Page 94 of Home Town Knight

Soon we passed by the bunker River had described. There was a reinforced, heavy door, which led into the hillside. I wondered if there were Stillwater coins inside. Cash. Like some kind of blood-money treasure trove.

Had Ace Tucker stumbled upon this place? How had he managed to get inside?

In front of the bunker door, a wide swath of the ground had been leveled and paved over. The concrete pad was large enough to function as a parking lot for multiple vehicles. Or hell, maybe a tank. But right now, it was deserted.

We continued uphill, moving parallel to the walking path. River signaled for us to stop. “Tripwire here,” he said quietly through my earpiece.

We stayed clear of the wire. Then another signal from River. He lifted his binos. “I’ve got visual on a vehicle parked just outside the cabin. No visual on anyone inside.” He paused. “There’s something on the ground though, just in front of the door. It’s…like a piece of pink plastic.”

“Let me see.” I moved to River’s forward position, taking out my own binoculars from my kit. The object on the ground was tiny. I might’ve missed it if I hadn’t known to look. River had scary good eyesight.

Then I realized what I was looking at, and my heart clenched.

“That’s the tip of one of Gen’s fingernails. She’s here.” I stowed the binos.

River tipped his chin at me. “What’s the plan, Tex?”

Any other time, I might have laughed at his adoption of that nickname, because any other time, River would’ve been giving me shit. But not right now. River was giving me his vote of confidence. As my friend, my teammate. My brother. As a Protector.

“We need to know what’s happening inside,” I said. “If we can get a bead on the killer, we take him out. River, I’m guessing either you or Lynx is the best shot among us. One of you spots, the other shoots. Aiden and I will get in position to breach in case we need to go to Plan B. I?—”

Lynx held up a hand, and I instantly went quiet. “We’ve got incoming.”

A distinctive rhythm beat the air.

A helicopter.

We all looked up. The chopper wasn’t visible yet, but still, we backed up against trees to stay out of sight from above. It was a good thing Lynx had put his drone away. It was small, but a chopper pilot could’ve spotted it zipping above the tree line.

“It’s Stillwater.” I was sure of it.

“The concrete pad in front of the bunker,” Aiden said. “If that chopper is going to land, that’s the only place they could do it.”

“They’re coming to get their man out. Plus whatever else they might have of value here.” Like the contents of the bunker. Either they’d take Genevieve with them, or they’d kill her and leave her behind like a discarded piece of trash. “We have to get to Gen before they do. Let’sgo.”

We ran, keeping to the trees, watching for more tripwires. Stopped at the edge of the forest. The cabin was just ahead. My breaths were fast and shallow. There was no more time for playing around to set up the right shot.

“We’re going to breach,” I said.

From inside the cabin, Genevieve screamed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Genevieve

Duke cametoward me with the knife. “Where did the tip about Stillwater come from? Who’s your source?”

My throat was thick. I couldn’t take my eyes from the sharp blade. “I told you. It was anonymous.”

“But you wouldn’t have come all this way to investigate if you didn’t have faith in this tip. Reporters have sources. Maybe they keep them secret, but they at least know enough about the source’s identity to have faith in the information. You’ve proven to me how smart you are, Genevieve. You wouldn’t risk so much for a simple anonymous tip.”

Sweat rolled down my sides. “Why should I tell you? You’re going to kill me anyway. I know that.”

Duke lunged. He slammed the tip of the knife into the floorboard an inch away from my leg. I barely choked back a scream.

“And what do you think my employer will do to me if I don’t get the information I need?” He hadn’t raised his voice. It didn’t even seem like his pulse had increased. “Your ending is in your hands. I could inject you with something that’ll make you go to sleep. Completely painless. Or I can makethis unpleasant.” He yanked the knife up again. “Who is your source?”

“I won’t tell you.”

---