Page 61 of Lion’s Den

“That’s the truth.”

“Show me where it’s safe to walk, then we’ll take it from here and try not to impede your techs.”

She showed him where the safe walking zones were, then excused herself to continue her work.

Cam signaled Dario and Isaac to join him. He showed them the safe zones, then assigned them to a zone and took the last one for himself. Ten minutes later, they met in the hallway. “Well?” he asked his teammates.

“Nothing,” Isaac said.

“Same,” Dario agreed.

“Make that three goose eggs because I found nothing either.” He frowned, watching the activity in the room. “So our guy is a professional. He left us zip to go on. I wonder if he was as careful in his haste to flee the hospital. Think we can find his exit route?”

“Already working on it,” Isaac murmured as he swiped the screen of his phone and gazed at the photo.

This was why he loved working with The Thunderhawks. “What do you have?”

“Julio’s room is conveniently close to a stairwell.” Isaac turned to look at the marked door two hundred feet from where they stood. “I’d say either the kidnapper went that direction or Julio struck out on his own in that direction.”

Dario glowered. “Why would a five-year-old boy want to run away?”

“I can think of a lot of reasons, the most important one being fear. I don’t know if he saw or heard something at the hospital that spooked him, but being tossed into a lion enclosure is enough for me to have nightmares for a lifetime.”

“Same,” Isaac said.

The three men walked the two hundred feet, and Cam covered his hand with the hem of his shirt and twisted the knob to open the door. He followed his men into the stairwell and grabbed a penlight that David insisted all of his officers carry.

“Isaac, you and Dario take the door and the railing side of the stairwell. I’ll take the wall and behind the door.”

“Copy that.”

With their backs toward each other, the men slowly made their way down the stairs, stopping every few feet to examine marks and scuffs. Halfway down the stairs, Cam said, “Here.”

Isaac and Dario joined him in examining the groove skimming along the rail. “Did anyone report hearing a gunshot?” Isaac asked.

“I’ll ask.” Cam pulled out his phone and shot his boss a text. Seconds later, he read the response on his screen. “Nope.”

“Silencer. That’s why no one heard the shot.”

“Where’s the bullet hole?” Dario asked, studying the groove. “If the bullet rode the rail, where’s the bullet hole?” His expression was grim. “If he hit the kid, I don’t see how he would have had enough time to clean up the blood before someone walked in on him.”

The knot in Cam’s belly eased a little. The logical conclusion was that the shooter missed the mark. Had Julio escaped? He hoped so. Cam liked the kid with more guts than anyone he’d met in a while.

They took pictures and sent them to David along with a detailed location for his crime scene technicians.

Isaac inclined his head toward the wall at the stairwell landing below them. “I’m betting the bullet is in that wall.”

“I just hope the bullet didn’t pass through the kid before it sunk into the wall,” Dario muttered.

“It’s possible, although I doubt it. Too much mess to clean up, and the area looks as pristine as a stairwell in a busy hospital can be.”

“Let’s see if you’re right, Isaac.” Cam led the way to the landing. Sure enough, the bullet had slammed into the wall. He couldn’t see the shooter carrying the kid out of the hospital if he’d been hit and then coming back to clean up. Nope, somehow Julio had escaped a professional hitman. Pure speculation, but the signs added up to The Collector working in Maple Valley today.

If he was right, Cam had to consider who The Collector’s primary target was. Julio or Sedona?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

SEDONA FOLLOWED SHERIFF Montgomery to the room where they took Maria. The closer they walked to the small waiting room, the more her nerves ramped up. Cam was depending on her. She couldn’t let him, or Julio, down.