Creed disappeared inside the small shed beside the main enclosure. Paradise heard a creaking sound and the gate began to open between her and Abyss. Not enough for him to get through, but the panther sprang at it and thrust his paw through the opening. She backed away.
Creed reappeared and came around to where she stood with her back pressed against the outside fence. “It will take him a while to shred through that, but make no mistake, those claws will be plenty sharp enough when he reaches you. Abyss is a terrific hunter. You can spend your last few minutes alive remembering all the ways you could have acted differently and saved yourself.” He strode toward his truck and didn’t look back.
Paradise watched the jaguar worry the gate, pulling at the metal with his scalpel-like two-inch claws until the gate began to bend back toward the inside. How long did she have? Her muscles found new strength, and she leaped at the fence and began to climb again. Her feet hurt and bled as she climbed and fought her way to the top. With both hands on the rail, she spared a glance toward the panther again. His head was nearly through.
With a final scrambling of her feet, she heaved her left leg over the top and dropped onto the other side of the perimeter. Her hands couldn’t hold on any longer, and she fell to the ground as Abyss charged through the bent and mangled gate.
Snarling, the jaguar paced the fence, but he couldn’t get to her. In the next instant the big cat leaped onto the fence and began to climb. The inner fence was angled inward to keep in the predators, but the other fence had no such safety feature.
Paradise barely took time to shove her feet into her sandals. She ran down the dirt track to where it split into a Y. Whichway should she go to get to the road? If the panther succeeded in climbing the fence, tracking her would be easy.
She felt her back pocket for the item she’d picked up in the truck. The screwdriver wouldn’t be much of a weapon, but it was all she had.
Stymied.Blake vibrated with the need todo something, but he and Drew sat paralyzed in the truck waiting for direction. He didn’t dare head for a location in case he was in the exact wrong spot to save Paradise.
The seconds ticked by like hours as he considered what to do. Blake’s phone rang, and he grabbed it. “It’s the governor.”
“Blake, I pulled some strings and did a trace on Angela’s bank account for the past year. And Bear’s. He’s been paying a Creed Greene ten thousand dollars every two months for the past six months. He appears to work in the sheriff’s department in Baldwin County, so I suspect some involvement with whatever Angela and Bear are doing.”
It all slammed into place with a sickening thud in Blake’s core. “Since Paradise came back and started poking into her parents’ murders, Creed’s had it in for her. It makes sense. It has to be Creed. And he’s had a few wild animals. Did you happen to look up any property he owns? I know of one piece of land where he’s kept wolverines.” But no big cats that they could see.
“He has three properties in Baldwin County.” The governor rattled off the first two locations.
“I know about those.”
“The last one is along Nolte Creek, and it’s an odd shape that winds back to another area. Did you search all of it?”
Blake headed for the truck with Drew running beside him. “We’ll head there now.”
“I’m getting in touch with the state police since the sheriff’s department is compromised. I’ll have them send out some officers.”
“Thanks again.” Blake ended the call and held out the address to Drew. “Get me directions and send this to Mason.”
Before Drew could contact him, Blake’s phone sounded with a call from Mason. “Hey, buddy, you find anything?”
“I just spotted a black panther!”
Mason’s voice was nearly a scream in Blake’s ear and he held the phone out an inch. “Where?”
“Off Nolte Creek. I’m out with Dad and we’re driving around and flying the drone. I almost didn’t see it in the shadows, but then it looked up. It’s got blue eyes, Blake. I’ve never seen that before. And it’s a big cat. Huge. I’ll bet it’s three hundred pounds and over six feet long not counting the tail.”
“That’s close to us. We’re only five miles from there.” Blake headed for the truck and motioned for Drew to get in too. “Keep the cat in sight and watch for Paradise. We’re on our way. Call Drew with updates because I’ll be driving.”
Blake started the truck and pulled away from the property with a plume of dust behind him. At least they were close. He prayed for Paradise’s safety and for her to know help was coming.
Drew buckled his seat belt when the alarm began to ding. “That Mason is a good kid. He’s streaming the video from his drone straight to my phone. I see the panther, and it’s on a mission. I’m afraid it might be tracking something. And the kid is right—it’s huge.”
Blake accelerated. It had to be tracking Paradise, but they were only a mile away from the property. A white truck passed, goingthe opposite direction. “That was Creed Greene!” Blake slammed on his brakes, then shook his head and resumed driving. “I’m not going after him. He’d only lie anyway. Does the drone see her at all?”
“No. Oh, wait, there she is. She’s only a few yards ahead of the cat. She’s stopping and facing it with something in her hands. Maybe a screwdriver? She’s holding it like a knife, but I don’t think it’s going to stop that panther.”
Drew gestured. “Turn right here at the next little drive. I think it’s all dirt.”
Blake gripped the steering wheel. “Get your gun ready.” The truck fishtailed as he made the right turn without slowing. “Any idea how far?”
“I can’t tell for sure. Not far though.”
The track was tight with vegetation brushing both sides of his pickup. The hump in the middle of the path meant that the truck tried to head for the ditch every chance it got, and he didn’t dare go as fast as he’d like around the curves in case he came out of one and hit Paradise.
