Page 34 of Durango

“Once we go our separate ways, each one of you will need to make your way into the building and hide in a closet or any enclosed space. You will remain there until I give the signal via a text message, which will be after dark. There is one guard at the front of the building. At sunset, they change guards. My contact has been watching this building for two days. He states the two guards pass by the front gate and talk for at least ten minuteseach day. Apparently, they are friends. During that time, we will grab Damien and get him out the way we came in. Any questions?”

No questions. We hike down the hillside instead of using a main road. Harding leads us to the back of the fence, and as she said, there is a tree we climb in order to get over the fence. Moose and I head to one side of the compound while the rest of our team heads to the other side. The building appeared large from the lookout point, but now that we are here, the enclosed space isn’t very big. There are three long, rectangular buildings, all connected with covered porches.

I lead the way inside. Being as quiet as possible, I open the door slowly. It’s one big room that is lit with only the light coming in from the windows. Moose closes the door as we take in the space. There are no closets, no furniture, nothing.

I check the floor for loose floorboards. There might be some secret room below.

“Psst!” Moose calls.

I glance up, and he’s motioning to the curtains. He’s standing behind one. They are long and go all the way to the floor. Once he pulls it around him, I can’t tell he’s there. It’s perfect. I wrap myself behind a curtain as well.

And just in time. The door creaks open. Who the hell could that be? Harding said no one would be coming through here.

Two sets of footsteps walk into the room. Then, two men speak in Russian.

“There’s been a change. Claude is ill, and Ian will be coming instead. He’ll be an hour late.”

“I understand,” the other man says. “Why not tell me at my post?”

“Damien’s people are watching us and can read lips. Now, back to work.”

The curtains are so dusty, and I can feel the sneeze coming on. Please leave now! I will them with my mind.

Their footsteps move toward the door very slowly. I pinch my nose, willing it not to do anything. Finally, a door clicks shut. I peek out to verify they’ve gone as I keep pinching my nose. Once I can’t hold it back any longer, I bury my face in my sleeve to muffle the noise. But it’s loud. I listen in case the men come back. But they don’t. Thankfully, the walls of this building are thick.

“Do you think they suspect we are here? Because that sounded like it was for our benefit,” Moose says.

I turn to him. “You understood what they said?”

Moose grins. “I did. My grandmother spoke Russian. Usually, she only cursed about the tiny town in Montana we were living in. But she also taught me the language.”

“Why did I not know this?”

He shrugs. “You’ve been busy recuperating.”

He’s right about that. I grab the phone Harding gave me from my pocket and send her a message about what just happened.

Harding:My contact reported the front guard leaving his post from time to time. Now we know why. No change to the plan.

“No change to the plan,” I tell Moose.

He nods, and we move back into the curtains to wait.

CHAPTER 12

Willow

Samanthaand I ended up back at the same hotel last night. While she was able to sleep in, I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, wondering if I just made the biggest mistake of my life.

I step out of the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed. I need coffee, and I head straight for the coffeemaker in the room.

“We did it!” Samantha sings as she dances around the room.

“Did what?” I ask.

She holds out her phone. It’s open to an article with a headline about an influencer caught cheating on her husband. There is a photo that must have been taken from one of Tyler’s videos. It shows both his and her faces clearly. There is no doubt about what’s going on.

“And check this out,” Samantha says as she grabs the phone back. She scrolls down and turns the phone back to me. “Twenty-five hundred comments already. It’s going viral!”

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