He goes onto Google Maps and tags the coordinates of the railroad, and then zooms in until it shows us a 3D view of it. The train is left abandoned on the railroad, the trailers corroded with nature and rust.
It’s in the middle of woods, with nothing but trees surrounding it. Another decade and most of the wildlife will have taken over completely.
“It’s just odd that it’s still considered an active channel,” Daire says, his brows pinching and a frown tugging down his lips.
“Are there any residential homes nearby?”
“Doesn’t hurt to look,” he replies. He looks up at me. “Keep in mind, there’s no way to legitimately confirm that they’re holding girls in them unless you storm the place. My advice? Don’t do that.”
I arch a brow in response. He rolls his eyes and turns back to his computer, realizing he’s talking to a person that just barged into Mama T’s house unannounced to get to them. What’s stopping me from doing it to anyone else?
The answer is nothing.
“I’m going to need a long session with my pet after dealing with you,” he mumbles.
“You’re welcome.”
He smirks but focuses on the screen as he navigates through the forest. For a long while, he doesn’t find anything. Long enough that I start pacing a hole in the floor behind him.
“Found something,” Daire announces about twenty minutes later, drawing my attention back to him. I come up behind him and lean down to get a better view.
If the fucker says I’m hovering again, I’ll steal his pet and drop her off somewhere random just to inconvenience him. Asshole is fucking blessed to have me so close.
A massive run-down house emerges from the trees. It looks like its prime was in the early 1900s. Still, it’s livable, big, and definitely well-hidden.
My heart picks up speed, and for the first time, I feel an inkling of excitement.
“Where is it located?”
“Merlin, Oregon. Only about fifteen minutes from Grants Pass, give or take.” He pauses. “And about an hour from Jacksonville.”
By the time he finishes his sentence, I’m nearly vibrating.
When the satellite picture was taken, only a rusted red pickup truck was parked outside of the house. I snatch my laptop, quickly searching the license plate to find the owner.
“Rocco Bellucci,” I mumble, immediately digging into his background. “Got a few charges for public intoxication, domestic violence, and battery.”
Daire shrugs. “Pretty standard charges for ninety percent of the male population.”
Next, I check to see who owns the house, Rocco’s name appearing once more. I rap my fingers on the laptop, anxiousness buzzing through my nerve endings. This house is suspicious, but nothing about it indicates this is a grooming house.
It’s not registered under a name I recognize, and there isn’t any physical evidence that girls are being held here.
Digging my phone out of my pocket, I pull up Jillian’s number. After promising she’d help any way she could if I had more questions about Addie, I had Ruby get her a burner phone.
It rings for several long seconds before her bored, accented voice comes through, “Yeah?”
What a fluffy, warm person she is.
“You mentioned before that Francesca had a brother,” I state.
“Yeah, he’s one of the people I’d love for you to murder,” she answers.
“Well, what’s his fucking name?”
“Rocco. Don’t know his last name.”
My world tilts on its axis. The possibility that we just found Addie is almost too much.
“Helloooo?” her voice rings out.
“Were you kept in a three-story colonial home?” I name off a few more attributes of the property that might be recognizable, and when she doesn’t answer right away, I almost crack the phone in half.
“That’s it,” she says finally.
Fuck.
“Jillian?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to murder so many fucking people for you.”
The last thing I hear is her snorting before I hang up the phone, and I look up to meet Daire’s rounded eyes.
“We found her?”
“We fucking found her,” I confirm, immediately pulling up directions to the house.
It’ll take about four hours to get to Merlin from Portland, but I’ll need to prepare first. I won’t know how many people will be occupying the house beforehand, so it’ll be necessary to have Jay in my ear and Michael and Ruby with me in case there are more girls being held there. I’ll have several more mercenaries following close behind if I need backup.