Page 100 of Lion’s Den

Cam chuckled and took a little more of her weight. “Same, especially when I work C detail.”

Sedona frowned. “C detail?”

“The overnight shift.”

Minutes later, they joined David, Caleb, and Levi in the tree line on the outskirts of Dunvale Quarry. In the distance, the machinery continued to run as men worked the night shift. Workers paced along the machinery as if they were patrolling. Someone banged a metal bar against something, making her jump. Two men talked near a control panel, watching the belt in case it did something wrong. One worker swept a flashlight beam across the machinery as though searching for something.

Sedona stared at the activity at the other end of the compound. Was Julio somewhere close? Cam and the other deputies were following a hunch. What if they were wrong?

She shuddered. What if they were right? How would they find Julio in this compound? Sedona didn’t know if the men who worked in the quarry were friends of Simpson or Simpson’s boss, but Cam and the others could blend in if necessary, something she couldn’t pull off. A woman running around the compound would be noticed.

“What do you see?” David asked Cam.

“A quarry running at full tilt at three a.m.”

“What else?”

Cam scanned the compound again, this time stopping at the far end. “On the east end, there’s only one building with lights on and guards around it.”

Elliot’s eyes narrowed. “That’s weird. Having lights on in a building or two makes sense when you have a crew running at night, but putting guards around a building is odd.”

“Think you can get a bird’s-eye view inside that building?”

Elliot studied the scene a moment, then said, “I’ll let you know when I’m set.”

“Something is up with that building,” Cam said. “Elliot’s right. I understand having guards if you’re concerned about worker safety. What makes no sense is having a building all the way across the compound staffed for a night crew who won’t walk that far to have a question answered.”

David snorted. “No chance the decision-makers are working the graveyard shift. How do you want to do this?”

“Front’s too well lit.”

“Agreed. Let’s check the back and see if the coverage is thinner.”

“What if it’s not?” Sedona asked. She didn’t see how this small group could take on the guards surrounding the building.

He grinned. “Then we’ll thin out the ranks.”

The rest of the men nodded.

Insane. They treated this like a game. Unless those guns hooked to the guards’ belts were water pistols, they were loaded with real bullets. Cam and his friends, however, acted as though this situation was business as usual, and perhaps it was for them. Special Forces work wasn’t for the faint of heart.

“Let’s move. We’ll work our way around to the back of the building while Elliot scopes out the situation inside.” Cam wrapped his hand around Sedona’s and set off, careful to keep either a line of trees between them and the building or to walk in deep shadows.

When Sedona tried to hurry, Cam shook his head slightly and murmured, “Fast movement draws the eye.”

“Tell my racing heart that.”

He flashed her a grin.

Minutes later, they stopped just short of the tree line at the back of the building. The group spread out.

David tapped his comm device. “Elliot, got anything?”

“Plenty outside. Nothing inside except one compact figure huddled on the floor.”

Sedona gasped. “That has to be Julio.”

“Maybe,” Cam said, voice just above a whisper.