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“Not Finn. She was absolutely terrified going up and down those trails into the Grand Canyon, but she went. She has the ability to tamp down her fear and do what she feels she needs to do.”
“Never forget,” John said, “she’s an award-winning photojournalist and has been in and out of some of the gnarliest war zones in the world. Anyone we talked to prior to taking her on as a client insisted she was one of the toughest females they’d ever met.” He turned to Avery. “Present company excluded.”
Avery smiled.
Croft smiled as well. “I don’t think there’s anything more to be done tonight, so let’s turn in. Maybe we can get intel tomorrow and plan to hit them tomorrow night. At least there’s some tree cover between us and them. Hopefully, we can use it to our advantage. Thom, I need you to look at the Doppler radar tosee if we’ll have good weather.” Croft took a deep breath. “I just want all of you to know how much I appreciate you being here.”
“Where the hell else would we be?” Avery said quietly.
“I’ve already looked at the Doppler,” Thom added. “We should be good to go tomorrow.”
“I think Croft is right. Let’s all turn in. Thom, you take first watch. I’ll take second. I want Noah, Croft, and Avery to be well-rested. Most of this is going to fall on them.”
Croft headed upstairs to one of the bedrooms, followed closely by Avery.
“Croft?” she said softly.
“Yeah,” he said, turning to her.
“Seriously, what did you think we would do? I know it was really fast, but anyone who saw you and Finn together could tell you two were meant for each other. The rest of us are your family… that makes Finn our family, too.”
“I know, but now that I have Finn, I have a whole new appreciation for what Mac was going through when Eastwick had Willa. G’night, Avery.”
“Night, Croft.”
Croft stared out the window. He’d picked this room because it was the closest to the farm where they thought Finn was being held.
“Stay safe, Finn. I’m coming,” he whispered.
Once the house had settled down, Finn coiled the sheets she had tied together to form a rope, then managed to climb up onto the top rim of the shower enclosure in her bath. Carefully, she used the handle to crank open the skylight and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t prove tobe noisy. Then she removed the screen and pushed it aside. Swinging over and up into the opening, she was able to wriggle and maneuver her way to the roof. She climbed out, stopped, and listened intently. So far, she believed she was undetected.
Finn moved along the roofline. The advantage of it having a pitch meant Springer didn’t have anyone on the actual roof. She peered over the edge she wanted to use to make her escape. There was no way to secure her rope, so she took the time to go back and tie it to the outside bars of her window and lower it silently over the side. This way, if they discovered her gone, perhaps they would think she’d gone in the opposite direction.
Still hearing nothing that made her think her escape had been detected, Finn returned to the side she planned to drop from the roof eave, placing herself so she wouldn’t be seen from the window, and quietly eased over the edge, hung momentarily, then landed on the ground soundlessly. Remaining crouched below the brush line, she held her breath as one of the guards walked past. She knew another would be coming from the other way momentarily, so she waited.
Once he passed, Finn covertly made her way past the farmyard, then headed across the open field, trying to stay out of the light cast by the full moon. She’d made the woods when she heard something stirring at the farmhouse. She watched as the guards ran to the side of the house her room was on and held her breath to see if they would take the bait. They did. No one even came around to the side she was on to pursue her. Creeping away from the tree line deeper into the woods, once she couldn’t be easily seen or heard, Finn picked up her pace and ran in what she hoped was a straight line that would take her somewhere she could get help.
She cleared the trees and spotted another isolated farm. Finn didn’t want to bring trouble to the doorstep of some unsuspecting farmer. For all she knew, they were in cahoots withSpringer and his bunch. Her plan was to steal one of the vehicles she saw parked outside. Then she spotted it—a small private jet with a bold, graphic depiction of a mustang on its side.
He’s here! Croft was here!
Standing at the window, looking across the field, in the distance, something moving caught his eye. He reached into his pack and grabbed a pair of night goggles.
“Holy shit!” Croft yelled as he ran out into the hall. “Avery! Avery! Get the plane ready to go!”
John and Noah stumbled into the hallway and followed him down the steps.
“Thom, get everything packed up and onto the plane. We need to move!”
“Croft, what the hell is wrong with you?” John called.
When he turned to look at them, none of them needed to hear him answer, but he did so anyway.
“It’s Finn. She’s headed straight for us.” Croft turned back and ran on a direct intercept course with her.
“You heard the man. Let’s get this place packed up and be ready to go when they get to us,” John said, turning to the others.
Croft knew the team would move as one. He suspected John would go upstairs to grab everyone’s gear, Avery would ready the plane for takeoff with Noah’s help while Thom hastily packed the electronics paraphernalia. Then as Thom and Noah ferried the equipment to the plane, John would make a last check of the house. Nothing would remain to show anyone other than the original occupants had ever been there.
