coast and a sign he’d seen shortly after they got into the limo that said DALLAS 226 MILES, he figured somewhere north or northeast of Houston. They’d practically made a circle. But he saw the wisdom of the route—the police would be looking south, not north. They might eventually find the boat, or know which direction they’d gone, but they wouldn’t naturally assume Hunt would circle back to Houston.
Escaped prisoners were almost always caught. Law enforcement wasn’t going to give up looking for them. Sean wanted to be found, but he didn’t want to be shot on sight—and he didn’t trust that he wouldn’t be. Not if they thought he killed a cop. But since he had a general idea about where he was, he could conceivably find help.
If he wasn’t shackled or in prison orange.
The limo drove to the house, but instead of stopping at the wide veranda, drove past it and to a secondary gate that was attached to the massive stone and wood house. An armed guard stood there and waved them through as the gate opened.
An eight-car garage straight ahead with what appeared to be rooms above it—four wide dormer windows sticking out. A water fountain claimed the middle of the circular drive; to the left was a smaller building, and to the right the main house.
The limo stopped and the driver—also armed—opened the back door. Hunt, Colton, and the others climbed out.
“We’re here, Sean,” Colton said. “Don’t make this more difficult that it needs to be.”
Sean awkwardly moved over to the door since he was still cuffed and shackled. He put his feet outside, and Hunt’s two goons hoisted him up.
They all went in through the side door—which looked like the main door of any mansion. This place had to be ten thousand square feet, minimum. And if all the land they’d driven through was part of the estate, it had to be at least a hundred acres.
They didn’t put a hood or blindfold on him.
He’d been expecting to die since being locked in his cell last night. The constant fear had him in a heightened state of alert and panic. He began to shake and the more he tried to stop, the worse it became.
A large, heavily muscled armed guard silently approached. How many of these guys did Colton have on the property?
Colton turned to Hunt’s two goons. “Reggie will assign you quarters.”
“We stick with our boss,” one of them said.
“Mr. Hunt is not paying you,” Colton said.
So Sean was right. This wasn’t Jimmy’s operation. He was just one cog in the wheel. An important cog, perhaps, but not in charge.
“It’s fine,” Hunt said, waving them off. “Go with Reggie, good work, both of you—you deserve a break.”
They left, and Sean wondered if he would see them again. There was something surreal about this entire situation. If he wasn’t a prisoner, he might have been amused.
“Colton, if you’d just—”
“Stop, Sean,” Colton said. “Nothing you can say or do is going to change what will happen.”
He motioned for Sean to move. They walked through the side entry room, a large game room, a butler’s pantry, then turned down a hall with multiple closed doors, and finally ended in the main foyer. A beautiful carved staircase went upstairs, but they headed across the foyer to double doors.
Hunt stepped in front of Colton and was about to open the library doors. Colton put his hand up. “Wait here,” he said.
Hunt glared at him. “You wouldn’t even be here without me.”
Colton didn’t rise to the bait. He motioned to someone Sean couldn’t see, and suddenly two armed guards—tall, broad-shouldered men who looked like former military just like everyone else that worked here—appeared. They flanked Hunt. He looked both angry and fearful.
Whoever Colton was working for had extensive resources. This remote, vast estate. The resources for the prison break. Bribing guards. A minimum of four trained security men here, not to mention those who drove him here. Colton also didn’t come cheap, unless he was doing this for a cause.
What cause? What cause would have him breaking Sean out of prison?
Or setting you up to go to prison in the first place?
Colton said, “Take Mr. Hunt to the kitchen and ask Mrs. Yancey to prepare him a meal. We’ll call for him when we’re ready.”
“That’s more like it,” Hunt mumbled.
Colton tensed next to Sean. He didn’t like Jimmy Hunt. Hunt didn’t pick up on the subtle change in Colton, which would be his downfall.