Sanctuary Found_Pelican Bay [Book 2]

by Sloane Kennedy

  At the same time that I was trying to see if I could get Isaac out of the mess he was in, I was also looking into how to get him and Newt out of the country if it came to that. There were quite a few nice places that had no extradition treaties with the US. So as long as Isaac didn’t step foot outside the country, he’d be safe. It was a last resort, but I wanted to cover all my bases. And my plan was still to go with him and Newt if running ended up being the route we needed to go. I hated the thought of leaving Dallas, but I knew my brother would understand. He knew how deep my feelings for Isaac ran.

  “Lieutenant,” Ford said as he tried to catch his breath.

  “It’s just Maddox,” I responded. The man’s timing was good because I actually wanted to talk to him about a project that would be a surprise for Dallas for his birthday the following month. I ignored the pang in my chest as I realized I might not be around for that. My eyes lingered on the bruises and it took everything in me not to ask the man if his brother had done that to him.

  “Maddox,” Ford said with a nod. “I need to tell you something—”

  Ford’s voice dropped off the second a police car rolled around the corner. I wasn’t surprised when it pulled over to the curb where we were standing because I could see Alex behind the wheel. I’d considered talking to Alex about Isaac but had decided against it, since doing so would only put Alex in the awkward position of having to choose between his duty as a law enforcement officer and his friendship with me. And the bottom line was that I wasn’t willing to risk Isaac’s safety with anyone except Nolan, Dallas, and Sawyer.

  Alex got out and came around the car. “Maddox, hey,” he said as he held out his hand. I didn’t miss how Ford tensed up and took several steps back as the deputy approached us. The passenger door of the police cruiser opened up and an older man got out. He wasn’t overly muscular, but he was tall and fit with hair that was silver mixed with a little bit of black that was just a little bit longer on top than the sides. I guessed him to be around forty years old or so. A slight five-o’clock shadow covered a chiseled jaw as his intense dark brown eyes swept the area before settling on me, then Ford. It looked like the man homed in on Ford’s bruises and the younger man quickly dropped his eyes and shifted back and forth on his feet.

  “Maddox, I wanted to introduce you to Camden Wells. He’s the new sheriff.”

  “Sheriff Wells,” I said with a nod as I held out my hand. His handshake was strong.

  “It’s Cam,” the man responded. “I’m not big on formality,” he said as his eyes shifted again to Ford.

  “Ford,” Ford managed to get out when Cam patiently waited for him to speak.

  “He’s Jimmy Cornell’s brother,” Alex said softly.

  Cam’s eyes narrowed a bit, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he stepped forward and extended his hand to Ford. “It’s nice to meet you, Ford.”

  Ford looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, and I was reminded that he’d had some kind of run-in with the law when he’d been a teenager. I hadn’t remembered to ask Alex about the details.

  Ford managed a stiff nod and quickly shook the sheriff’s hand. But when he tried to step back, the sheriff held onto his hand just a little longer than necessary and I saw something flash between the two men that I couldn’t quite put a name on. Ford once again dropped his eyes and after a moment, Cam finally turned back to me. “Alex is just giving me the lay of the land. I’d like to stop by and meet your brother and Mr. Grainger so I can introduce myself. You think that’d be okay sometime?”

  I nodded. I wasn’t surprised the new sheriff would want to try and smooth over the damage the previous one had left behind, and Dallas and Nolan were at the top of Curtis Tulley’s list of victims. “I’m sure that would be fine,” I said. “The sanctuary is open from eight to four on weekdays,” I added.

  “Good,” Cam said with a nod. To Alex he said, “Should we continue?”

  “Yes, sir,” Alex said with a smile. Alex shook my hand and returned to the driver’s seat.

  “Maddox, it was a pleasure,” Cam said as he shook my hand. “Ford,” was all he said when he nodded at the younger man.

  “Sheriff,” Ford acknowledged, though it seemed to take a lot of effort to do so. He clearly wasn’t comfortable around the man, but I wasn’t sure if it was the man’s position or something else. I couldn’t say Ford seemed exactly comfortable around me either.

