Page 92 of Fallen Creed

She lifted the revolver and with the expertise of someone familiar with guns; she unlatched the cylinder, tilted it and clicked until bullets started filling her palm. Three of them went into her pocket. Then she showed the dogman the other three and, with animated motion, slid each bullet back into the chamber. She slammed the cylinder back and spun it before clicking it in place.

Ariel pointed the gun again at the man’s legs. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.

—70—

Ariel was out of his reach. Instead of diving for the gun, Creed dropped to his knees, putting his body—center mass—directly in front of Grace.

The click echoed off the walls almost as loud as a gunshot.

Creed looked down at his chest, expecting to see a wound he didn’t feel. He did this before realizing his good fortune. The chamber was empty. He stayed down in case she fired a second shot.

Then, true to her character, Ariel did something else he didn’t expect. She laughed. She laughed hard, relaxing her grip on the gun so she could hold her middle.

“You’re such a dumbass,” she said. “I wish you could have seen your face.”

“Stop it, Ariel.” Libby told her. “We’re supposed to be helping each other.” Then she marched across the trailer, holding out her hand. “I want my gun back. Now!’

“No way.” Ariel’s nostrils flared. She tucked the weapon into the waistband at the small of her back like an experienced gangster. “I’m obviously the only one willing to use it. It stays with me.”

She pushed passed Libby, brushed passed Creed and Grace to grab her cell phone off the counter. She glared down at him as she tucked the phone inside a pocket. He could easily read that glare. She was telling him she knew he had taken her other phone.

But Creed knew something too, and he held her eyes to convey his own message: Yes, I have it, and now I know you want to keep it a secret.

—71—

Grand Island, Nebraska

Jason left Scout and Hank with Brodie and Maggie in the hotel’s half empty pub. He insisted on unpacking the Jeep by himself, and for once, Brodie didn’t argue. She was eager to find out any new information Maggie might have about Ryder. Also, Maggie was one of the few people Brodie felt comfortable with. Last June, they had bonded over decomposing bodies left deep inside Blackwater River State Forest.

It took three trips to unload, partly because Jason wasn’t used to the snow. He was finding it difficult to maneuver in the boots Hannah had sent with him. They felt big and awkward, like clown shoes on feet that were already oversized. The snow had stopped falling, but it was a challenge lumbering through the drifts, then reckoning with icy surfaces where snowplows had gone over.

Finally finished, he checked the time while he slow-walked back down the hall to the elevators. Was it too late to call Taylor? He hesitated. He hadn’t talked to her in two days, only sending text messages while on the road. But even they were short, casual updates:

STOPPING FOR GAS IN MEMPHIS

JUST CROSSED THE MISSOURI/NEBRASKA BORDER

SNOW!!

He was careful—maybe too careful—to leave out words that were inappropriate. Words or phrases that might spook her like, “missing you.” Taylor had made it clear she didn’t want anything serious after everything she’d just been through. In the last year she’d dealt with two obsessed suitors: one willing to die for her; the other willing to kill.

It sounded crazy. If Jason hadn’t been a part of the actual drama, he might wonder if it was an exaggeration. But he knew what she’d gone through. It made him care about her more. She’d been to Afghanistan as an army surgical nurse and survived. It would take time, but she’d survive what she was going through now, too, trying to regain custody of her son and convince the boy’s grandparents that she was worthy. Jason didn’t mind being along for that journey.

Before he reached the bank of the elevators, he turned around and headed back to the adjoining rooms where he’d dropped off his and Brodie’s stuff. He’d transferred perishables from their coolers to the mini-frigs, but hadn’t unpacked anything else. He’d left the door between the two rooms open, like they’d done at their hotel last night.

He pulled out his phone. One more glance at the time, and he hit the call button before he changed his mind.

Three rings then, “Hey!”

A single word spoken with excitement. That’s all it took, and he felt the tension slide away. How was it possible for the sound of one person’s voice to make him feel so good?

“I forgot how cold snow could be,” Jason told her, keeping himself from blurting out what he really wanted to say, that he missed her.

She laughed. “It was sunny and eighty-five here today. So, are you finally there?”

“Yeah, I just brought up all our stuff to our rooms.”

“Rooms? You and Scout need more than one room?”