Stranded

the other side of the forest. Been in the family for years. But the taxes don’t list a dwelling.”
    “It might not,” Creed said and the urgency kicked up his pulse. “Some of them are shacks. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. So they don’t qualify as a dwelling. Can you give a GPS coordinate?”
    Alonzo gave him what he needed. He asked the agent to call the Coast Guard and give them the information they needed to put a helicopter up.
    “Cell phone reception’s going to be spotty once I get on the river,” he told the agent. “So you might not hear from me.”
    “Wait a minute. Why not wait for the Coast Guard? They should be able to spot the cabin. It’s almost daylight there, right?”
    Creed grimaced but smiled. “Agent Alonzo, have you ever looked down from above on a forest?”
    Silence.
    “Tell them my dog will be wearing a bright yellow vest. I don’t want them thinking I’m one of the bad guys.”
    “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 thelaces. 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 thatkillers 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