I didn’t have to tell him twice. He launched out of his chair and hurried across the crowded waiting area, weaving through the cluster of burly Gravewatch men who were standing at the center of the room, looking totally out of place in their black leather jackets and combat boots. When he reached Georgia, he took a huge breath. I knew he’d lost the battle against his tears. His voice was thick with them.
“He’s really okay?” he whispered up at her.
Her hand lifted to tuck an errant curl behind his ear. “He’s okay, bub.”
“Can I see him?”
“Of course you can. He’s been asking for you.”
Declan’s arms flew around her middle, so hard she rocked back on her heels. I saw her arms come up to return the hug, then lost sight of them both as they were enfolded into the arms of Georgia’s mother and sister.
Cade appeared before me. I hadn’t even seen him move. But there he was, standing two feet away, his hand extended. I took it, allowing him to pull me up out of my seat without a word of protest. He tugged me down the hall for some privacy, steering me carefully around the legs and purses that cluttered the floor, along with Socks, who was snoozing under my chair, too tired to even notice when I passed his leash into Desmond’s ink-stained hands.
It had been a big day for him.
Technically, I didn’t think dogs were allowed in hospital waiting rooms. But no one was going to question it when said dog arrived in the company of the entire Salem Police Department, a fleet of FBI agents, and a squad of the most elite private investigators on the east coast.
Cade stopped at the end of the hallway, out of earshot of the rest of the group. He looked tired, but the tension that had consumed him for the past few days had finally vanished. An undeniable weight had lifted off his shoulders. He dropped my hand — but only so he could cup my face with both of his, tilt my chin up, and capture my mouth in a soft, sweet kiss.
“How are you holding up, beautiful?”
“Me?” I stared into his eyes, thinking I could drown in those blue depths and not care a bit. It would be a great way to die. “I’m fine.”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you, with everything that’s happened these past few hours.”
This was true.
It had been chaos at the scene once the cavalry arrived. I wasn’t sure what Gwen and Florence had said when they finally found cell-service, but it was enough to mobilize a huge law enforcement response. Only minutes after I’d first spotted the inbound chopper, officers had descended like locusts on the abandoned cabin — most of them dressed in full tactical gear, armed and dangerous. (And, ultimately, disappointed that there was no enemy around to fight.)
A search of the cabin revealed Rory was the only one there.
All that urgency, all that testosterone, all that ammo… For nothing. I had a feeling it was a bit anticlimactic for the commandos.
As for me, I was too relieved to feel anything else. Rory was alive. And, despite his dirty appearance, he was seemingly unharmed. Just happy to be in his mother’s arms again.
The two of them had sat on the edge of the clearing, wrapped tight in an embrace, whispering to each other under their breaths, until paramedics arrived and peeled Rory away for an exam. They came on foot, carrying a stretcher and medical supply bags. There was no other choice. The forgotten patch of marshland was completely inaccessible by car.
Technicians had arrived in droves, wading through the swamp with their kits held high over their heads. They’d immediately begun cataloguing every inch of the cabin’s interior, collecting evidence, taking photographs. Meanwhile, officers and agents searched the swampy salt-marsh for any sign of the woman who’d taken Rory.
So far, there were none.
She was like a ghost. If I hadn’t seen her with my own two eyes, I wouldn’t believe she existed at all. The responding officers didn’t seem entirely convinced of that fact, even after Rory told them what had happened to him; even after I described what I’d witnessed.
I supposed, when all was said and done, they’d wanted a better villain. Someone they could pump full of bullets in a Hollywood-style gunfight, or parade in front of the press as the feather in the cap of their search efforts. Chasing a strange, silent recluse through the misty marshes wasn’t exactly the ending they’d envisioned for this mission.
Still, I knew they’d keep looking for her. Everyone from the lowest-ranking beat cop on SPD payroll to the director of the Boston FBI field office had questions about her role not only in Rory’s disappearance, but also in Annie’s. Aguilar was out for blood. Coulter was adamant they needed answers. Even Cade, who was generally very level-headed, was having a difficult time coming to terms with the situation.
I’d never forget the moment he’d finally stalked out of the trees that afternoon and spotted me there, standing in front of the cabin at the center of that chaotic scene. I was trying my best to stay out of the way as agents streamed past on all sides, as officers spoke rapid-fire into their radios, as gun-toting commando types jogged into the thigh-high waters, searching for clues. The tide was coming in, making it even more difficult to traverse the waterlogged terrain.
Socks, who had caught sight of the trained canine unit several moments prior, was already pulling at his leash to get to them, thinking to make a new friend. The pulling turned to full arm-wrenching when his glossy eyes locked on his master, emerging from the tree line on the heels of Detective Aguilar and Chief Coulter.
(It must be said, the butterflies in my stomach were having a similarly enthusiastic response.)
Cade.
He’d stopped short when he saw us, visibly rocking back on his heels, looking for all the world like someone had socked him in the stomach. This may have had something to do with the fact that I was covered in mud from the thighs down to my toes, with a shiner blooming on my eye. Not necessarily my best look of all time.
His eyes had dropped to my feet and worked slowly up the length of me. Throughout, his face remained oddly blank. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. What he was feeling.