards, aren’t you?”

“I told you, I don’t—”

“You can tell us, or you can tell it to the cops,” he added. “How does that sound? I think they’re going to have some big questions for you.”

Cade slammed his fist into the panel next to the man’s head, and the guy jerked in surprise. Cade needed him to know how far he would take this. He would do whatever it took to get River back, and he knew this man had the information he needed.

“We’re sending out a drone over that forest, so we’re going to find your psycho little cult one way or another,” he told him. “Better for you to tell us where we should look. Or do you want to talk to the cops about this?” He took a step back, waiting. “Talk!”

The man’s expression shifted. Cade could tell by the look on his face he was trying to think of what best to say. Cade glared at him with clenched fists, waiting for him to break—and then, at last, he did.

“They were staying in a hunting lodge on the north side of the forest,” he grumbled, eyes lowering to the ground as though he couldn’t believe he was really admitting it.

“Over to the north of the forest!” Cade yelled to the guys programming the drone. “Get it out there, now!”

He zip-tied the man’s hands and shoved him into the truck, locking the doors to make sure he couldn’t go anywhere.

He was sure he could get some more information out of him when the time was right.

Even if he couldn’t, the Feds would have plenty to say to him about his involvement with the Shepards.

But right now, he had one goal in mind, and he needed to find out where River was before the Shepards could get out of there.

They launched the drones, and Cade paced back and forth, shooting glances at the screen where the thermal imaging cameras were broadcasting.

“There! There’s something,” Xavier exclaimed, jabbing his finger at the picture. Sure enough, a cluster of heat spots stood out on the screen.

“It looks like a lot of people,” the man running the drone remarked. “Could be the whole group making a break for it.”

“What’s that?” Cade demanded, gesturing to a couple of smaller spots breaking off from the main group.

“Looks like there’s a smaller group splitting from them,” he replied, frowning. “Two people, from the looks of it.”

Two people. Cade’s head spun as he tried to come up with a plan. Two people—Ryker and River, he was sure of it. Even if the rest of the gang were on the run, he was out there doing his best to capture her and keep her to himself.

“I’m going after them,” Cade announced.

Xavier grabbed his arm. “Cade, no,” he warned. “We need to put some backup together. You can’t just go off after them like that—”

“Watch me,” Cade snapped back, yanking his arm loose. There was no way he was going to let Ryker get any farther with her than he already had. He was going to catch him and bring her back. He was going to take him down, once and for all. And River was going to be safe.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He sprinted off into the woods, Xavier’s shouts fading behind him, and rushed toward the woman he loved.