Page 28 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)

Another long second passed. “Fine. You can take the lead once we know he’s here. But I’m going to back you up, Raine. No matter what, you’re not going to face him alone.”

She wanted to protest, she’d come to care for Justin far more than she should.

So much so that the thought of him being hurt twisted her gut into knots.

Despite her growing feelings for him, she sensed arguing would be useless.

And if she were honest, she’d admit she’d probably need his help and Trevor’s to get Amanda out of harm’s way.

Her goal was to take Decker down once and for all.

Glancing up at the sky, she prayed for God to give her the strength she’d need to get Decker back behind bars where he belonged.

* * *

Waves of tension radiated off Raine, making Justin feel nervous about the upcoming plan. He wasn’t a cop, so giving her the lead was the right thing to do. But he didn’t like it.

And no way was he letting Raine get near this guy without backup.

When her phone rang, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Being this much on edge wasn’t good. He was usually calm in a crisis.

And he had been, until that cabin blew up outside of Buffalo. He hated knowing the woman he’d come to care for was in danger.

Not to mention an innocent young girl.

“Hey, Griff, what’s up?” Raine asked. “Hold on, I’ll put you on speaker.”

“Logan lost sight of the black truck, and I told him to stay away from the area until we can check the cabin.”

“Why?” Justin asked. “I thought he was offering to help?”

“He did, but I don’t want Decker to know we’re onto him,” Griff said. “With Logan gone, I figure Decker will relax a bit, thinking he’s in the clear.”

“That works for me,” Raine said. “I agree that we need Decker to believe he’s eluded us again.” She frowned, then asked, “Griff, where has he been all this time? I figured he’d be far away from Sheridan by now.”

“I got a lead on that,” Griff said. “The local cops heard from a gas station attendant from store located well outside of Sheridan on Highway 14. The attendant saw a truck that matches the description of the Explorer but didn’t think much about it until another person came in and mentioned the Amber Alert.

But then the Explorer was gone, so he went back to review the camera video.

The license plate matches the vehicle owned by Stringer.

That confirms that Decker may have been heading out of town before realizing he had to stop for gas.

Maybe he stopped for food at another location too. ”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain the entire time frame he’s been with Amanda,” Raine pointed out.

“I know. Yet it does coincide with Logan’s mentioning the black vehicle he and Jessica identified coming down Ramo Road from the north.

” Griff sighed. “Maybe the accomplice angle isn’t far off.

If he snatched Amanda on impulse because he came across her on the road, maybe he needed to connect with someone about where to go next.

And that’s why he backtracked to go around Sheridan. ”

Justin frowned. “I thought you believed Sawyer Collins was another alias.”

“I do,” Griff agreed. “But that doesn’t mean he has help. The dark web is full of guys like Decker.”

That thought was hardly reassuring, but Justin kept that to himself. “Okay, we’re turning onto Ramo Road now.”

“Good, I’m still fifteen minutes away,” Griff said. “I had to pull over to dig into Collins’s background, so I lost some time. Wait for me before you head to the cabin.”

“I can’t do that, Griff,” Raine said. “I’m sorry, but Amanda’s safety must come first. We’ll use the K9s to try to alert on Decker’s scent, but that may require us to get close to the cabin. Once we confirm Amanda is there, I’m moving in without delay.”

Griff was silent for a long moment. “Yeah, I understand. I’d do the same thing. But be careful, okay? I’m going to be in big trouble if anything happens to the Sullivan siblings.”

“We’ll be fine.” Justin gave an encouraging nod. “This isn’t on you, Griff. Trevor and I are committed to apprehending this guy.”

“Yeah, I know that too.” Griff sounded resigned. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”

“I’ll be taking the lead,” Raine said. “Justin and Trevor will be assigned to get Amanda out of there.”

That was news to him, but Justin didn’t argue the point. Trevor could do that part. He planned to stick to Raine like superglue.

“There’s always the possibility we’re wrong about this cabin,” Griff warned.

“I know. The sooner we rule this out, the sooner we can move on to the next location,” Raine agreed. “But I have a feeling about this one, Griff. I’m not sure why, but the name Sawyer Collins seems familiar. It may be one of the names I saw when reviewing Decker’s dark web conversations.”

“I hope you’re right about that. If you’re on Ramo Road, you’ll be at the cabin within minutes. I’ll see you soon.” Griff ended the call.

“You really think the name Sawyer Collins is familiar?” Justin asked.

Raine dragged her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t recognize it at first, but I think so. The more we talked about the name, the more it niggled at the back of my mind.” She grimaced. “I hope it’s not just wishful thinking.”

“I trust your instincts.” Justin reached out to take her hand. Surprisingly, she gripped his tightly. “We’re going to find him.”

“I pray you’re right.” She didn’t tug her fingers from his for a long moment. Then she gestured at the right-hand side of the road. “Slow down, I think we’re coming up on the entryway to the cabin.”

He slowed as requested. He noticed the overgrown driveway had freshly flattened tire marks from a recent vehicle. He kept going for another half mile and around a curve before pulling over to the side of the road. Behind him, Trevor did the same.

Raine glanced at him, then pushed open her door. “Let’s do this.”

He nodded and opened the back hatch for Stone. His K9 was well rested now and looked eager to play the search game. His brother Trevor quickly joined them with Archie.

The two labs would normally romp and play, but he and Trevor gave them the command to heel. Both dogs sat in the heel position staring up at them expectantly.