  I watched the police car drive off, then turned to Ford. “Did you want to talk to me?”

  “Yeah, um, I overheard my mom and Jimmy talking a little while ago and I don’t know if this means anything, but there were a couple of guys asking about your friend… Isaac.”

  I automatically stiffened. “Who?”

  Ford flinched at my tone. “Um, I don’t know. I didn’t see them. But Jimmy told them Isaac worked for your brother. I was gonna drive out there and warn you but then I saw you walking and…”

  I didn’t listen to the rest of Ford’s words as panic seized my chest. I dug out my phone and dialed Isaac’s number, but it went to voicemail after a few rings. I sent him a text telling him to call me as soon as possible. I didn’t bother trying Sawyer, since he, Dallas, and Nolan were doing a rescue call on a deer that had been hit by a car and was lying injured in a field near the road a few towns over.

  I waited a minute, then tried Isaac again. When there was still no answer I said to Ford, “Can you take me out there?”

  He seemed surprised by my request but immediately nodded his head. The weather was growing increasingly dicey and the plan had been for Isaac to pick me up in town in an hour after I was finished with my appointment. I hadn’t told him yet, but I’d started seeing a therapist about my PTSD. Today was supposed to have been my third appointment, but my concern for Isaac and Newt was overruling everything else, so I sent my therapist a quick text explaining I had a family emergency.

  My therapist and I hadn’t gotten into the details of everything I was dealing with, but she had offered me some ways I could make traveling in the car easier. It mostly included different breathing techniques and envisioning a place in my head where I felt safe. Not surprisingly, that place was the sanctuary and Isaac and Newt were always a part of that picture.

  If Ford thought me strange for any of it as we made the drive to the sanctuary, he was kind enough not to say anything or try to engage me in conversation. By the time we pulled into the driveway, the snow was starting to fall, but it was the wind that was making things more difficult. The blowing snow was causing drifts to pile up quickly, but Ford managed the thickening snow without too much trouble.

  I was out of the car before Ford even pulled to a complete stop, because through the windshield I could see some guy with his hands on Isaac and Isaac trying to get away from him. They were just outside the office and there was another man, a guy in his early sixties maybe, standing off to the side. It sounded like he was yelling, but it was hard to hear over the wind.

  I reached Isaac and the guy I instinctively knew was Gary and ripped him away from Isaac so that he stumbled backward. I turned to check on Isaac and felt pure rage explode inside of me when I saw the bruise forming on his right cheek. Gary chose that moment to yell, “Hey,” and grab my arm. I turned and decked him and he went flying backward. I was on him before he could even register what had happened. But I only got a few punches in before Ford and Isaac were pulling me back.

  “Maddox, stop!” Isaac yelled as he got in my face.

  I managed to pull in a few breaths as I tried to calm myself. Gary scrambled to his feet and stumbled back away from me.

  “Get the fuck out of here!” I snapped.

  The older man with Gary seemed confused as he looked between Gary and Isaac. “Let’s go!” Gary called to the man as he hurried to the only other car in the parking lot besides Isaac’s and Ford’s. The man hesitated, then followed Gary.

  I turned back to look at Isaac. I grabbed his chin and only noticed then that the knuckles on my right
hand were bruised and bloody. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  Isaac let out a breath and nodded. His eyes stayed on Gary’s car until it was gone. Then they went wide. “Newt,” he said. “I have to find Newt.”

  I stilled as I realized I hadn’t noticed him anywhere.

  “Was he with you when they arrived?” I asked.

  “No,” Isaac said as he began hurrying down the path leading toward the livestock barn. “He wanted to give the animals some carrots that Nolan left for him this morning. I told him to come back to the office when he was done. But Gary showed up and… Newt!” Isaac yelled as we hurried to the barn.

  “Newt!” I called.

  The concern in my chest grew when I saw Jerry standing out in the paddock rather than in the barn. The zebra was a treat hog. If Newt was in the barn giving the animals goodies, Jerry would’ve been there for sure.

  We continued to call Newt’s name until we reached the barn. Ford had followed us.

