He drove into the deepest brush, where he knew it was difficult to see from the house or any of the outbuildings. Cordeau hadn’t wanted to have a propane tank visible. Gas made him nervous. He liked it hidden so no one would get the idea of using it against him. Pete parked and got out, walking around to the hose. As he did so, he hit the side of the truck hard to indicate they were undercover and this would be the best chance the men had of getting out of the truck without being seen.

Pete should have been tense, but he wasn’t. All he could think about was Danny’s taunting smirk. That voice. The one that told him his niece had suffered and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He went about his business pumping the gas and trying not to see the five men moving silently out of the belly of the truck. He didn’t recognize any of them, and none of them looked at him until the last man. He turned and saluted Pete, as if respecting him. That meant a whole hell of a lot when he’d spent the last three months feeling less than a man.

Elijah smelled the air. Somewhere close, an outdoor barbecue was going. Steak, if he was any judge. Steak and pork. He signaled the four others with him to go easy. They had to slip in and take over the control room. If whoever was on the cameras was sharp, they’d eventually spot something wrong. So, the control room had to be theirs first.

Alonzo and Eli split off, moving around toward the back of the house where the large barbecue pit was. Joaquin, who had always remained Elijah’s ally throughout the war with his uncle, stayed close to Elijah. Elijah knew the man would lay down his life for him. That was Joaquin. He tried not to use him too often, because Joaquin had seen too many battles and, like Elijah, killing came too easy, but this one was necessary.

Evan would be their man in the control room. He was fast and silent and knew his way around computers, cameras and just about any technology possible. He had come to Drake straight out of the rain forest. In the beginning, Elijah had confused him a few times with Jake’s worker, Evan. Jake had a habit of picking up strays. His Evan didn’t talk, but used sign language and was as tall and muscular as a tank. He wasn’t leopard and was totally loyal to Jake and his family. Evan Courtier was a little leaner, a lot meaner and had eyes that never stopped moving. He worked with Drake in the bayou a lot, but Drake had called him in to help.