Chapter 23
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The discovery of the micro-tracker fundamentally shifted the power dynamic. Marcus Thorne believed he was the invisible hunter, orchestrating our terror from a safe distance. He had no idea that we had just captured his only tactical advantage.
I carried the small plastic square into the control room, laying it carefully on the metal desk.
"What is the play, Connor?" Mike asked, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
"We need time," I explained, pointing to the blinking green light. "David and Detective Vance need forty-eight hours to finalize the financial forensics and secure the federal arrest warrants for Thorne's money laundering syndicate. If Thorne breaches our perimeter before those warrants are signed, it becomes a bloody, chaotic shootout."
"So we send the tracker on a vacation," Mike grinned, catching on instantly.
"Exactly," I nodded. "Thorne thinks Nora is paralyzed by fear, hiding inside these walls. We need to make him believe she panicked and ran."
I called one of my most trusted construction foremen, a man named Bill who ran a fleet of supply trucks across the state. Within an hour, Bill pulled his massive eighteen-wheeler into the service garage of the estate.
I handed Bill the micro-tracker, securely duct-taped inside a heavy steel lockbox.
"I need you to drive this box to Memphis," I instructed him. "Take the back highways. Don't speed, don't draw attention to yourself. Just keep moving west. Check into a cheap motel near the river tonight, leave the box in the room, and then drive your rig back here tomorrow."
"You got it, boss," Bill nodded, fully aware of the stakes but completely loyal to the sanctuary's mission.
As Bill’s eighteen-wheeler rolled out of our gates and turned westward, I watched the GPS blip on Thorne’s end begin to move rapidly away from Franklin.
I walked back into the main house and found Amy in the kitchen, brewing a fresh pot of coffee. I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, burying my face in the sweet scent of jasmine in her hair.
"The tracker is gone," I murmured softly. "Thorne's men are going to follow it straight to Memphis, assuming Nora got a ride out of town."
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"You bought us time," Amy whispered, leaning back against my chest.
"I bought us exactly two days," I corrected, turning her around to look into her beautiful, fiercely resilient eyes. "When Thorne realizes he's been tracking an empty motel room, his rage is going to be biblical. And he is going to come right back here to burn this place to the ground."
