Joshua knew Sharmaine was en route to Lightspring City regarding Danielle and Ross. He’d heard Danielle had been kidnapped. While her identity could make her a target, it had been tightly guarded. She’d been safe there till now. The fact someone risked striking with Ross around made Joshua suspect it was a setup.
Shermaine sat in the helicopter, which hadn’t taken off yet. Saying she wasn’t worried was a lie. The earthquakes were still a threat. When she called Ross again, his phone was unreachable. Her gaze hardened as a call came in.
It was Joshua. “Be careful in Lightspring City, Sheary.”
“Yeah, I will,” she replied.
Hearing her tense voice, Joshua soothed her. “Try not to stress. Ross is good.”
“How good?” Shermaine knew little about Ross’s past and felt curious now.
Joshua drawled, “Don’t let that posh rich kid act fool you. In college abroad, he was wild—street fighting, mercenary gigs, and undercover work. He’s done some nuts stuff.”
That eased Shermaine’s worry. She had to trust Ross wouldn’t let Danielle get hurt, that he’d bring her back safe. After a brief chat, she hung up, rested her laptop on her knees, and typed one-handed. She tried tracking Ross’s phone, but the last signal was at the rescue center. It meant his signal was jammed.
‘Smart move—blocking his phone on purpose,’ she thought.
Shermaine’s laptop was linked to a satellite, and she’d coded a GPS program. All she needed was Ross’s photo and the location, and the program would automatically scan the area. It wouldn’t be long before it found him. She hardly ever used this GPS program. The tech was straight-up cutting-edge. Its big data was a prime target for all sorts of people. Firing up the GPS would instantly tip off whoever was monitoring it to her whereabouts.
Shermaine wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble, but Ross was her brother. No matter how capable he was, she felt like tracking his every move was the only way to guarantee his safety. The snag was that Lightspring City’s earthquakes had knocked out most of the surveillance, which made tracing his movements way tougher. Even so, Shermaine activated the GPS. Trickier, but not impossible. Since Ross was going in alone, he’d need a ride. And if he was driving, she could track him.
Right then, Ross had a black cap pulled low and was behind the wheel of a black sedan, heading for the address he’d been given. He’d swiped the car from the side of a main road near the rescue center. No keys needed, since hot-wiring it was a piece of cake for him. The abandoned factory was overrun with weeds, pitch-black all around. The road was muddy from the recent rain, dotted with shallow puddles.
The sedan’s tires splashed through puddles as he pulled up to the factory gate. Ross climbed out, the night chill biting at him through his long black trench coat. He didn’t pause for a second, just marched straight inside.