  “Oh God, where is he?” Isaac cried when we found the barn empty.

  “Loki,” I said. “Where’s Loki?”

  Isaac shook his head.

  “He didn’t show up when Gary arrived?”

  “No,” Isaac said. “Newt! Loki!” Isaac screamed.

  “Okay, let’s split up and search the property. Isaac, you go check the house.” Isaac was already running that direction when I told Ford where to look and where to meet back up. With the wind whipping up like it was, visibility was difficult. Five minutes later, we met back at the livestock barn. When Isaac saw that Ford and I were both alone, he began to panic.

  “Oh God, Maddox, what if he saw Gary and got scared? What if Gary got him somehow? What if—”

  “Enough,” I said as I grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a gentle shake. “He’s here somewhere. We just need to find him.” The words came out much more calmly than I was feeling. I willed myself to think. “If he saw Gary, what would he do?” I asked.

  “Run,” Isaac whispered. “He’s scared to death of Gary. He… he used to have nightmares about him finding us. He’d wake up screaming and telling me we had to run and hide.”

  “Then that’s what he’s doing,” I said. To Ford I said, “Can you check the east side of the property for any tracks and call me if you find anything?”

  “Yeah,” Ford said with a vigorous nod, then he was off and running in that direction. “Listen,” I said to Isaac. “If we don’t find any sign of him in the next few minutes, we need to call for help.”

  “I don’t care,” Isaac said. “Just find him. Please, Maddox.”

  I could tell he was on the verge of a full-on panic attack. I grabbed his face and said, “We’re going to find him, Isaac. Just take deep breaths.” I took his hand in mine and led him to the back of the property. There was a large, open field that led to a more densely populated wooded area. My gut was telling me if Newt had been headed up toward the parking lot and had overheard Gary yelling at Isaac, he would have turned around and run back the direction he’d come. So I focused on the swath of land just behind the livestock barn. We worked our way north looking for any tracks.

  “There,” I said after a few minutes when I saw both a set of human and canine tracks on the far side of the barn. We followed the trail to the end of the dog enclosure, which was the last pen on the property before it opened up into the field. But the blowing wind covered the tracks within a matter of minutes, so by the time we reached the middle of the field, there was no way to know which direction Newt had gone. We screamed for Newt over and over, but there was only the howling wind to answer us.

  “Where would he go?” I asked myself.

  “Maddox,” Isaac whispered, completely terrified. I pulled him against me and searched out my phone. We couldn’t risk waiting any longer. With the wind blowing like it was, the wind chill could turn deadly in no time. I suspected Newt had his parka, snow pants, and gloves on, but those would only protect him for so long. I was about to dial 911 when something caught my attention.

  A sound on the wind.

  But not the sound of a child.

  “Listen,” I said as I grabbed Isaac’s arm.

  Neither of us moved and that was when I heard it again.

  It was a howling sound.

  But definitely not the wind this time.

  “Loki,” I breathed as I began striding forward. It was hard to tell where the sound was coming from, but as we got closer to the woods, I instinctively knew.

  “He’s trying to get to me,” I said to Isaac.

  “What?”

  “Newt knows I walk home this way sometimes. I told him about it. He’s trying to get to my house!”

  I’d only told Newt that I lived far away when I’d pointed at the line of trees on the northwest side of the field, but to a four-year-old, that wouldn’t have really meant anything. And to a terrified four-year-old…?

  I began running through the snow and felt a mix of relief and fear as the howling continued. We were getting closer, but Loki wasn’t coming to us. He just kept howling. What if Newt had had another seizure?

  I pulled out my phone and said, “Isaac, we need to call the paramedics just in case.”

  Isaac looked stricken but nodded. I dialed 911 and told the operator we needed an ambulance and gave them the sanctuary’s address. By the time we reached the tree line, I’d hung up the phone. Loki’s howls were louder now that the wind was broken up by the trees. It took just minutes to find the pair.

