The Perfect Murder by Kat Martin

THIRTY-FOUR

The afternoon was nearly gone when Reese drove out of Shreveport in the black Ford pickup, Kenzie riding nervously in the seat beside him. Chase drove in the SUV with Brandon. Better to have two vehicles in case something went wrong.

Which undoubtedly it would. That was just the way the world worked. They had discussed asking Hawk to help, but his sights were set on Jeremy Bolt. They needed him to bring Bolt in, needed a way to prove Bolt had killed Lee Haines.

None of them wanted to return Griff to a home where his mother faced years in prison.

As they left the city, Reese turned onto US 71 and drove southeast about forty minutes toward the area known as Loggy Bayou. They passed through rural farm country before turning down a dirt road leading east into the bayou.

Reese glanced over at Kenzie. With no cell service, she was using maps she had previously downloaded to find the safest route in and out, giving him directions along a lane on the opposite side of the stream that wound through the woods beside the cabin. Which meant they could travel the road without running into one of the kidnappers heading back to the city. Plus the terrain along the riverbank was highly overgrown, shielding the vehicles as they got closer to their objective.

Behind him, Chase had dropped back a little so one vehicle could provide cover for the other. Reese wished Kenzie had stayed at the hotel, but he hadn’t even suggested it.

No way was she staying behind while he went after her son. “I can help you,” she’d said. “I can do what I do best—take care of the detail work. That will free all of you up to go in after Griff.”

She was right. The maps she was using were invaluable. She was also monitoring the sat phone Brandon had brought with him. Once they got there, they would be using handheld two-way radios, which Kenzie would monitor to make sure everyone stayed connected. Though Reese worried about her, she was a real asset. He had to stay focused on that.

“The cabin’s about half a mile ahead,” Kenzie said.

Reese slowed as she relayed the message to Chase. At a quarter of a mile, he pulled off the dirt road and backed into a thick copse of trees while Chase backed the SUV out of sight a little farther away.

Reese spotted them walking toward the pickup, gear bags slung over their shoulders. Bran was carrying the drone, which he set up on the tailgate of the truck.

“DJI Mavic 2 Pro.” Bran held the small device in the palm of his hand. “This one works with a 1000TVL mini FPV camera. We can control it from the pilot’s viewpoint and at the same time record the surround as a video file.”

“So I guess you don’t need cell service or Wi-Fi to run the thing,” Reese said.

Bran just grinned. “That’s the beauty of it. Kenzie’s already downloaded the files necessary to view the drone’s progress on her iPad.”

“And it’s nice and quiet,” Chase added. “With any luck, it’ll give us the intel we need and won’t be spotted.”

“We’ll make a run with the drone,” Bran said. “Then spread out and walk the creek, traverse the area, and find the best place to cross. We’ll send the drone out one more time before it gets dark. Once we’ve got the intel, we map out a plan. Soon as we have what we need, we go in.”

Now that the mission was actually under way, Bran had taken charge. He was a former Delta Operator, one of the most elite soldiers in the world. Going into a hostage situation was something he had done a dozen times, probably a lot more. Reese was grateful to have his brother along.

Bran launched the drone, then steered it in the direction of the cabin, careful to keep it at a high altitude. Reese watched the progress on the iPad screen as the drone flew over the clearing in front of the cabin. Three cars appeared, parked haphazardly along the creek—an old Jeep Wrangler, a dirty four-door sedan, and an older Chevy SUV.

The drone flight continued, circling the swampy area from high above. The first man who came into view was rangy, with a mustache and dark brown hair. The second guy was average height, with a stocky build and wearing wraparound sunglasses, his hair hidden beneath a Dallas Cowboys ball cap. The third guy was big and muscular, with mocha skin and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

None of them looked like they belonged in a suit. This was the hired muscle. They probably only worked for DeMarco when he needed extra manpower. Which meant his regular crew was likely inside the cabin.

Not good.

“Griff has to be inside,” Reese said. “These three guys wouldn’t be here unless DeMarco was expecting trouble.”

“Hard to tell exactly how many we’re dealing with,” Bran said.

“Nolan Webb’s got to be in with Griff,” Chase said. “Tabby’s keeping an eye on his cell number. She’d call if she’d pinged him in a different location.”

“Could be more than just him,” Reese said.

Chase shifted his attention back to the screen. “We’ll know more after our second drone run. Be interesting to see if anyone leaves or anyone new shows up.”

“Roger that,” Bran said.

Reese, who wasn’t very good at waiting, clenched his jaw. Every instinct for trouble that he had honed in his bad-boy days said Griff was in the cabin. He wanted to go in and bring him out.

But his brothers were right. They needed as much information as they could get before they acted. As CEO of a company involved in hundred-million-dollar business deals, he understood that better than most.

“Let’s gear up and check out the area,” Bran said. “Reese, you head north. Chase, you go south. We need to find the best place to cross.” He eyed his two brothers. “I’m not carrying any anti-venom, so try not to get bitten by a snake.”

Kenzie sat down to wait on a fallen log beneath the high branches of a yellow pine tree. She had spotted an abandoned campsite, a circle of downed logs around a long-dead firepit, and the men had decided to use it as their base of operations. The drone had safely landed to conserve the battery. It would fly once more when the men returned.

