38. Beast
BEAST
The logging road was barely a road.
More dirt than gravel.
More potholes than anything else.
Trees crowded both sides.
Tall.
Thick.
Perfect cover for a man who didn’t want to be found.
Sheriff Cooper’s deputies led the way.
Wolf rode beside me.
Trigger followed behind us.
Nobody talked.
There wasn’t much to say.
Gerald had bought food.
Water.
Batteries.
Shotgun shells.
He had been preparing.
And I hated what that meant.
We drove deeper into the hills.
Past an old hunting blind.
Past a rusted gate hanging crooked on one hinge.
Past a creek bed that had gone dry months ago.
Then Deputy Harris slowed.
His truck stopped.
Everybody stopped.
“What is it?” Sheriff Cooper asked over the radio.
Harris got out.
Walked toward a patch of mud near the side of the road.
Bent down.
Then looked back at us.
“Tire tracks.”
I was out of my truck before he finished talking.
The tracks cut off the road.
Turned between two thick rows of trees.
Fresh.
Deep.
A truck had gone through recently.
“Could be anyone,” one deputy said.
“No,” I said.
Everyone looked at me.
I pointed toward the ground.
“Same tire pattern from the ranch.”
The deputy studied the tracks.
Then nodded.
“Let’s move.”
We left the trucks at the road.
Moved on foot.
Quiet.
Spread out.
Sheriff Cooper took the left side.
Deputy Harris took the right.
Wolf and Trigger stayed behind me.
Nobody needed to tell us what to do.
We had all done this before.
Different places.
Different threats.
Same feeling.
The woods were too still.
No birds.
No wind.
No sound except boots pressing into dry leaves.
Then I saw it.
A cabin.
Half hidden behind the trees.
Old.
Gray.
Windows covered with dirt.
An old truck sat behind it.
Gerald’s truck.
My pulse slowed.
The dangerous calm settled in.
Sheriff Cooper lifted one hand.
Everybody stopped.
“Gerald!” he called.
Nothing.
“Gerald, this is Sheriff Cooper. Come out with your hands where we can see them.”
Silence.
Wolf moved closer to me.
“He’s in there.”
Maybe.
But something felt wrong.
The cabin looked empty.
Too empty.
No smoke from the chimney.
No movement behind the glass.
No sound.
Gerald had been watching.
He had known we were coming.
Sheriff Cooper nodded toward the deputies.
They moved in.
One at the front.
One at the back.
Wolf and Trigger covered the windows.
I stayed near the porch.
Every muscle tight.
Every instinct screaming.
The sheriff kicked the door open.
“Clear!”
We entered fast.
The cabin smelled like dust.
Mold.
Old wood.
And something else.
Fear.
The room was empty.
No Gerald.
No Darren.
No sign of anyone.
Then I saw the table.
A notebook sat in the center.
Open.
Beside it was a pair of binoculars.
A map.
A box of shotgun shells.
My stomach dropped.
I stepped closer.
The notebook had pages filled with writing.
Times.
Names.
Vehicles.
Sadie’s name.
Over and over.
Sadie leaves house at 8:15.
Dad in barn by 8:30.
Beast leaves at 9.
Wolf arrives at 10.
Back door unlocked sometimes.
Kitchen window.
Side gate.
My jaw locked.
Wolf came beside me.
Looked down.
Then went still.
“Beast.”
I turned another page.
The words were written darker.
Harder.
Like the pen had nearly torn through the paper.
Take her somewhere quiet.
Get her away from him.
She will remember.
She belongs with me.
My hands curled into fists.
Sheriff Cooper stepped closer.
His face turned pale.
“This is enough for a warrant.”
“He already has one,” I said.
The sheriff looked at me.
“Now we have enough for every deputy in the county.”
I looked toward the window.
Toward the road.
Toward the ranch.
Gerald had left his truck behind.
Which meant he had another way out.
Another vehicle.
Another plan.
And then I saw the map.
A red line had been drawn from the cabin.
Down the logging road.
Across County Twelve.
Straight toward Sadie’s ranch.
My blood went cold.
“He’s going back.”
Wolf grabbed his radio.
“Trigger, call the ranch.”
Trigger was already moving.
Already dialing.
I ran outside.
Toward my truck.
Sheriff Cooper shouted after me.
“Beast, wait for backup!”
I didn’t stop.
Because Gerald had been hiding.
Watching.
Planning.
And now he was moving.
Toward Sadie.
Toward the woman he thought he could take.
I slammed my truck into gear.
Wolf jumped into the passenger seat.
Behind us, sirens came alive.
Ahead of us, the road twisted through the trees.
And somewhere beyond those hills…
Gerald was heading to Sadie’s home.
But he wasn’t going to find Sadie alone.
Not this time.
Not ever.