“We need to go in from different directions,” Raine said softly. “Justin and I will go in on this side, Trevor, you’ll need to take Archie around to approach the property from the opposite angle.”

“Sounds good.” Trevor patted his weapon on his hip. “I’ll back you both up as needed.”

Raine reluctantly nodded. “You both need to stay back, though, until we know about Amanda. If she’s there, I’ll need you guys to get her out of there.”

“Understood.” Trevor nodded, then turned away. “Come, Archie.”

Justin knelt beside Stone. The back hatch was still open, so he gave Stone some water.

“Are you ready, boy? Search! Search Decker and Amanda.” Then he held Stone’s dark-brown gaze and put a finger to his lips.

Stone didn’t look away, and he hoped the K9 would remember not to bark if and when he alerted. “Go on, boy. Search Decker and Amanda.”

Stone spun around and begin searching the grassy area along the side of the road. His K9 lifted his nose to the air, sniffing for long moments before trotting into the woods. Justin followed his K9 with Raine keeping pace beside him.

They didn’t talk, concentrating on moving through the woods as silently as possible. Stone moved at a quick decisive pace, which was a good sign. He hoped Decker was inside the cabin, where it would be more difficult to hear them approaching.

And he continued to pray they’d get there in time.

The trek through the woods seemed to take forever. When Stone veered toward the right, which was the direction the driveway was located, his pulse kicked up with anticipation. Had his K9 caught Decker’s scent?

Knowing the trail was fresh and the wind was in their favor, he wasn’t surprised when Stone continued pressing forward. When the faded side of a green cabin came into view, he glanced at Raine.

She gave him a nod and gestured for him to stay back as she veered away from his side to head closer to the cabin.

He was torn between following her and sticking with Stone.

The dog continued moving toward the woods until they were at the edge of what appeared to be a rutted driveway.

He didn’t see the Explorer, as it could have been on the opposite side of the cabin, but Stone stopped, sniffed for a long moment, then sat and turned to stare up at him intensely. Stone’s silent alert!

They’d found Decker and/or Amanda!

He gave Stone the hand signal to come. The dog raced toward him, wiggling with excitement over winning the search game.

Justin bent and settled for praising the dog with his hands as a reward.

Then he stood and gave Stone the hand signal to come.

Stone didn’t seem to mind, and together they hurried to catch up with Raine.

Justin wasn’t sure where Trevor was, as he couldn’t see his brother or Archie through the thick woods. When he got closer, his gut tightened when he realized Raine was already pressed against the side of the cabin, standing between two smaller windows that likely belonged to a bedroom.

He’d promised to let her take the lead, so he hunkered down nearby and waited for her to slide to the closest window, taking a quick peek inside. She froze, then gestured for him to come join her.

Keeping his head down, he was much taller than Raine, Justin quickly ran toward her with Stone at his side. Her expression was somber as she leaned close. “There’s a girl in the bedroom. I need you to help her get out.”

He nodded but then frowned. “Where’s Decker?”

“I’m not sure. I’m heading around the corner of the cabin to get eyes on him.” She held his gaze. “Whatever happens, make sure Amanda gets out of here. If you hear gunfire, break through the window to reach her.”

“Okay.” He didn’t like it, but he’d go along. At least until Trevor got there. Then all bets were off.

Raine surprised him by brushing a quick kiss over his mouth before she turned to move cautiously along the side of the cabin.

He leaned toward the window, catching his breath at the sight of a young girl, who matched the Amber Alert photo, sitting in the room with her bound hands resting in her lap.

Justin waved his hands back and forth, trying to get her attention. After several long moments, the girl finally turned to look in his direction. He gave her the okay sign, hoping that would reassure her that he wasn’t there to hurt her, but to rescue her.

The girl nodded, then slid off the bed to approach the window. He hoped the door was closed so that Decker wouldn’t see her interacting with him.

He lifted Stone’s front paws so she could see the dog. He knew from his siblings that kids were reassured by seeing dogs. Especially sweet-looking ones like Stone.

When she reached to open the window, he quickly shook his head and put a finger to his lips. He didn’t want Amanda to do anything to draw Decker’s attention.

Then he heard an approaching car engine.

It was so close Justin knew it had to be coming down the driveway.

The Explorer must have been parked on the other side of the cabin, and he hoped Trevor was there, watching the newcomer.

Griff was too smart to simply drive up to the cabin like this, so it had to be someone else.

An accomplice? It was the only thing that made sense.

At that point, several things happened at once. Raine shouted, “Decker, come out with your hands up!”

Followed shortly by a burst of gunfire along with shattering glass.

Pulling his weapon, he used the butt of the gun to break through the glass of the window.

Amanda backed away, glancing fearfully over her shoulder.

He wasn’t sure who’d joined the party, but he knew there wasn’t a moment to waste.

He cleared away the broken glass from the window with his gun, then held out a hand to Amanda.

“Hurry,” he hissed when she didn’t move fast enough.

Eyes wide with fear, Amanda crawled through the opening. He reached in to help pull her through, then turned and carried her away from the cabin, heading to the closest group of trees. He set Amanda down.

“Sit here. This is Stone, he’ll stay with you, okay? Friend, Stone. Friend.” Amanda sank to the base of the tree, looping her arm around Stone’s neck. The yellow lab sniffed her, then looked up at Justin as if understanding the search game was over. At least for now.

“Good boy, Stone. Guard, okay? Guard.” With that, he turned and ran back toward the cabin, unable to leave without knowing Raine wasn’t hurt.

Or worse, dead.