Page 85 of Trusted Instinct
“We have to get off this shore. There’s a fire.” Auralia pointed up the slope. “There’s flood waters.” She pointed toward the bridge. “There’s night falling.” As Auralia pointed toward the sky, she used her news reporter voice —slow, clear, steady, and believable. “It’s your turn to go across. Can you come lie down here?”
And to Auralia’s complete astonishment, Brandy did.
“You have to be very still.” Auralia pulled the life vest on, clasped it, and tightened the tabs. “I have you on my rope. Creed has you on his rope. He’s—” she almost said “a Marine,” but thought better of it. Brandy might think a Marine might seek retribution. “He’s been doing this kind of thing all his life. You’re safe if you lie very still. It might feel rocky. Close your eyes. Hum a tune. We’ll have you across pretty quick.”
It was a charmed extraction.
Everything aligned.
Brandy went over.
Auralia went over.
Creed pulled Auralia into his arms and held her tight against him. Her hands clasped around his neck. To say she was surprised this worked was an understatement.
Auralia felt hot, tired tears of relief spring to her lashes.
Rou pulled her attention around with her whining, and when Auralia leaned down to tell Rou what a good girl she’d been, hanging off the back of Creed’s pack as he moved hand over hand over the water, she found Rougarou staring down at the curve of shore that turned and continued behind the rocks—the place where Brandy had been standing.
And now all that was left were her footprints from where she walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Auralia
“This is a bad idea, Auralia.”
“You have a better one?” She pointed to Rou. “Someone has to go after her. What if no one went after Parker when he wandered away in his stupor?”
Creed pressed his lips together.
“You know more about field medicine than I do,” Auralia was trying to be pragmatic. “Honey should be here soon, and then you hand Sheelah’s care over to him, and you follow your shirt’s directions to Rou.” She put her hand on her head. “That was such a strange sentence.” She took a breath. “And if that doesn’t work. She’s wearing a tracking collar. Iniquus will know where we are. You can monitor everything over the video and comms on her collar.”
“You’ll hold on to her lead the whole time?” Creed was fighting some war inside himself; she could see it raging in his eyes. He didn’t want her to go, and he’d never stop her from doing what she wanted.
“I can do that,” Auralia said.
“And you press this button here if you need me.” He bent down and pointed. “That signals my phone directly. I always look and listen before I call out. So if you don’t hear from me straight off, it’s because I’m following protocol.”
“Yup. Hand me your headlamp.” She opened her free hand. “I don’t want to be down the river with just this thing.” She shook her wrist with Remi’s rubber band gift. “You have something to see by?”
“In my pack,” he said, setting the headlamp to green before handing it over.
“Gotta go.” Auralia rose onto her toes and kissed him. “I’ll be back. Ten minutes tops.”
Once she had Rou’s leash in hand, Auralia held out her leg and said, “Rou scent. Scent.” After all, Brandy was wearing Auralia’s clothes, and if nothing else, they were washed in the same laundry detergent. “Rou search.”
Rougarou’s nose went up, her nose went down, then she shimmied and danced in her little red shoes as she tracked Brandy.
At this point in the search, Auralia didn’t need Rou. There were only two sets of tracks that were visible on this stretch. There were the heavy boot prints of a man coming and going, and nearby were the smooth-bottomed tracks made with Auralia’s swim shoes.
Now they added her hiking boots and Rou’s doggie shoes, Creed would have no trouble getting to them even without his new technology.
At this point, ten minutes had come and gone.
They’d walked a much farther distance than Auralia had contemplated. She thought she’d find Brandy around the corner, and that would be that. But now Auralia was following Rou up onto the paved parking area of a public boat ramp.
There was a single jacked-up pickup truck parked there with a boat hitched to the back.
