Page 19 of Kage

Implements used by a locksmith.

Anchors and rappel devices.

A hatchet and various light sources.

Just a few of the items.

I’d added several magazines of ammunition, two other handguns, and a short assault rifle.

Since leaving the SEALs, the duffle had gone idle. At least I knew what the hell I was doing.

I pulled into the parking space, immediately scanning the area. The police were long gone at this point, not that they’d found anything. I’d also been privy to the report as well as witnessing Randolph Carver’s ridiculous plea for his daughter’s release.

Given his billionaire status, every asshole in the world would be crawling from the woodwork hoping to provide just enough information about Juliette’s kidnapping to claim a piece of the prize. Thank God, details on the condo hadn’t been given out.

I took the stairs leading to the front door two at a time, Tank right by my side. After taking another quick scan of the area, I pulled out the specially designed pick and proceeded to unlock the door. That took less time than I’d thought. The perpetratorshad easily gotten in without destroying the place or causing undue attention.

The quiet was comforting and the two of us moved through the interior. Whoever had cleaned up the living room hadn’t done a good job. With a lamp obviously missing from one end table, the shards surrounding the legs of the table indicated there’d been a struggle. She hadn’t gone willingly.

After searching the kitchen, I headed toward the bedrooms. The two women who’d been staying with her had already left the country, instructed to leave the items in Juliette’s bedroom since it was an ongoing investigation. Not that I bought that shit either.

I risked turning on the light. I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that anyone outside the police was investigating the crime.

Her bedroom was neat and tidy, clothes put away, her bed made. Even the adjoining bathroom barely acknowledged anyone had been staying here. She was a neat freak.

“Okay, boy. Let’s get her scent.” I noticed a nightgown had been tossed into a small hamper. When I pulled it to my nose, I gathered a whiff of her perfume, the light floral scent startling.

The fragrance brought back too many memories.

Well, fuck. I closed my eyes briefly, my fingers fisting around the material. Tank’s nudge reminded me I had a job to do and that a woman’s life depended on me finding her and quickly.

My neck cracked as it did when I was tense. I pulled the material away and offered it to Tank. He took a deep whiff, immediately alert.

“I think we have what we need, bud. Let’s get going.” With the flight leaving just before eight and arriving at two in the morning, the goal had been to try to find where she was being held by morning.

At least Gray had spent some time checking with the Bermuda Police Service regarding the flights and boats that had left since Juliette had been taken three nights before. The police had done their best in checking, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been several private charters that had escaped their scrutiny.

However, I was going on gut faith that she was still here. The reason was simple. The perpetrators would wait until the heat was shifted to something else. In my calculations that would be in less than twenty-four hours.

Just before I headed from her room, I noticed the expensive camera that appeared tossed onto her bed. For reasons I couldn’t explain, I grabbed it before heading out. Maybe it would come in handy.

We jumped into the Jeep and I floored the engine.

I’d studied the area surrounding where her phone had last been pinged. Tucker’s Town. The area was known as being more rural with dozens of secluded and secure properties. Undoubtedly, the area had been checked, but with the amount of wealth involved with the people who owned the properties, that could mean nothing.

The police didn’t like to piss off their meal tickets.

Plus, the aerial views showed several outlying buildings. Pool houses. Employee quarters. Tool sheds. Dozens of them. If this were a combat situation, I’d use heat-seeking trackers or thermal imaging devices, but I didn’t have one of thoselying around in my arsenal. Besides, if the men handling the kidnapping were as well trained as I suspected they were, they’d easily detect almost any device used.

That meant the best method was simply tracking her with Tank’s help. The area was narrowed down, various locations already determined to be unfeasible. Considered a private enclave instead of an actual town, the two-mile area was comprised of almost entirely luxury compounds and estates. I should be able to canvass the area in a couple of hours.

We arrived twenty-two minutes later. I parked the Jeep so that it wouldn’t easily be found by anyone and we set off on foot.

One hour into the mission and Tank had managed to grab her scent. He zigged and zagged his way from one property to another. There were cameras everywhere, but given my experience, I knew where to look and how to keep away from them.

Another thirty minutes passed and as I glanced up at the sky, I could swear I was just seeing the hint of dawn. That wasn’t good.

“Come on, boy. Let’s take another whiff.”

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