  “Newt,” Isaac yelled when he saw Newt’s blue parka. The little boy was lying on the ground, but not flat like when he’d been having the seizure. He was curled in a ball against a fallen tree and Loki was lying half on top of him. Newt’s head was on Loki’s front paws and the wolf hybrid was resting his own head on top of Newt’s. The animal’s fluffy tail was draped over Newt’s legs.

  “Newt,” I called when I reached the pair. Loki immediately moved when I got to them and frantically began licking Newt’s face. The move woke Newt up.

  “Isaac?”

  “I’m here, buddy,” Isaac cried as he fell to his knees next to Newt. I helped Newt sit up. His moves were stiff, but he seemed alert.

  “I’m cold,” he said, his teeth chattering.

  “I know you are,” Isaac said as he began rubbing Newt’s face with his ungloved hands. “Let’s get you back home.”

  Isaac’s words sent Newt into a panic. “No! He’s there!” Newt threw himself at me. “Mad, you gotta stop him. You spit on it! Don’t let him take me and Isaac away!”

  I wrapped my arms around him and climbed to my feet, taking him with me. “I won’t, Newt. It’s okay. You’re safe. You and Isaac are both safe, I swear it.” The little boy began to cry. He was shaking. To Isaac I said, “My coat. Can you unzip it?”

  Isaac unzipped my parka and helped me get Newt beneath it. Fortunately, the child was slight enough that I could wrap the lapels of the coat around him. I couldn’t zip it closed, but I was able to hold it shut with my fingers. My hope was that my body heat would help warm him more quickly.

  Isaac walked next to me, reassuring Newt with every step that everything was going to be okay and that Gary was gone and wasn’t coming back. Ford met us near the barn where we’d originally separated.

  “Is he okay?” Ford asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” I said. I could hear sirens, so I knew the paramedics were close. I didn’t think Newt was in any immediate danger, but I still wanted to hear the paramedics assure me of that. He’d only been missing for about twenty to thirty minutes and between his winter gear and Loki keeping him warm, I was hopeful he hadn’t experienced any kind of hypothermia or frostbite.

  The ambulance was rolling to a stop as soon as we reached the parking lot. The EMTs took Newt from me and sat him in the back of the ambulance. Isaac climbed in with them and held onto Newt as they began checking him over.

  “I’m not seeing any cause for concern,” the female paramedic said. “But we should take him in
to be checked over, just in case. They’ll probably want to give him some fluids and maybe keep him overnight.”

  Isaac sighed in relief and hugged Newt tight. “Okay,” he said softly, his voice cracking.

  “I’m sorry, Isaac. I wanted to find Mad so he’d keep us safe.”

  Isaac kissed the top of Newt’s head. The paramedic had removed his helmet during her examination.

  “It’s okay, buddy. Just… just don’t do that ever again, okay?”

  “Okay,” Newt said in a small voice.

  The sound of a car engine had me turning to look down the driveway and I felt my pulse speed up at the sight of the two police cruisers heading toward us.

  I knew it was bad when a grim-faced Alex got out of the first car. I automatically stepped in front of the open ambulance. I glanced over my shoulder at Isaac who’d gone even paler. He was hanging onto Newt as if he expected someone to rip him from his arms.

  Cam approached me, his face pulled into a mask of seriousness. The friendly man from earlier was gone.

  “Sheriff,” I said in greeting, because I knew he wasn’t there for the informal visit he’d talked about.

  “Lieutenant Kent,” he responded.

  Yeah, this was bad. No other reason to use my title otherwise.

  Cam looked past me into the ambulance. “Everyone okay?” he asked.

  The female paramedic nodded. “We’re going to transport the boy to the hospital in Greenville just to get checked out, but he should be okay. Not seeing any signs of hypothermia or frostbite.”

  “Good,” Cam said. His eyes went to Isaac. “Are you Isaac Foster?” he asked.

  Isaac dropped his eyes to the floor of the ambulance. His expression broke me, and I couldn’t stop myself from stepping between Cam and the vehicle. “Sheriff, you aren’t—”

  “Maddox,” Isaac cut in. “Don’t,” he said firmly. He leaned down to whisper something to Newt.

  “No, Isaac!” the little boy cried and clung to him harder. “No, you promised!”