Deserted - Auctioned

And on the off chance that Warren called Buck before heading out, they couldn’t afford to risk tipping off Warren.

“Would they really have such a system?” Gray wondered. “Do you think they’re that suspicious of everything?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Darius replied pensively. “Extra phones make sense in that Warren could get caught for harboring a fugitive. On the other hand, it’s reason to keep phone communications to a minimum.” He looked like he was about to say something else too, but he closed his mouth and retrieved his phone. In the low light from the screen, his eyebrows went up a fraction. “As if this wasn’t already a dream case for psychology students… We might have an Oedipus complex on our hands.” He lifted his gaze to Gray. “They grew up in that house. Their mother used to own it, and then Warren bought it and shipped her off to a retirement home in Malibu—that he pays for.”

“Oh wow.” Gray remembered a time when getting hypothetical cases to analyze from his professors had been the highlight of his week. He could follow his mother around the inn and discuss the cases for hours. “Is it safe to guess they didn’t have an awesome childhood? Living out here, of all places. The mother loses custody of one child—or gives him up freely, whatever—Warren buying the house and paying for the retirement home, and yet, he doesn’t go out to see her often. And then the fact that he’s a pedophile who buys an underage teenager as his sexual slave.”

“And he’s close enough with one brother to involve him in everything.” Darius theorized further. “Recreating something from your childhood to this degree… Jesus. It could be a hundred reasons, but…”

“None of them is looking great from Jackie’s perspective,” Gray finished. “We have no way of knowing if Warren was ever abused one way or another, possibly by his mother, but that’s usually the case—in my limited experience. I read about this in college.” His stomach revolted, and he couldn’t eat any more. Every minute they sat out here was another minute in captivity for Jackie. “We have to get him out of there, Darius.”

Darius scrubbed a hand over his mouth and jaw, visibly frustrated, and went into strategy mode. “We have to think about our cover too,” he stated quietly. “This can’t get back to us. Not only would we risk charges, but it would make the Feds down in Florida question the intel they have about all of us. About everything that happened at sea.”

He was right, Gray knew that. They couldn’t jeopardize what they’d worked so hard to achieve. Plus, organized crime had always walked hand in hand with corruption. If the authorities learned that Darius had played a significant role in freeing all the guys, it was possible the crime organization would find out too.

“We can compromise,” Darius decided. “Here’s the thing. Rescuing Jackie will take hours. Not the operation itself, but the aftermath of it. We don’t know what state he’s in, and chances are we gotta stay for a while to make sure he’s okay. And that presents a problem, because we can’t stay out here for two nights in a row without raising suspicion at the campground.”

Gray nodded in understanding, realizing how that would look if the police came asking campers if they’d seen anything odd. They’d left their truck and tent behind—not to mention paid the fee to stay at the site. It would be one of those details that stood out. And blending in was key, Darius had taught him.

“That rules out rescuing Jackie tonight,” Darius told him, and Gray tried not to let his disappointment show. “We don’t have to wait for Warren, though. We can get Jackie tomorrow morning.”

Gray’s eyebrows went up. “In broad daylight?”

“Who’s gonna see what happens inside the house?” Darius asked rhetorically. “By the time Warren shows up, we’ve already dealt with Buck, and Jackie will be safe.”

As soon as doubt started creeping in, Gray checked himself and shook his head. If there was one person he could trust on this level, it was Darius Quinn. He’d proven it over and over.

“Okay,” he said. “Tomorrow morning.”Twenty“Oh, good morning, James! You must’ve gotten back late last night.”

“Yeah, we rolled in around midnight, I reckon,” Darius replied. “What’re y’all up to today?”

Gray yawned and stretched out in his sleeping bag. He could’ve gone for another hour of sleep if the tent didn’t get hot so early. It’d been cold last night, and he’d crawled into his sleeping bag with one shudder setting off another.

Outside the tent, Hank was rambling about the tortoise safari they were going on today. It was his daughter’s biggest dream to see one.

Gray was mentally exhausted from all the planning they’d done last night, so he could only admire Darius for pulling off their charade in front of their chipper camper neighbors.