Kenzie prayed her son was actually inside the cabin and that Reese and his brothers would be able to bring him out safely. At the thought of Griff being hurt or killed, cold fear slid through her. Or Reese. Dear God, what if she lost them both?

Kenzie clamped down on the notion. The men were risking their lives to save her son. She had to believe in them, have faith that they would succeed.

Half an hour slipped past. She had no idea what was happening in the cabin. Or the swamp. The .38 revolver she’d carried in her purse now rode in a holster at her waist. Reese wanted her armed in case of trouble.

Kenzie agreed. When the men went in after Griff, they might need help. She intended to be ready.

A faint noise sounded and she rose as Chase walked back into the makeshift camp, his heavy leather boots sloshing through a puddle as he came toward her. Because this was only a reconnaissance mission, they had maintained radio silence. After the rescue mission was under way, she would be able to monitor communications and know what was going on.

Only a few seconds had passed when the bushes parted and Brandon appeared like a ghost out of thin air. He and Chase glanced around the camp.

“Any sign of Reese?” Chase asked.

Unease slid through her. “No.”

“He’s only a few minutes late,” Chase said, checking his heavy wristwatch. “Not time to worry yet.”

“I’ll go look for him.” Bran disappeared back into the foliage and Kenzie’s nerves inched up.

“You don’t think something’s happened to him?”

Chase shook his head, dark blond hair glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. “He’s determined to bring the boy out. My guess, he’s doing a little extra recon. Reese never was good at following orders.”

No, he was used to being in charge, doing things his own way. Kenzie fought the urge to follow Brandon in search of him, but she wasn’t a soldier and her movements might be spotted by the men on the other side of the creek.

Fifteen minutes later, Reese walked into the camp, followed by Bran.

“What happened out there?” Chase asked.

“I got close enough to the cabin to see at least two men inside.”

Chase grunted. “Next time stick with the plan. We need to work together if we’re going to pull this off.”

Reese cast him a mutinous glare. “I saw an opening and took it.” Then he sighed. “You’re right. Sorry.”

Bran slapped him on the shoulder. “You don’t win battles by second-guessing yourself. You followed your instincts and brought us some valuable intel. Now we know we’re facing at least five men.” He grinned. “Just makes it a little more interesting is all.”

Kenzie almost smiled. She liked Reese’s brothers. And she trusted them—the way she trusted Reese.

She looked over to see him walking toward her, his familiar long strides filled with purpose. Still, it was hard to imagine the man dressed head to foot in camo, his lean face covered in black grease paint, was Reese, CEO of a powerful Dallas corporation.

Or Reese the tender lover. This man was a woman’s secret fantasy, a true alpha male. It occurred to her that if things were different and Griff were safely home, she’d like to get to know this Reese, the formidable man he kept locked away.

Arousal slipped through her. What sort of lover would he be if his deeper passions were unleashed?

Kenzie shook the untimely thought away.

“Let’s review,” Bran said, pulling her back to the moment as he seated himself on one of the logs, clearly in military mode. They all sat down around the empty campfire, Kenzie next to Reese.

“Sit rep,” Bran prodded. “Reese?”

“From what I could tell, it looks like the road coming in from the north dead-ends at the cabin. That’s the way they came in and their only way out.”

“He’s right,” Chase agreed. “No exit south of the cabin. They can cross the creek on foot and reach the road on our side, but that’s it.”

“So we’ve got them bottled up in there,” Bran said.

That’s one way to look at it, Kenzie thought.

“Anyone find a decent crossing?” Chase asked. “The way I went in isn’t any good. Too many hazards.”

“Same to the north,” Reese agreed.

“I found a route,” Bran said. “Had to clear some of the brush and obstacles, but I left it marked with yellow neon reflective tape. It’ll work as a way to bring Griff out.”

Kenzie’s heart began to pound. It wouldn’t be long now.

“What about your sniper’s nest?” Reese asked Bran.

“Already in place. Tranq gun’s loaded and waiting on-site.” Bran rose from the log. “Let’s fire up the drone and make another pass over the cabin before it’s too dark. We can check things out, make sure everything looks good. There’s a crescent moon tonight, which will help or hurt, depending on how the situation unfolds. As soon as it’s full dark, we go in.”

Griff sat on the edge of the saggy iron bed. The slivers of sunlight that dimly lit the room through cracks in the walls were fading. It was almost dark outside, the evening filled with eerie swamp sounds.

Fear crawled through him. Time was running out. Tomorrow morning, as soon as the call the men were waiting for came in, they were going to kill him.

His stomach churned. Any minute they would be bringing something for supper. For once in his life, Griff wasn’t hungry.

He had to find a way to escape. He couldn’t afford to wait.

His mind spun with ideas, stuff he’d seen in the movies or read in fantasy novels. But he didn’t have a weapon and he didn’t really think any of the make-believe stuff would work.

In the end, he decided the best he could do was be ready if an opportunity came along. It worried him that even if he got away, the men might do what they said and come after him and his mom.

Griff closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He would think about that when the time came.

In the meantime, he would be ready.