Page 56 of Twilight Tactics

Gideon simply looked thoughtful. He spoke for the first time, voice low but certain. “From what I’ve seen, I have to agree with Maya. And not just because I’m married to her. I think ‘cult’ is the right word. And it’s obvious we’re not dealing with amateurs. These guys are trained.”

Elena pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a short nod. “My ... uh ... sister lives up there. My dad too. At least I think they’re still there. No one will confirm it, but I’m convinced they’re there.”

“Going back out there is a terrible idea,” Sully said. “I saw Lindy Grace’s reaction to you and it wasn’t warm and fuzzy. She was scared and I think she was scaredforyou. She warnedyou to stay away. You’re the last person who should go up there.”

“But I think I have to. They know me. They don’t know you.”

She said it like it was so simple.

“I’ll go back,” David said. “And I’ll take some of my guys with me. And this time, we won’t come back empty-handed.”

“No,” Elena said. “That won’t work either. They’re not going to talk to you. And they might just shoot you. The people we saw didn’t seem to have an issue with violence.”

She was right. Sully pictured Boss Man with his weapon pointed at the prepper’s temple. For a moment he’d thought the man might shoot. But he was a professional. He’d read the situation. Pulling the gun established the pecking order. He was in charge no matter what anyone else wanted to think. With the prepper backing down—and no one else coming to his defense—that just reinforced the message.

Gideon leaned forward. “She’s right,” he said, echoing Sully’s thoughts. “We can’t escalate this. The moment they perceive us as aggressors, we’ll lose any chance at intel—or de-escalation. We need to think tactically, not emotionally.”

David’s iPad buzzed and he grabbed it. “Someone set off one of the alarms at the south fence line, which means they came across Reeves land.”

“Isn’t that the one we just repaired?” Maya asked.

“Yeah. Billy and Van should be near there. I’ll get them to check it out. And warn the Reeves about these people. They’ll want to check their fences too, and beef up security.”

His phone rang and he answered it and listened for a short moment before his eyes went wide. “Call an ambulance,” he told Sully. “Billy’s been shot.”

“What!” Sully dialed 911 and slapped his phone to his ear while Maya lasered in on David.

“Put him on speaker,” she said. “I need details so I know what to bring.”

Sully fed information to the dispatcher as soon as Van gave it. “Broken Chains’ south fence line just inside the tree line on the south fence.” He pictured the layout in his head. “Okay, best access is through the ranch entrance and a guard will point the way.”

He hung up to hear Van still talking.

“... shot in the thigh. Bleeding a lot. I had to move him to cover and I’m sure that didn’t help, but I’m putting pressure on it.”

“I’ll grab the first aid kit at the big house and then head out there.” Maya raced to the door, flinging the words over her shoulder.

David rushed past her. “I’m on the way now.”

Sully wasn’t sure who the man was speaking to. Either Van or Maya or all of them, but the door slammed behind him, leaving Maya gaping for a split second before she opened the door once again.

“I’m going too,” Elena told Sully and Maya.

“No, no, no, this may be some kind of trap,” Sully said. “Wait for the ambulance and local police to get there.”

Maya and Elena exchanged a glance. “This is what we do, Sully,” Elena said. “We help people. We can’t risk letting that poor man bleed to death.”

Sully sighed. “Of course not.” He looked at Piper. “You’ve got Ollie?”

“I’ve got her.”

He nodded to the others, then narrowed his gaze at Gideon. “Can you please stay here for added protection?”

Gideon hesitated, his eyes on Maya, clearly not wanting to let her go.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Help keep Ollie safe.”

“Fine,” Gideon said, “but you call if you need me.”