Page 59 of Deadly Revenge
She decided to move Hope to the main ballroom. It would be easier to spot the girl and maybe help lure Maya in. She checked her phone. Her partner was still insisting that she was fine.
She could regroup and make a fresh plan. There was something off. Was he messing with her? Abigail didn’t think he was. He never had in the past. Why would he do it now? In fact, he’d made sure he was here for this. It had been part of their plan so he couldfeed Abigail information. That meant he was getting bad info. Kessler knew or suspected.
Kessler and Maya weren’t dumb. Shooting that agent maybe hadn’t been smart. Abigail had done it so quickly she’d given away that she had inside knowledge. She should have left, but she’d been so mad when she found out that they were trying to trick her, she’d acted impulsively. She had to slow down and think. Abigail pulled her phone out and typed:
I think you’re receiving bad info. Have you seen Maya Thompson and her K-9?
She received a quick “no” back. She sent another text.
What about the undersheriff, Josh Colten?
Another “no” came back. Yes, they’d figured things out. Abigail sent one last message.Be careful. I think Maya suspects someone is helping me. If she doesn’t come to me soon, I’m ending this and leaving. You know where I’m headed. You can join me when the time is right. I’ll make sure the money you need is in your account.
Abigail went and checked on Hope. If they were doing surveillance, they might see her and walk right into Abigail’s trap. But it was hard telling. If nothing else, it would be a quicker track for the dog. Of course, what door would they be coming in? There were many options since this was a tourist lodge. Abigail didn’tlike all the unknowns with this resort, but there were no other options right now.
Hope wasn’t moving. The girl had been quiet and sullen ever since she’d tried to slash Abigail. She had to give the kid credit—her arm was hurting. But she’d found a first aid kit after they arrived here and had changed the first blood-soaked bandage. Stitches would be ideal. Since Hope hadn’t moved and didn’t seem to be trying to escape, Abigail wandered until she found the room with the security cameras.
The cameras around the hotel were all down. There were only black screens. Probably thanks to Kessler. He would have the power to get them shut down. Even more proof that he knew where she was and her partner was out of the loop. But there were a few screens that were active. They were out on the trees. She’d seen the pictures in the lobby the lodge put up daily for the tourists who’d be excited about seeing a bear walk through at night. Or a mountain lion. Or whatever. It didn’t matter to Abigail because she saw what she wanted—Maya, Juniper and Josh heading her way.
Maybe her plan wasn’t done after all.
As they crept along, Maya worked to keep an eye out for the wildlife cameras. She’d spotted a couple. The camouflage color made it hard to see them. Would Abigail even happen to look at them? They had to assume so. Just as Maya had that thought, she realized they had walked right in front of one.
“Great,” she said, pointing out the camera to Josh. “What do you think? Should we keep going?”
As Josh was getting ready to answer the wind picked up and the smell of smoke wafted their way. Maya couldn’t see the fire. Based on what she’d learned from Kessler, it was probably burning in the area behind the ridge and they couldn’t see it because of the lodge.
“I think we should keep going, but assume she saw us,” Josh said. “At least see if we can spot Hope or Juniper can figure out where she is. Even if we have to retreat and let the HRT guys come in, we can give them a direction. But that fire is close.”
“It is,” Maya said, glad that Josh wanted to keep going. Even though she’d asked, it would have taken a lot for her not to continue. “And we should assume Abigail saw us. Let’s go in via the employee entrance. There’s no staircase there like the front entrance. Less of a chance for Abigail to be able to ambush us.”
“Good idea,” Josh said.
They continued to the back of the building. Maya could feel the tension building in Juniper through the leash. Juniper was ready to work. The heat didn’t seem to be affecting her at all. They came up to the building, trying to stay as flat against the outside wall as possible. All tactics seemed worthless because Abigail knew standard operating procedures. If she saw them there was a chance she’d shoot right through the next window. Luckily, the building itself was solid with thick walls. It would be harder for a bullet to penetrate and get them, although Maya knew it was still possible.
They paused at each window. Maya would check that there was no one there before they continued. Theold glass made everything inside distorted and Maya could only make out shapes of things like furniture and a fireplace. So far, she hadn’t seen a human shape and there didn’t seem to be anyone waiting for them. Maybe they’d been lucky and hadn’t been spotted. Or maybe Abigail was being patient and letting them come to her. They arrived at the back door.
Maya slowly opened the door that had been left unlocked so the firefighters could have access. She let Juniper go in first. Juniper had no reaction such as hackles going up, so Maya felt like it was safe to continue. She nodded at Josh and he nodded back in acknowledgment.
Step by step, they worked their way in. When Maya thought they were in a safe spot, she took out the scent article and let Juniper sniff. This time, she used a hand signal to tell Juniper to search. They’d been working on that in training and Juniper responded beautifully. She put her nose up in the air, twitching it slightly.
The nice thing about the fire evacuation was that the ventilation system was shut off. That meant there was a lot less airflow, which would help Juniper. Airflow in buildings could be as difficult as windy days. Juniper caught a scent and shot forward. Maya was ready for her and had the leash a little tighter. In this case, she didn’t want Juniper to be too far out in front of her until they cleared each area. Josh had his gun drawn and ready.
Juniper went down a hall and then turned toward the front entrance. Maya was glad to be out of the hallway. That was a death trap with no place to take cover.It was as fatal as a doorway if Abigail had wanted to ambush them there.
When they came to the front area, Maya pulled Juniper up and then peered around the corner. It appeared empty, but it was hard to tell. The grand main entrance opened to a staircase that led to the first-floor rooms. There were large open wings off the front doors that extended to both sides of the hotel, with various couches and sitting areas. The check-in desk was in this area too. There were good places to hide and ambush them.
Juniper surprised Maya by wanting to turn and leave the front area. Instead, she wanted to go to a ballroom that was just past the hotel restaurant. Every New Year, Halloween and Christmas, there would be large masquerade balls held there. Maya had never been to one, but she knew they were quite the events. Would Abigail have Hope there? If so, then Abigail was deliberately leading them there. She would never normally put a hostage in front of a window.
Maya’s stomach flip-flopped. Josh was waiting. It was her call. She trusted her dog. They would clear the ballroom and go from there. Maybe Juniper would take them to another part of the hotel. But if Hope was being held hostage in the ballroom, that meant that Abigail was putting her out in the open. And in that case, this was definitely a trap.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
They went around a corner, Juniper ready to go apprehend if need be. Josh was on the other side of the door, to back them up and help clear the room. The ballroom was large with a wooden floor and enormous window that framed picturesque mountain ranges in the distance. Only with the fire raging, the top peaks were hidden by smoke.
At first glance, the ballroom was clear, but then Juniper turned and focused on the area closer to the stage where live bands would perform every Friday. The room was eerily quiet compared to how it should have been in the height of tourist season. Maya could see the outline of a person in a chair up near a window. The window was facing roughly the direction she and Josh had been when they were doing surveillance.
“This isn’t right,” Maya said, her chest tightening as her anxiety rose.
