What the hell is Henson doing out here?

The guards eventually split up, each of them traversing the fence line back the way he had come. Edge motioned to Skye, and staying low, they skirted the vineyards and moved deeper into the compound, finally coming up on a pair of metal toolsheds near the vegetable patch. The sheds provided cover and a chance to get their bearings.

“The cottages aren’t far from here,” Skye said softly. “I wish I knew which one Callie is in.”

“The lights are all off, the curtains closed. The women will all be sleeping. Nothing we can do tonight but recon the area and come back better prepared.”

“We need a drone,” Skye said.

Edge grinned. “Exactly. Let’s take a look around, get as much intel as we can, and head back to the motel. We’ll call Trace, have him bring everything we need.”

Skye nodded.

Edge made a motion with his hand, telling Skye to go left while he went right, then flashed all ten fingers, indicating a ten-minute timeline in which to survey the area, circle around and meet up back where they’d started.

As he watched Skye slip into the darkness, the muscles tightened across his shoulders. He knew how capable she was—they’d faced some tough conditions in Mexico. Still, he didn’t like sending her out by herself with an unknown number of hostiles and so little intel.

He reminded himself to trust her, let her do what she was trained for; he took a deep breath and set off to see what he could learn.

As he moved through the darkness, he spotted two more men, both of them armed. There were two big metal Quonset buildings off to one side and another some distance away. He pulled the night-vision binoculars out of his pack and brought them into focus, saw what appeared to be two men guarding the building farthest away and had to figure they were both armed.

He wasn’t ready to risk exposure to find out what was inside the structure. Tonight he was more interested in getting a layout of the compound.

Careful to stay out of sight, he pressed as far ahead as he dared, then began making his way back to the rendezvous point. He had almost reached his destination when a shadowy figure appeared in the darkness.

The outline of a slender shape and long flowing skirt said it was a woman. Carrying a small satchel, she crouched low to the ground and continued making her way toward the fence. Edge moved silently up behind her, easing closer, until he was just inches away. When she rose, he clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her back against him.

“Take it easy—I’m not going to hurt you.” He could feel her trembling, her terror so intense it turned every muscle in her body to stone. “I don’t work for Henson,” he said, low and soft. “I’m just here to help someone.”

A little sound escaped her throat. She was taller than average and reed-thin. When the clouds parted for a moment, he saw that she had lustrous black hair cut in a shoulder-length bob around a heart-shaped face with very nice features and pale blue eyes. There was a bruise on her cheek and one on her chin.