Page 87 of Lion’s Den

A soft whistle from his friend. “I never thought I’d see the day when you fell for a woman.”

“Well, mark it on your calendar because today’s the day.”

“I guess my next question is, how does she feel about you?”

“I don’t know how or why, but she loves me, too.”

“I’m glad,” the sniper said simply. “What’s the plan?”

He told Isaac everything and waited for his friend’s response.

“It’s the right call.”

Relief swept through him. Isaac had a way of cutting to the heart of everything, and he didn’t mince words. If the plan had been terrible, he would have told Cam what he thought. “Do you have another option? I’m open to just about anything right now.”

“Sorry, man. There is no plan B. It’s the best way to stir Sedona’s memories.”

“But you know how Ketamine is. She might remember what happened. Then again, she might not.”

“Remembering how they kidnapped her isn’t necessary. We know where we captured the men chasing her. We’ll work backward from there.”

Cam nodded in agreement, although just the idea of taking Sedona to the woods where he’d found her made him feel sick. That was the last place he wanted to take her, but if it led to more information that pointed them to Julio, the pain and suffering Cam put her through would be worth it.

“When will you take her to the woods?”

“After dinner.”

“It will be dark by then.”

“Sometimes your other senses can help you remember different things if you can’t see.”

“While you finish grilling, I’ll study the map and form a plan of approach.”

By the time the hamburgers were grilled to perfection, the rest of The Thunderhawks had heard of the plan for the evening. They devoured their hamburgers and were soon on their way to the woods where Cam had found Sedona.

The closer they came to the place where they’d walk into the woods, the more Sedona trembled. He hated that he was to blame for her reaction. Making her relive her worst nightmare was wrong. He should have found another way to get the information they needed.

Cam squeezed Sedona’s hand. “Are you sure you want to do this? You can still back out, and I’ll have one of my teammates take you back to the safe house. The rest of us can pile into the second SUV after we search the areas where we arrested your kidnappers.”

Wouldn’t do them much good, though. To be truly effective, they needed Sedona’s memory jogged. The way things stood, they had just about nothing to go on. Why kidnap a five-year-old? What could Julio possibly tell a criminal that held any weight?

Sedona’s icy fingers squeezed his hand. “You and your teammates said this was the best way, and I think you’re right. If we’re to have any chance to learn something that helps us find Julio, we have to do it here.”

He glanced at her, genuinely curious about her answer to his next question. “Would you put yourself through this for any of your students?” Cam thought he knew the answer.

“Yes.” No hesitation in her answer.

Just as he’d thought. And now they were out of time because they had reached the place where he had parked his SUV. “All right. We’re here,” Cam said as they approached the place where he had parked his SUV. He stopped and backed into the woods as he had the night he’d rushed here to find Sedona.

After turning off the engine, he came around to open Sedona’s door and extended his hand.

“Wow.” Sedona glanced around, her lips curving upward. “You bring me to the best places on a date.”

The Thunderhawks chuckled.

Cam scowled at them. “Laugh it up, boys. One day soon, you’ll be the one in the hot seat because of your woman.”

Isaac held up his hands and backed away. “Take that back, man. No wishing trouble on me like that.”