Page 108 of Midnight Creed

“You okay back there, Jarhead?” Sully glanced over his shoulder, but he didn’t slow down.

He wanted to tell him about Caleb, but he knew he couldn’t. Right now, all Creed’s brain concentrated on was the chill in the air. How the dampness seemed to cling to him. How the branches appeared out of nowhere at the last minute.

They started downhill, and he skidded on wet leaves. He grabbed onto a sapling before he fell. More frustrating was the chuffing sounds Sully made in front of him. The old man almost seemed pleased that Creed wasn’t able to keep up.

Finally, he could see the outline of a tent. A rope was tied between two trees with pots and pans hanging from it along with a couple of battery-operated lanterns. Two metal folding chairs sat in front of a firepit surrounded by rocks. Wet ashes in the middle.

The lantern light didn’t reach all the way around, and Creed couldn’t make out some of the other items. There was movement in the trees beyond. Another tent. Maybe a flashlight.

Sully stopped and turned, staying in front of him. His face was serious and glistened in the streak of moonlight that finally made its way down.

“You know how I let that boy stay with us out here?”

He knew. How did he already know about Caleb? Creed met his eyes as best he could.

“Whether it was for the best or not, I don’t know,” Sully shrugged.

Creed wanted to tell him he had done a good thing, but Gunner came wandering out of the tent. The dog looked fine. There was a big yawn, then she shook herself. She wagged, coming to greet Creed.

“You probably saved him.” For a little while longer. Creed stopped himself from saying anything more.

Sully nodded. His mouth twitched like he still wasn’t sure how to tell Creed what he’d brought him here for. “I’m real glad to hear you say that.” He shuffled his feet. Hesitated. “Because I did it again.”

Before Creed could ask what he meant, Sully went over to the tent and bent down to look inside. He told someone, “It’s okay. It’s safe to come out. This is the friend I told you about.”

In the dim light, a small thin figure crawled out from between the canvas flaps. His hair was tousled and sticking up straight up in places. His face smeared with dirt, and his new sneakers caked with mud. But otherwise, Will looked unharmed.

Unharmed. And alive.

72

Wednesday, December 6

Florida Panhandle

Maggie woke up and rolled over. The spot next to her was empty. She sat up, and in the dim light, looked around. She had fallen asleep in Ryder’s arms, but now she couldn’t see him anywhere in the loft apartment.

“Ryder?”

The only sound came from the floor next to the bed. Rufus was snoring. Another glance around, and she realized Grace was gone, too. Darkness filled the windows. She checked her wristwatch. One-thirty. They had fallen into bed just as the sun was setting. Both of them were exhausted. It was their first opportunity for sleep, after too many hours of piecing together the events of the last several days. After trying to answer the remaining questions.

But the most important question had been answered: Will Donahue was alive and safe. He was with his mother back home in her apartment above the marina, and if Sheriff Norwich got her way, the boy wouldn’t be returning to Dora Ramsey’s custody any time soon.

Maggie hadn’t bothered to drive all the way back to her hotel room on the beach, borrowing a T-shirt and boxer shorts from Ryder. She was chilly now as she padded barefoot around his place, looking for any sign of where he’d gone.

Her clothes were left on one end of the sofa, neatly folded. It made her smile. She hadn’t left them neatly folded. Her holstered weapon and cell phone were arranged on top of the nearby side table. Even her shoes were placed on the floor in front of the clothes, nowhere near where she had kicked them off.

As she passed a window that overlooked the property, lights caught her eye. Hannah’s house looked dark. So was Jason’s doublewide trailer. But every single light appeared to be on at the medical clinic.

Her first thought was an emergency with one of the dogs. She grabbed her cell phone and tapped Ryder’s number. Ringing came from the kitchen counter. He hadn’t taken his phone.

She changed quickly into her clothes and checked on Rufus. He was still snoring. Instead of rousing all the dogs downstairs in the kennel, she took the back exit. The night air was wet with the scent of pine trees. A breeze made her wish she had her jacket, but she wasn’t sure where it had ended up.

As she crossed the property to the clinic, her heart started to race. Why didn’t he wake her up? If one of the dogs was in trouble, she’d want to help.

She’d never been inside this building before. When she opened the door, she could already hear voices. She followed the sound down a long hallway, glancing inside the rooms she passed. The place was impressive. No surprise there. She couldn’t imagine Ryder cutting any corners for his dogs.

Finally, in the last room at the end, she found them. The area was large, with two walls lined with kennels. The light was low, so she had to squint to see that only three of the spaces were occupied.