Page 94 of Chasing Creed

Don’t lose the blade. Cut. Don’t move. Stay curled up.

She couldn’t dig down far enough for the syringe. Her fingers hurt. Her boot was too tight around her ankle.

Squeeze. Grip.

“Hey, time to have a little fun.”

He was already there. Right behind her. Hand on her shoulder.

No more time.

67

Creed thought it was a long shot. Hank wasn’t officially a scent detection dog, but he knew how to find Scout and Grace. What had started as a game for the dog and Brodie had worked itself into serious business.

Now he hoped Hank could find Brodie. The two were inseparable. As soon as they left the house, the big dog’s nose was looking for her. Creed barely said, “Find Brodie,” and Hank took off, leading Creed to the forest through a mud-slick, narrow path.

Hank pulled and tugged. Ten times stronger than Grace, he almost dragged Creed along. He was doing everything he could to keep up and not lose his balance.

The storm made it so dark inside the forest that it was like running in the middle of the night. Roots jutted up out of nowhere. Branches swayed down low, heavy with rain and wind. It became an obstacle course. But Hank appeared to know exactly where he was going.

Maybe the dog was simply taking Creed down the same path he and Brodie had followed many times before. It would still be filled with her scent. Would they get to her meadow and find it empty?

Somewhere on a parallel destination, Jason and Sully were following Scout. He’d picked up a scent from the cigarette butts Sully had collected. They’d activated GPS tracking on their phones so they could keep track of each other. He wished Brodie had done the same.

He didn’t blame his sister for taking off with Sara. She was the first person Brodie had ever met who shared the same experience. It must have felt like they were kindred spirits. Both were survivors. Now, the two of them were fighting the same enemy all over again. Or was Sara leading Brodie right into the hands of her accomplice?

Creed just wished Brodie had trusted him. How could she not know that, of course, he’d fight right alongside her?

Hank skidded to a halt. Creed almost tripped over him. He grabbed for a branch before he lost his balance. With his free hand, he reached under his shirt for the Ruger in his waistband. Someone was coming straight at them.

He crouched down close to Hank, shoving the big dog behind him to shield him with his body. The dog was not happy, but Creed held the leash short and tight. A paw swung up and batted him between the shoulder blades.

Brodie stumbled out from between the trees and startled at the sight of them. Eyes wide, she kept quiet, but relief swept over her face. When she saw Hank, she fell to her knees and waited for Creed to release him.

“We found Orlando. Sara has a gun on him. She tied him up. In the meadow.” Her whispers came out between chuffs of breath.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

She shook her head. Gulped in air. Swatted wet hair from her face.

He squatted down in front of her. Waiting while she hugged Hank, and the dog took care of her in a way that Creed would never be able to. She smiled at him as her fingers examined his new vest until she realized it was one of the bulletproof ones. Then her expression turned serious again.

He wasn’t sure how to tell her what he knew.

“Brodie, there’s a chance Sara might be working with Orlando.”

Her eyes stayed on Hank when she said, “I know.”

It wasn’t what he expected.

“You know?”

“They said some things like they already knew each other.” Finally, her eyes looked up and met his. “But Ryder, she’s scared. I could see it. She’s scared of him. And when she told me that she’s on his list, too, I could tell she believes he’ll kill her. She's not lying about that.”

“Okay.” He pulled out his cell phone. Checked Jason’s location. Sent a text that he had Brodie. Then added:

Sara's holding Orlando. In the meadow. Meet you there.