Page 57 of Lion’s Den

“Either the sheriff or one of his brothers is always with Julio and one of the other experienced deputies.”

Thank God. Cam breathed a little easier. Seconds later, his phone vibrated with an incoming call. He glanced at his screen. “It’s the sheriff.”

He swiped the screen and tapped the speaker button. “It’s Cam. You’re on speaker with Sedona and my team.”

“Understood. We have a problem.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CAM’S STOMACH TWISTED into a knot at David’s words. “What’s the problem, sir?”

“Julio is missing.”

Sedona gasped and gripped Cam’s forearm with her fingers. “How could he be missing? He’s five years old and was guarded by two of Morgan County’s finest officers.”

“You’re right. Two of my men guarded him. Everything has been going according to plan, but we forgot about the human factor. To a child, stepping out into the world to explore is normal. Right now, nothing is normal if it concerns Julio or you, Sedona.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I should have known about this immediately.”

“Not necessarily,” Cam murmured.

“Why not?” she snapped. “Julio is my student, and my ignorance caused this mess. I must know if my students are suffering from my actions.”

“What can you do about it?”

“At the very least, I can quit doing what’s causing so much trouble.”

“Tiger, none of this is your fault. I think you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in events that had nothing to do with you.”

Sedona shoved her fingers through her hair. “I wish I believed you. I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

He didn’t blame her, but he knew Sedona Hart. She wasn’t into a lifestyle that lent itself to the criminal underworld. This kindergarten teacher was as innocent as her students. “Do you trust me?”

“Absolutely.” No hesitation in her voice or response.

Excellent. “I’ll figure out what’s going on and why. We’ll find the man behind everything.” If it was the last thing he ever did, Cam would see that Sedona was safe again.

“Julio, too? You’ll protect him?”

“We all will,” Spencer said. “We know how much he means to you, Sedona, and to be honest, we have a soft spot for kids.”

“What a coincidence. So do I.”

“Then you’ll know whatever actions we take are with your students’ best interests in mind.”

She gave a slight nod. “I understand.”

“When we find Julio, we need to talk to him,” Cam said. “Do you think he’ll talk to us?”

“Probably. He considers you one of the safe people since we’re together. Your problem will be his mother.”

Cam frowned. “I can be persuasive when I want to be.”

His teammates laughed.

“Maria is very protective of her children. She may not allow you near any of them.”

“Do you have suggestions?” He already knew where this conversation was going, and he didn’t like it.