She’d known it would take time for Landon to get help out here, but she’d never dreamed it would be close to sundown before most of the DCO operatives showed. And now that they were here, all they were doing was wasting time looking at stupid maps and satellite photos.
Why the hell weren’t they already at The Cage, going in to get Tanner and the others out?
Beside her, Cam reached out and covered her hand where it rested on the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze. It didn’t help very much. Tanner’s brother looked as worried as Zarina felt.
It was Danica Buchanan, FBI-agent-turned-DCO-operative and one of her best friends at the covert organization, who answered. “There aren’t a lot of traffic cameras around the Wenatchee area, but we accessed enough of them to get an idea of which direction the three black SUVs you shot up this morning were heading. They made a beeline for Ryan’s club, which is located about forty-five minutes outside Seattle, just west of Redmond.”
Zarina gazed down at the big map with the red circle drawn on it. The corners of the map were held down with boxes of ammunition that were merely a small sample of the hoard of bullets and explosives stored in the place. In fact, there were enough weapons, night-vision goggles, computer equipment, and communication gear to start a small war. Apparently, the DCO kept places like this all over the world in case their operatives needed anything special for a mission. She was glad they did, even if the thought of them having to fight their way into Ryan’s club to rescue Tanner and the others scared the hell out of her. Not enough to dissuade her from going in with everyone else, but enough to make her stomach clench even more than it already was.
“Satellite photos confirm the vehicles showed up at the club immediately after they grabbed Tanner and your friends,” Clayne Buchanan, Danica’s husband, wolf shifter, and DCO partner, said softly. “There’s no indication they’ve left since.”
Danica and Clayne had gotten to the storage unit forty-five minutes ago. The two DCO operatives had immediately gotten the computer equipment running, then printed maps, photos, and intel reports. Zarina was glad the couple were there. Danica was extremely good at thinking through problems and making plans, while Clayne was equally good at skipping those and going straight to the fighting and killing. Zarina only wished they’d spend less time on Danica’s part and get on with Clayne’s.
“As far as them still being alive, we have to believe they are,” Chase said, leaning forward to catch Zarina’s eye, even though the movement made him wince in pain. “We don’t know why Ryan took them, but the asshole went to a lot of effort to tranquilize them and take them to his club. He must have a purpose for them. That means they’re going to be alive long enough for us to get in there and rescue them.”
Tate and the sheriff’s deputy from Maine had shown up twenty minutes after Danica and Clayne, somehow swinging a nonstop flight from Boston. Chase was obviously dealing with some kind of injury, but when she offered to take a look at it, he waved her off and told her he was fine.
“I can’t believe the DCO doesn’t have a single clue why Ryan kidnapped Tanner and all those other people,” Staff Sergeant Carlos Diaz said. “I thought you people could find anything on anyone.”
Zarina had been stunned when Diaz had shown up. A Special Forces soldier from Landon’s old A-team, he’d fought alongside the DCO on several occasions but had only recently discovered he was a coyote shifter. She’d assumed the soldier would be deployed off to some dark corner of the globe with the other members of his A-team, but luckily, he’d been home on leave in San Diego and had decided raiding a night club to rescue a hybrid who tried to kill him two months ago sounded like fun. Zarina didn’t understand why most men did the things they did, but she was glad to have him there.
Danica frowned. “I wish we knew. When Landon told us about Westbrook and his club, we spent a good portion of the flight from Mexico trying to come up with a possible connection between a club and the abductions. We considered everything. Drugs, illegal gambling, human trafficking, the black-market organ trade, even hybrid research. But nothing fits with the facts as we know them so far.”
Walking over to the printer, Danica pulled off a stack of photos and spread them out on the table. Zarina thought they looked like mug shots, but she wasn’t sure.
“When one of our analysts discovered a Vietnamese gang out of Tacoma with known ties to the LA drug trade paid for the renovations to The Cage, we were sure drugs were the answer,” Danica said, setting down the last picture.
“But?” Chad prompted. Worry over his daughter’s kidnapping was visibly wearing on him. Waiting for the DCO agents to arrive had been as difficult for him as it had been for Zarina. It didn’t help that he was also concerned the people he’d left at the camp would be attacked again while he, Burt, and Malcolm were trying to save Tanner and the others. That was why he wouldn’t let Peter come with them. He’d wanted there to be at least one fighter back to protect everyone.
“But the drug angle hasn’t panned out,” Clayne put in. “While we know they’re selling some party drugs out of the club, there isn’t nearly enough stuff being moved through there to justify the number of gang members who seem to be providing security for the place. Besides, if this is simply about drugs, what the hell do they need with Tanner and the others?”
“Wait a minute,” Burt said. “There are members of an Asian gang pulling security for the place in addition to the mercenary types who attacked our camp? How many guys are
