Page 60 of Chasing Creed

Sara curled up, and for the first time in a long time, she drifted off to sleep.

40

Mississippi

Creed tried to be patient. He wanted to leave the scene as soon as he and Grace were no longer needed. His jeans were caked with mud and clay. His once white T-shirt was now gray and blood-stained. Sweat-drenched and cold, even the sweatshirt he’d found in the back of his Jeep couldn’t make him warm.

One of the State Patrol officers had already taken his statement. An abbreviated one. Norwich had insisted he stay put on the back of his Jeep’s tailgate until one of the EMTs could take a look at him. His first impulse was that he didn’t want to be without the sweatshirt. Involuntary shivers sporadically caught him off guard. Grace sat beside him, leaning against him as if to add warmth. Once in a while she’d lick his hand. She was worried about him. And now, as the young woman cleaned the wound on his arm, he realized Grace had reason to worry. The graze was worse than he thought.

“You’re lucky,” she said. “Four or five inches to the left, and you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

When he didn’t understand, she tapped his chest over his heart. Then she air-drew a straight line to his arm where the bullet had carved through the skin.

“For a stubborn man, he’s lucky to be lucky.” It was Norwich coming up behind the EMT. “Should he be driving tonight?”

“Sure. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Five hours. In the dark,” Norwich added.

The young woman looked up at Norwich then back to Creed. She could tell she was in the middle of something.

“I’m not a doctor,” she finally said. To Creed she added, “Keep the wound covered, and the arm elevated while you drive. I recommend you take something for pain management. You should talk to your doctor about antibiotics.”

When she was finished, Creed thanked her. The EMT glanced at Norwich again then said to both of them, “The two of you really should consider getting some rest. Something like this? What happened here tonight, after the adrenaline and shock wear off, the exhaustion can hit you like a baseball bat.” She tapped Creed on the opposite shoulder, “Take care of yourself and your little dog, okay?” She patted Grace then went to join her crew.

Most of the vehicles from the variety of agencies were already gone. The absence of their headlights and interior lights made the night darker. And quieter. Deputy Perry was gone by the time they’d gotten back with Kyle. The first rescue crew had taken him immediately to whatever hospital was waiting for him. All the triage to stabilize him had already been done back in the woods alongside the collapsing station wagon.

“Alvin said we’re free to go,” Norwich told Creed, her eyes still examining him.

He glanced toward the house. The last time Creed had seen the large man, he was leading a forensics team to the backyard. His deep bass voice could be heard warning them about more traps and possibly tripwires. “Be on the lookout. Pick up your feet.”

“I reserved two rooms at the same hotel,” Norwich said, but now her eyes followed his in search of Alvin’s team. “You could at least get cleaned up. Get a meal for you and Grace. Maybe sleep a few hours before heading out on the road.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“You don’t have to go—” She did a double-take like maybe she hadn’t heard him correctly. “You do?”

“I’m afraid she won’t rest unless I do.” He chin-pointed at the little dog, avoiding her name. With ears pitched forward, her eyes watched him intently. She could smell the blood on his T-shirt and the antiseptic the EMT had used. She could probably smell his exhaustion.

“Well, that’s…good.” Norwich stared at him now like she couldn’t believe that he agreed with her. Then, as if he might quickly change his mind, she added, “I’ll pick up some dinner. I can leave it at your door.”

Still, she waited for him to argue or dismiss her gesture of providing dinner, but he simply said, “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

He couldn’t deny that he was bone-tired. But the truth was, he wanted to get a closer look at Grace. She had raced back and forth through those woods four times. Leaping, tunneling, scurrying through thickets and debris. He’d brushed off mud and clay. Raked pine needles from her coat. Run his hands over her and her paws, feeling for open scrapes or wounds. But in the dark, with only the Jeep’s interior lights, he might have missed something. And Grace would never complain.

It would do them both some good to eat and rest. He needed a shower. As much as he hated to admit it, his head was starting to throb. And although he played it down, the bullet wound on his arm did hurt like hell.

They left the crime scene at the same time. Norwich’s headlights lit up his rear window like a guardian angel watching over him. Their roles had reversed, and for this one time, he would allow it.

41

Omaha, Nebraska

It was late when Pakula dropped Maggie off at her hotel. Her last text message from Ryder said that he and Grace would be “off the grid.” It was his way of telling her he’d be on a search and unable to call or respond. She texted back. Said she’d talk to him tomorrow. Before she clicked SEND, she added a heart emoji. Hesitated. Neither she nor Ryder were heart-emoji people. She clicked SEND anyway.

The truth was it didn’t matter what time of day it was. If she needed to talk, she knew he’d pick up or get back to her no matter how late it was. There was a time or two he had trekked through a remote search field just to find a cellular connection. But they were good about giving each other space. And grace.

And right now, she was grateful for that, because she wasn’t ready to tell him his sister might be on a hit list.