Page 10 of Chasing Creed

Now, Jason nudged her with his elbow and said, “I think this weather, along with the sheriff, got us all a bit spooked.” He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

She wanted to lean into his touch. Funny, it wasn’t that long ago she didn’t want anyone near her, let alone touching her.

“Hey, guys,” Ryder called out. “I think I found something.”

6

Mississippi

Creed held up a single dirty sock. He carefully pinched it between his gloved fingers, so he didn’t contaminate the scene.

“It looks a little small, but it has to be his,” Creed said. “Nobody has a dirty sock in their vehicle unless it belongs to them, right?”

“This is so not the way we do things,” Jason said.

“Believe me, I’m tempted to pack up, turn around, and go back home. The risks are starting to pile up. But what if someone is seriously injured?”

“Injured or not, what if the dogs lead us to the person who did this?”

And there it was. Jason just said exactly what Creed was worried about. The one thing that was rubbing a raw nerve.

“Tell me again why we don’t carry weapons?” Brodie asked.

“We’re not law enforcement,” Creed told her.

“But both of us have carry permits,” Jason said. “And weapons in our vehicles. By the way, Brodie’s gotten really good at target-practice. She’s ready to take the test.”

Creed pretended not to be surprised. He hated how many things he didn’t know about Brodie. She and Jason handled daily kennel chores together. They played poker with Jason’s veteran buddies at the Segway House. Lately, Creed realized there were plenty of things he didn’t know or hadn’t paid enough attention to. Perhaps he could blame Maggie O’Dell.

Since Christmas, Maggie had been spending more time at K9 CrimeScents. Last time she even brought her two dogs, Harvey and Jake. Drove them all the way down from Virginia. It was just for a long three-day weekend, but the fact that she took time away from her job as an FBI profiler was a huge step in their relationship. A step neither of them attempted to label or define.

Jason and Brodie were waiting for his response about weapons.

“I’ll talk to Sheriff Norwich about it. See what she thinks.”

Truth was, Creed had never seen it as a problem before. He knew he could defend himself and his dogs. Or at least, he thought he could. But now that Brodie and Hank were joining them on more searches, maybe packing a weapon was something to consider.

“So, what’s the plan here?” Jason asked again.

Scout shuffled impatiently at his feet. His nose bumped against Jason’s daypack where the dog knew his reward toy was. A five-hour drive and this delay had both Grace and Scout antsy to get started. Hank was the only one satisfied to wait and watch as long as Brodie was at his side.

“I think one of us uses the dirty sock for a target scent,” Creed said. “And one of us tracks the scent I wiped off the steering wheel. The problem is there’s no guarantee either of these scents belong to Kyle Lawrence.”

“We’ll either find the person who’s bleeding from an attack,” Jason said, thumbing over his back at the vehicle, “or we’ll find the guy who caused all that blood.”

“Which is the reason we all stay close to each other,” Creed told them.

7

Omaha, Nebraska

Maggie O’Dell couldn’t remember a time she’d visited this state when the weather wasn’t erupting at her arrival. The pilot had to circle and delay their approach while Maggie dug fingernails into the first-class seat’s armrests and watched the surrounding clouds light up and rumble beneath them.

She hated flying. And it never got easier. Just once it’d be nice if the weather would cooperate.

Finally on the ground, she grabbed her case from the overhead bin and made her way out of the plane. Only when she stepped foot through the airport doors did she realize she had been holding her breath. For how long, she didn’t know. Her body had gotten so good at instinctively countering her fears, she hardly noticed.

She also knew this airport well enough that she didn’t need signs to tell her how to get to the baggage claim. So, her eyes watched out the windows. Rain pelted the glass. Light bounced through the clouds, but the thunder could barely be heard inside the building.