Page 38 of Ultimate Freedom

“Have you contacted the Terrace authorities?” This time Norrie had a say.

“See… I did. And they checked. Said he’s left that area. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him around here?”

Demi’s tone hardened. “Not yet, but we’re kinda expecting him.”

Dawson brooded over another long sip of his coffee, and then burst out. “I know Whit wanted to surprise you, but under these circumstances I don’t mind letting the cat out of the bag. He called for Glen to be at the airport to meet the noon flight from Vancouver today. He’s hoping to make it… said he’d try his damnedest to get there in time.

No other words could have made Demi feel like a daunting threat had just been stopped. Overwhelming relief poured through her body. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach immediately changed to gratitude… and then pleasure. Clenching her fingers to stop from hugging Dawson, she instead clutched at Norrie’s searching hand and held on.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time, Dawson.” Norrie spoke the words ringing in Demi’s heart.

“Yeah. I know. I wasn’t gonna say anything but looking at you two in misery is more than a guy can take. It’ll be okay. Trust me. No one’s gonna get in town without us knowing about it.”

Before they could say another word, Clive came in for his normal coffee break and ruined their happy time. “Hey, I just about killed myself over the shovel you left lying on the sidewalk, Norrie. Not the best way to welcome your customers.”

Chapter Twenty-two

Whit ran through the busy Vancouver airport like a bat out of hell and still missed his plane by few minutes. Heading to the reservation desk, he booked the next flight. Then had to waste a few hours, but at least he knew the planes were able to land up north, which wasn’t always the case.

He called Glen. “Sorry, buddy, I’ll be later than planned.”

“Hey, as long as the planes are flying we’re golden. I’ll grab some lunch and do a bit of shopping. See you soon.”

By the time Whit met up with Glen and they were safely on their way back to Hyder, his excitement of seeing Demi had ramped up to where he could barely contain himself. God, he’d missed her.

They’d stored his luggage, and he got behind the wheel of his truck. “I’ll drive.” He slapped the steering wheel. “Missed the old beast.” As they left the airport, he started the conversation he’d been dying to ask. “Tell me, how’s everyone?”

“You mean Demi, right? She’s missing you like crazy. You know how chill the lady is about most things? Well when we all teased her about you at the bar on New Year’s Eve she blushed like a schoolgirl. I swear she had stars in her eyes after she came back from talking with you. She’s got it almost as bad as you do.”

Whit turned to see Glen’s mischievous grin. “That obvious, aye?”

“Oh yeah.” Glen settled into his passenger seat, leaning against the side panel so he could keep his attention on Whit. “Now tell me about what your eye doctor said.”

Whit spoke for a while, explaining everything… from his first examination to the tests he underwent. As he talked, he found himself finally relaxing. For so long, he’d yearned to beheading home that it seemed like a miracle he was actually this close.

When the old bucket speeding towards him veered a little too much on the treacherous highway, thinking it could be black ice, Whit paid attention. Otherwise, he might have missed the boy’s face in the back window as he waved frantically. “Hey. That’s Clive’s youngest, Teddy. What the hell is he doing in that old rattletrap that just passed us?”

Glen had stiffened. “Call me crazy, but I swear that was Orville Blanshard behind the wheel.”

“What?” Tremors of dread made it impossible to relax. Instead, he found himself pulling into a cutoff, turning around, and heading back the way he’d come.

Glen, now sitting upright, held on to the dash. “You’re going after him.” It wasn’t a question.

“No choice. Call Dawson. I want to know what the hell is going on.”

Hanging back some, he trailed the car in front and made sure to keep them in sight.

Glen got through to Dawson and put his phone on speaker. “Hey, man, we just saw Orville driving like a bat out of hell towards town with Clive’s kid, Teddy, in the backseat. Kid looked frantic. He was waving to get our attention.”

“Christ man, you couldn’t have called with better news. Charlie’s missing too. Never knew Teddy was though, guess he nabbed them both. Okay. Stay on him. I figure the fucker’s up to no bloody good.”

Whit spoke up. “Right. Maybe give the sheriff in Terrace a call and let him know to set up a roadblock. Getting him stopped before he hits town makes more sense than letting him loose where we might lose him.”

“On it. Be careful but don’t let him get away. Radio in if he turns off the main road.”

Glen pointed to the taillights in front. “For Christ sake, the idiot’s driving crazy, gonna hit the ditch before he even reaches town.”

“What do you figure Teddy’s doing in his back seat?”

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