Page 91 of Solid as Steele
“But if he had Cassie here, why take her out to the desert to kill her? Why not do it here and bury her on his property where no one was likely to find her?”
“Maybe he was worried someone would investigate her disappearance, find out he talked to her, and come looking for her like we did.”
Vehicles humming closer caught his attention. He shifted his binoculars to the other side of the truck. Four patrol cars rolled down the road, the occupants turning off their headlights before they reached Owen. Thankfully, the bright moon gave them plenty of light to safely pull to the side of the road.
The sheriff led the team and parked nearest to Owen. Owen dropped the binoculars and bolted from his truck to join Wheeler, who scrambled out of his car. Mackenzie hurried over to them.
Wheeler waved a folded piece of paper. “Warrant. Signed, sealed, and let’s deliver it with a bang.”
Three deputies wearing black tactical clothing got out of the other cars and came forward. They wore armor-plated tactical vests and carried black helmets. All of them slung assault rifles over their shoulders. The first deputy brought a heavy battering ram and the second man a big metal pry bar. Only three men on the SWAT team. Not a surprise for the size of the county. But it would be enough with the sheriff, Owen, and Mackenzie to invade Tovar’s compound and arrest the creep.
Wheeler looked at Mackenzie. “Since you’re no longer a sworn officer, I can’t give you an official role in this arrest. “
“But I—”
Wheeler held up his hand. “I get that you don’t like it, but we can’t give Tovar any reason to call his arrest into question and escape prosecution.”
She raised her chin. “So you’re going to make me stay here.”
“I should, but I’ll let you bring up the rear and remain at the fence until we’ve detained Tovar.”
“Thank you.” Her words declared her gratitude, but disappointment deepened her tone.
Wheeler moved his attention to Owen. “My men will take the lead. We’ll stay out of camera range and follow the same path you did to the rear of the compound where we’ll remove a section of the back fence and go in that way to catch the guy by surprise.”
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
“I have ambulances and support workers on standby. After we’ve detained Tovar, we’ll call them in and move on to the cellar to free the women.”
Owen nodded. Wheeler might have seemed all bluster so far, but he was handling this situation like a well-trained officer.
Owen held out his hand. “Lead the way.”
The men marched off, and Owen followed, steeling himself for what they might find in the cellar. Better to focus on the positive. They were going to save these women. A good thing. A very good thing.
His body flooded with adrenaline, and he had to work hard to move slowly and stay behind the men. Mackenzie strode with purpose alongside him, her face pale and tight in the moonlight. Seeing women abused this way had to be doubly hard on another woman.
Cassie. His sister.Her sweet innocent face came to mind.
Had Tovar indeed brought her here before he hauled her out to the desert to kill her? If he’d kidnapped her, he couldn’t let her live. Not after she’d seen him and could identify him. What about these women? They could identify him by sight too, but if they were illegals smuggled from a border town, he probably didn’t fear reprisal from them.
They’d soon know. Maybe not about Cassie, but about the women in the cellar.
The SWAT team moved steadily over the hard ground to the back of the property, checking distance through rifle scopes as Owen had done. The team might be small, but they seemed capable.
At the rear fence, the deputy shoved his pry bar behind pickets to loosen them. Another worked them free and quietly laid them on the ground. Owen’s body vibrated with the need to get in there, and he wanted to hurry them along. He didn’t of course. Remaining quiet was of utmost importance if they wanted to surprise Tovar before he ran or destroyed any evidence. Or took the woman he held hostage.
The men repeated the process until they’d cleared a wide opening. The deputy holding the battering ram went through the opening first. The others followed, then Wheeler and Owen.
He turned back to smile at Mackenzie, who was frowning. He knew she understood the situation, but he didn’t want to leave her behind. She gave him a smile and thumbs-up. He nodded his thanks at her good wishes, appreciating that she could take her situation in stride and go with the flow.
He took off after the other men and caught them midway to the house. Their footfalls were silent over the packed desert soil, inching slowly toward the building with one light still burning from the front room. The first team member took a stealthy look in the window.
He turned and raised two fingers. Owen let out a long breath of relief. Tovar and the woman were still in the front room. Owen wanted to get a look inside too, but the deputy signaled they were going in. The guy with the battering ram slammed it into the older wooden door. It swung in and bounced back, but he’d stepped out of the way.
The second and third deputy burst in, yelling, “Police! Stay where you are.”
Sheriff Wheeler followed, then Owen. Finally going in. Finally going after Tovar. Finally arresting the creep.
