Page 90 of Chasing Creed

Creed hated being in defensive mode. Only hours before, he felt like they were prepared. Now, he realized that this guy named Orlando had probably been planning this attack since the day he tracked Jason and Brodie from the Mississippi crime scene.

How much information did he already have about their property? About the facilities? Did he have another drone? Had he set traps?

No, he needed to calm himself. The dogs would have alerted to an intruder anywhere close to the buildings. Orlando might have been able to jam and disable their security system, but his high-tech equipment couldn’t outsmart their dogs.

Now, in Hannah’s kitchen, they regrouped. Colfax and Benny had been parked in Benny’s truck on a road that ran parallel to the only side of the property that didn’t have a natural border of trees or a river. Jason had called them in.

Sully joined them with Gunner at his side. His eyes were filled with questions. Jason had texted him to stay put when the shooting started. He had been holed up in his trailer on the edge of the woods, equipped with high-powered binoculars along with an iPad to access the different camera feeds, which were now useless.

“What about the dogs?” Jason asked. “There’s got to be a scent they could get on this guy. Maybe they could track him? Sounds like he’s been on the property.”

Sully started fishing deep in the pockets of his baggy cargo pants. He brought out a Ziploc and held it up. “I kept a few of those cigarette butts.”

Creed met Jason’s eyes. Without saying it out loud, he was asking if those would work.

He didn’t like this. Too much urgency. It felt on the verge of panic. That’s when mistakes were made. When things could spiral out of control quickly. They did have the home-court advantage. Orlando may have been hanging around, but he’d never know the property as well as he and Jason knew it.

“Chasing an assassin,” he told them. “It isn’t anywhere in our wheelhouse. It feels too much like setting up our dogs and us to be hurt. Or worse.”

“We can’t just sit here and wait.”

His phone pinged. Everyone was here. Still, he dug out the phone, anyway. It was Maggie. He had a voice message and a text from her earlier. He didn’t have time for her to be trying to apologize. He glanced at it and started to put the phone back in his pocket. A couple of words caught his attention.

“What is it?” Hannah asked.

“Maggie says the assassin might be a woman. A woman named Sara.”

Now there was panic as his eyes flew around the room. “Where’s Brodie?”

“Wait a minute.” Hannah stopped him. “She actually said that? That’s not possible.”

“Where’s Brodie?”

“She took Sara and the dog to settle into the guest room.”

He was already running down the hallway. The guest room door was closed. No knock. He grabbed the doorknob and shoved it open. A startled dog stared at him from on top of the bed. There was no one else in the room.

Hand still fisted over the doorknob, he pulled it closed, turned and almost slammed into Jason. Hannah was already at the end of the hallway, inspecting a side door to the outside. They rarely used it, and she kept it locked at all times.

Even before she stepped aside, Creed could see both deadbolts were unlocked.

64

Brodie didn’t stop to think. She didn’t need to. She would not let this woman fight their battle alone. When she followed Sara out the door, Sara had tried to get her to go back. Brodie was tired of everyone treating her as a weak link that might trip them up.

“You have people who care about you,” Sara told her, waving her off as she dashed from one building to another. The entire time her head pivoted and her eyes searched.

“Two is better than one,” Brodie told her. Sara was fast, but Brodie was faster. No way, she’d be able to shake her. “Besides, I know this property. You don’t.”

Thunder rumbled overhead. Sara ran for cover inside the forest, back behind the fieldhouse. The trees here were thick with only a few critter trails. Not a good place to start. She stopped. Leaned against a huge magnolia tree. A glimpse at Sara’s eyes and Brodie could see she was disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. The sky grew darker, and the canopy of branches threatened to snuff out the remaining light.

“We can go to my meadow,” Brodie told her. “He knows the spot. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t at least check it. We can trap him there.”

Back in the guest room, she’d watched Sara reload the handgun and shove it in the back of her waistband, pulling down her shirt to cover it. With the way she’d taken down that drone, this Orlando guy didn’t stand a chance.

Sara grabbed her wrist and made her stop. She waited for Brodie’s eyes and leaned in close.

“Listen to me carefully. When the time comes, do as I tell you. Okay? Do exactly as I tell you, and this doesn’t need to be painful. If you don’t do what I say, it’s gonna hurt. A lot.”