CHAPTER 64
Beaver Creek, MT
The security team performed a search of the grounds, but didn’t find any sign of Laney. They did, however, find a total of twelve men killed, five belonging to the Chandler Group and seven strangers.
Jake had personally searched almost every square inch. He’d failed her. Guilt and fear engulfed him. He paced up and down the drive. “How the hell did they find us?”
Patrick stood against the Suburban, his face ashen. “Laney said you let her make a call earlier. Could they have traced us through that?”
Jake shook his head. “No. The phone was untraceable and we didn’t call Kati directly. That’s not what led them to us.”
“It’s my fault,” Yoni said, his head in his hands. “They must have traced the house rentals and then just checked them one by one until they found us. I should have found another way.”
Henry placed his hand on Yoni’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Yoni. They knew we were coming. They just needed to figure out where we were. We’ve been too predictable.”
Henry’s phone rang and he looked at the display. “Excuse me. It’s Danny.” He walked towards the house.
Patrick raked his hand though his hair, wincing as he touched his injury. “Are we sure they even took Laney? Maybe she’s just hiding somewhere.”
“We’ve done a search, Patrick,” Jake said, gently but firmly. “She’s not hiding.”
His attention was diverted to Henry when he heard his tone change. He watched Henry’s face tense. Henry spoke with Danny for a few more minutes and from the expression on his face, Jake could tell he was trying to comfort the young man. This wasn’t going to be good news.
When Henry re-joined the group, Jake spoke before Henry had a chance. “They have Laney.”
Henry nodded and looked at Patrick. “Yes. They just contacted the switchboard at Chandler HQ. Danny got the message. They said Laney won’t come to any harm as long as no word about the operation leaks and no move is made on the compound. If we don’t follow their instructions, Laney will be killed.”
“Oh my God,” Patrick gasped, falling back against the Suburban.
Jake turned to Patrick. “We’ll figure out a way to get her back, Patrick. I promise.”
Patrick looked at him for a long minute and nodded his head before walking quietly into the house.
When Jake was sure Patrick was out of earshot, he spoke quietly to Henry. “That’s not all they said, is it?”
“No,” Henry replied, his expression fierce. “But Patrick doesn’t need to hear the rest of the message. The caller explained how they were going to kill her, in slow and painful detail, if we didn’t follow their instructions to the letter.”