Page 37 of Eclipse Bound
"Basically," Rowan admitted. "But we need to?—"
A sharp electronic whine cut through the air overhead. Rowan's heart leapt into her throat as she instinctively looked up.
A black drone hovered thirty feet above them, its camera lens adjusting with mechanical precision. Focused directly on them.
"Shit," Dani whispered. "I think our cover's blown. That didn’t take long."
"Keep walking," Rowan instructed, fighting the urge to run. "If they wanted to grab us, they would have already."
The drone followed their movement, maintaining a consistent distance as they continued down the path. The hairs on Rowan's arms stood up. This wasn't just surveillance. It was intimidation.
They approached the retreat's main pool area, where a handful of guests lounged in the morning sun. Rowan spotted two more men in tactical clothing poorly disguised as maintenance workers, their attention too focused, movements too deliberate.
"They're herding us," Rowan realized, noticing how the men had positioned themselves to block certain exit paths.
"What?"
"They're channeling us away from the Desert Suite." Rowan's mind raced. "They want to separate us from Solar and Eclipse."
As if confirming her suspicion, her phone buzzed. An unknown number had sent a text, “Ms. Clark. Please proceed to the front entrance. Mr. Petersen would like a word.”
She showed Dani the screen.
"They're tracking your phone," Dani said, her voice tight. "We need to ditch it."
"No," Rowan replied, an idea forming. "We need to use it."
She quickly typed back, “On my way. Give me 10 minutes to finish showing my guest around.”
"What are you doing?" Dani hissed.
"Buying time. And confirming who we're dealing with." Rowan slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Now we need to move. Fast."
They veered toward a small garden shed that housed pool equipment. Rowan used her master key to unlock it, pulling Dani inside and closing the door behind them. The space was cramped and smelled of chlorine.
"Okay, so we've established that Milano has the place surrounded," Dani whispered. "Can we go back now?"
"Not yet." Rowan peered through a small window. "We need to figure out how many operatives they have and what kind of equipment they're using." She counted three more men taking positions around the perimeter. "If we go straight back, they'll just follow us to Eclipse and Solar."
A metallic clank sounded on the shed's roof. Both women froze.
The drone had landed directly above them.
"I think they're scanning for us," Rowan whispered, remembering what Eclipse had said about energy signatures. "If they've developed technology to track the aliens..."
A sharp electronic beep confirmed her fears. The drone had detected something.
"We need to move. Now." Rowan grabbed a pool skimmer from the wall and shoved the door open. In one fluid motion, she swung the pole upward, catching the drone's propellers. The machine sputtered and careened sideways, crashing into a cactus.
"Run!" she shouted, abandoning all pretense of casual reconnaissance.
They sprinted across the pool deck, startling sunbathers as they dashed past. Behind them, shouts erupted as Milano operatives abandoned their cover. Rowan glanced back to see three men in pursuit, hands reaching inside jackets for what she feared were weapons.
"This way!" Dani veered sharply left, toward the retreat's open-air yoga pavilion.
A class was in session with twenty guests in various poses on their mats. Rowan and Dani slowed to a power walk, weaving between the participants.
"Sorry, maintenance emergency," Rowan apologized to the bewildered instructor as they passed through. The Milano men halted at the edge of the pavilion, unwilling to cause a scene with so many witnesses.
