“You got it.”

Then before he could end the call, he heard Alonzo say, “Good luck, Mr. Creed.”

CHAPTER 68

Jack had given them a head start, just as he’d promised.

It was impossible to run.

Maggie held Tully up. They stumbled and shuffled. She had his arm looped around her shoulder so he could lean on her. But again the handcuffs trapped her left arm against her body, which limited their movement even more.

She needed to get them out of sight from the cabin. Not such a difficult task—it was still dark inside the forest, though she could see the sky starting to lighten. A mist still hung over the river, thick enough to make you second-guess what you saw.

Already Maggie’s adrenaline came to her aid, shoving her exhausted mind into gear. Urgency trampled panic, kicking her into fight or flight overdrive. For now it had to be flight. At least until she could get Tully somewhere out of sight and halfway safe.

She pulled them behind the trunk of huge live oak and she gently yanked Tully down into a sitting position.

“What are we doing?” he whispered.

His eyes were focused even if his mind couldn’t make his body work as well as he wanted.

Maggie untangled his arm from around her. Then she ripped her hiking boot off her right foot without bothering to untie the laces. She had to roll her sock down almost all the way off her foot to reach the item she had placed in the cuff of her sock. It had worked its way to the bottom of her foot. When she had rummaged through Trooper Campos’s gun belt and taken the handcuffs, she had taken the key as well.

Tully saw what she had in her fingers. He shook his head like he couldn’t believe it, but then he grinned.

Metal clicked against metal and in seconds they were free of each other. Maggie ignored the raw welt and caked blood on her wrist. She pulled down the sleeve of her shirt and hurried to put her boot back on.

“Okay, what’s the plan?” Tully continued to whisper and for the first time he sounded almost like himself.

With his right hand finally free, she saw him touch his shoulder, his fingers anxious to feel the damage. He winced and stopped. His hand hovered over the wound.

“Clean shot through?” he asked her.

“It looks like it.”

“Okay. I can do this.”

She had witnessed how weak and dizzy he had been on his feet even with her help. He’d only slow her down.

“We need to find a place where you can stay put and be safe.”

He didn’t respond. He just stared at her. She had expected an argument. Never had she expected this quiet, wounded look. Then it occurred to her. He thought she had taken him up on his earlier offer. He thought she was leaving him behind.

“I’m not leaving this forest without you.”

“Sure. I know.”

“I’m serious, Tully.”

She peeked around the tree trunk. Jack had promised he and Otis would give them a half hour. Experience had taught her that killers don’t usually keep their promises. She figured she had fifteen to twenty minutes at best.

“Come on,” she said, standing and stretching out her left arm for him to use as a pull-up bar.

He tried standing on his own. Cursed under his breath. Then he grabbed hold and allowed her to help haul him to his feet. He slammed a palm against the tree to steady himself, his lower lip between his teeth.

She found a place for them to cross the river. It took too much time. She was surprised to find the rain had transformed the shallow water to waist-deep. The air temperature was balmy and warm, so Maggie was shocked to find the river ice cold. Tully didn’t complain. She made him follow close behind with a hand latched onto each of her shoulders. They waddled liked ducks at an excruciatingly slow pace.

On the other side of the river Maggie hunted for a spot to climb up the bank. This side was the state forest, left wild and undeveloped. They had to wade through water lilies and reeds. Finally Maggie found a downed tree, partially submerged in the river. They could walk alongside it, holding on for balance. She pulled herself up the slippery clay bank, then turned around and helped Tully.

Not far from the river they found the perfect hiding place under another fallen tree. The root ball had been yanked out of the ground, providing a nest of twisted roots that snaked and weaved together. From within, Tully would be able to see out. After they smeared his blue FBI windbreaker with mud, it would be difficult to see him inside.

She handed him the ASR canister that she had also taken off Trooper Campos’s belt and stuck inside the cuff of her other sock.

“It’ll slow him down.” She tried to sound convincing.

When she turned to leave, Tully grabbed her arm. He waited for her to look him in the eyes.

“I know you’re going back, aren’t you?”

“It’s the only way,” Maggie said. “If you can’t outrun a killer, you’ve got to outwit him.”

He didn’t look pleased, but she knew he wouldn’t try to talk her out of it. He dug in his windbreaker and pulled out the pen Gwen had given him. It was all he had to offer.

“Put the X-Acto blade into place and slit that bastard’s throat.”

CHAPTER 69

Creed had put Bolo in the front of the two-man inflatable and the dog was working the air, his huge nose making snuffling sounds. He let the dog help, though he knew exactly where he was going. As he rowed he watched the GPS’s screen and followed, taking narrow creeks and winding his way around fresh debris that the rains and wind had set loose.

He’d been up Blackwater River before and was familiar with most of the creeks that forked into it. The river was thirty-one miles long and was one of the best canoe trips in the area. The mist lifted little by little and night lifted into dawn. Streaks of light shot through the trees as daylight broke on the other side of the tall pines. With the sunrise came a fresh hope and renewed belief that anything was possible.

He had changed his cell phone ringer to Vibrate but he had lost all reception miles ago, so he turned it off to preserve the battery.

“Not much farther, Bolo,” he told the dog, who acknowledged him with a wag of his tail, but that was the only thing that moved on his rigid body.

A couple more bends and twists and they would be at the property that John Howard Elliott owned. Creed only hoped it wasn’t too late.

CHAPTER 70

Maggie thought she heard a helicopter in the distance. Was her imagination already playing tricks on her? A part of her wanted to stay with Tully and hide until someone came to their rescue. The sound of the helicopter made her hesitate and reconsider. Then it faded and disappeared. Replaced by the drumming of her heart.

Jack would expect Maggie and Tully to trip over each other. He’d expect them to be frightened, to get frustrated then get angry with each other. He’d want them to become enemies, so that by the time he caught them they would be so enraged with each other they’d be begging him to kill the other first.

Jack would also count on them running as fast and as far away as they could. Using their allotted time to run for help.

What he wouldn’t expect was for Maggie to come back.

When she left Tully she backtracked. It took hardly any time now that she was alone. As the sky continued to lighten and the mist dissipated, she needed to be more careful about taking cover. Crossing the river, she remembered every obstacle and quickly maneuvered around them. By now she was drenched in sweat, and the bone-deep cold of the river actually revitalized her senses.