Claiming the Enemy: Dustin (Porter Brothers Trilogy 3)

“I’ll go home and change.” Dustin held his hand out to Greer. “Give me your truck keys. We’re going to need the four-wheelers.”

“Cash and Tate got trucks,” he protested.

“Neither of their trucks can hold two four-wheelers, and I’m going to need mine.”

Greer tossed him the keys. “You better not put a scratch on it.”

“Text me if the canines find anything.”

Dustin left Greer and Knox, refusing to believe Jessie was dead. His mind played and rewound the last time he had seen her at the daycare.

Every breath he took since the night he had heard the screaming was like a fish out of water—his lungs trying to find oxygen when there wasn’t any. That was Saturday night. If Jessie had died in the laundry room on Friday night, he wouldn’t have heard the screams in his head, which he was now sure were Jessie’s. That meant there were two scenarios that could have played out. Either Jessie was hurt and still alive and he only had the nightmares because he and Jessie had been close as children, or there had been two people who were in the laundry room where the blood was found.

Dustin brought his car to a squealing stop in the parking lot. Leaving the keys under the mat, he got inside Greer’s truck and called Greer as he drove home.

“Kinda busy trying not to get bit by this fool dog.”

“Greer, ask Knox to check with the techs if they think there is enough blood for one or if there could have been two people.” Dustin quickly pressed the gas down to run a red light.

“Hang on.”

A loud yelp came from the static on the other side.

He was almost home before Greer came back on the phone.

“It was a large amount, so it could have been two. What you thinking?”

“I think there were two, and Jessie is still alive. I think it was her I heard screaming.”

“I ain’t gonna tell Knox that. He’ll think we’re as crazy as a coon dog. Besides, you hear them last night?”

“No, but something tells me she’s still alive.” Dustin didn’t know if it was true or if he wasn’t able to face the fact that Jessie could be dead.

“Yeah? I saw the laundry room after you left. I don’t know how many people died in there, but I doubt either of them is still living.”

Dustin hung up on his brother, throwing the phone onto the passenger seat. Putting on his blinker, he turned into his driveway, dirt flying out when he took the turn too swiftly. Going up the rutted road, he almost hit his head on the roof when he hit a rut, hearing the muffler scrape. Not slowing, he stopped beside Tate’s truck as he loaded his four-wheeler onto the bed of his truck.

Tate jumped down, slamming the tailgate. “Get changed, and I’ll load yours.”

Dustin quickly went inside, changing his suit for an orange hunting shirt, thick jeans, and boots. He was back at Greer’s truck as Tate finished buckling the four-wheeler down.

“I made sure you have everything you need in the saddle. You got your radio?”

“It’s in my jacket. You ready?”

“Ready. Cash is meeting us where Virgil found the clothes. You can follow me.”

Dustin slid into the truck, then followed Tate as they drove to the main road leading toward town. There, they had to take a secondary road to get out of the congestion that was created by the volunteers. The community was coming together to find Jessie, just as they had when Logan had wandered off.

Dustin accelerated when they left the city limits, keeping up with Tate’s truck. At the base of Pine Mountain, Tate slowed, letting Cash pull out in front of him as they made their way upward.

As he drove, Dustin looked out the windshield, seeing houses scattered across the mountainside. The higher they went, the fewer and farther between the homes were, but you could still see some scattered throughout the trees.

Cursing, Dustin pulled over to the side of the road when he found a spot wide enough. Staring down at his shaky hands, he rested his head on the steering wheel. He could hear whimpers of pain in his head.

Combing his fingers through his hair, he gripped his head. When he finally collected himself, he grabbed his cell phone and called Tate.

“Where’d you go?”

“I pulled over.” Rolling his window down to let fresh air inside, he heard the whimpers fade away. “She’s not here.”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t. I just know she’s not up here.”

“Greer called. They found her body near Dryden. A farmer was out checking his field and found her in the cornfields.”

“It’s not her.” Dustin didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t Jessie. “Has she been identified yet?”

“No, Knox and Greer are on their way.”

“Brother, I don’t know who’s been found, but it’s not Jessie,” Dustin exclaimed empathetically.