Chapter 21

Eli tossed and turned in endless dreams. Flashing images of his mother and Dean calling him, he couldn’t find them, and worse, they couldn’t find him. His eyes opened in time to see the large black figure disappearing up the stairs. His heart was beating fast. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had been crying in his sleep again. Next to his cot, resting on a small table, was a glass of orange soda; it was his favorite soda. A treat his mother allowed sometimes. He drank it down; the sweetness felt cheerful. A moment later, he yawned the most enormous yawn he could ever remember as a sudden heavy sleepiness overcame him. He put his head back down on the pillow.

***

Logan walked to the end of the porch and turned to face his two friends. “Here’s what we know so far,” he said with solid eye contact.

“The DNA results from the blood found on the side of the van at the Mexican border belong to Ed Stringer.”

“Jack’s lackey,” Dean exclaimed, his mouth falling open.

“There’s more,” added Logan