Ransom (Benson Security 4)

“Okay,” Callum said. “What happens if Belinda and Beast walk in on the mining operation?”

De la Cruz ran his fingers through his hair. “Hard to say. But a lot of the mines in this area are run by the Martinez family.”

“That isn’t good,” Elle muttered.

“Elle, go back to the search area, will you?” De la Cruz said, and the image on the wall immediately changed. “Here’s the camp.” He pointed to the small clearing. “Here are the river mining operations.” He pointed again. “This is the direction Beast and Belinda went in.” He drew an invisible line with his hand. “If they stay on that line and don’t wander off, they’re heading straight for the mines. I’d say it’s at least two, three days’ walk to get there. Maybe more, seeing as they aren’t used to the forest.”

“They managed to exit on the side of the camp that was furthest from the river,” Dimitri said. “It’s like they were trying to make it hard for us.”

“At least they will eventually hit the river,” Megan said. “It goes two-thirds of the way around the camp.”

“That’s a typical setup for the Martinez gang,” De la Cruz said. “They like to make camp in the horseshoe bends of the river. It means they have fast access to transport in several different directions, if they need it. There is another option. If Belinda and Beast got turned around entirely, then they’re headed away from the river and deeper into the jungle.”

The atmosphere in the room turned thick. No one needed to say what would happen if Beast and Belinda kept walking into the rainforest. The chances of finding them in countless acres of jungle were slim to none.

“Search options?” Lake said.

De la Cruz rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly looking weary. “There’s very little chance of finding them from the air. You can’t see through the canopy. Our best bet is that they find a small clearing and somehow signal when a helicopter goes overhead.”

“Searching from the river is out,” Callum said.

De la Cruz nodded. “If you take a boat up past the mining sites, they will most likely fire first and ask questions later. You could do it. But it’s risky.”

“Then we go in on foot,” Lake said.

“It’s the only option,” De la Cruz agreed. “Especially if they’re being hunted by Martinez. Won’t be easy, though. In jungle that dense, you could pass within a couple of feet of someone and not know they’re there.” He looked around at the Benson Security team, all of whom had the same sombre expressions. “We’d could use more people if we’re going in on foot.”

“Which means more targets for Martinez,” Megan said. “I don’t want to be a target. I’ve done that. It wasn’t any fun.”

Dimitri smiled and stroked his wife’s golden hair. “Nobody’s gonna be a target, baby.”

“How else will we find them if we don’t go play hide-and-seek with the baddies in the jungle?” Megan asked with a pout.

Lake shared a look with his two partners. They seemed to be able to speak telepathically. Lake gave a short nod before turning back to the rest of the team. “We’ll split into teams. Rodrigo in the chopper, scouring for signs from the air. Callum on the river. You can focus on the stretch of river leading up to the mining operation, but keep your distance from it. We don’t want the Martinez brothers to get wind that we’re there.”

Callum nodded grimly.

“Two teams in the jungle,” Lake said as he looked over at Grunt, who was standing, arms folded and frowning. “You staying here or coming?”

Grunt didn’t want to leave his pregnant wife unprotected, and with Ryan in a sling and Elle’s notoriously bad aim, they would be if Grunt left.

“Do you have jungle experience, big man?” Violet asked.

Grunt grunted.

Violet nodded. Apparently, she spoke Grunt. “Then I’ll stay here. You go. I don’t have jungle experience, but I can guard everyone who stays here.”

Grunt studied her for a moment before looking at Lake, who read the unasked question in his frown. “Ex-police. Commendations. Expert marksman. Mean as hell. She’ll get the job done.”

“No one will get past me to anyone here,” Violet said.

“Eh, hello?” Ryan called. “Remember me? I may be injured, but I’m not dead. I can fight and shoot left-handed.”

“If he isn’t using it to eat,” Elle said, and Ryan gave her a dirty look.

“Okay. I’ll go,” Grunt said to Lake, and then looked at Violet, who was about a quarter of his size. “If anything happens to Claire, you pay.”

“Fair enough.” Violet shrugged, not in the least intimidated by the man mountain.