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bristled jaw, but he felt it go tight despite his effort to stop it. “We found five kids.”
    “I thought you were searching for drugs on a fishing boat.”
    “We were. A seventy-foot long-liner with about eighty thousand pounds of mahi-mahi. Coast Guard had been tracking it. It had its hold full and was headed south to leave the Gulf.”
    “Doing a pickup out in the middle of the water?”
    “That was the suspicion, but there wasn’t any cocaine. Grace found five kids. Hidden under the floorboards.”
    “Good Lord! Stowaways?”
    “No.” He shook his head, and his eyes left the kitchen, looking out the window as the sun crested through the trees. “Not stowaways.” He realized how much he didn’t want to think about it anymore. Didn’t want to even talk about it. The incident on the boat was probably what had brought on his nightmare about Brodie.
    “They’re trafficking kids now,” she said without waiting for an explanation.
    She turned back to the stove, still shaking her head, but thankfully not expecting Creed to tell her more. At least not now.
    “That’s a lot of food.” He needed to focus on something else and already found his mouth watering from the combination of aromas. Breakfast foods were always his favorite comfort foods.
    “Andy’s taking everyone through basic drills this morning.”
    “I’ll be out at the kennels if anyone needs me. Electricity is out.”
    “Again? Seems like every time we have lightning, it’s knocking it out. You sure you don’t have one too many gadgets that’s tripping everything up?”
    “The more self-reliant the dogs are, the less work around here.”
    She rolled her eyes at him. It was an old argument, but the truth was, Creed wasn’t completely comfortable using so much automation for this exact reason. What happens when the power is out? Heliked using the most advanced technology available, as long as he could have a backup system if anything malfunctioned.
    “I’ve got everything running on auxiliary for now. I think I might be able to mess with it and get it back running.”
    “I’ll check at Segway House and see if we have any electricians. Wouldn’t hurt to have a professional take a look. You know I don’t like you messin’ with hot wires. Believe me, you would not look good with curly hair.”
    “Very funny.”
    That’s when Creed saw the headlights coming up the driveway. “Looks like our stalker decided to be sociable after all.”
    Hannah glanced out the window.
    “Oh mercy, I forgot to tell you. I hired a new worker.” She started shutting off burners, putting on lids, and setting aside utensils. “Figures he’d be early.”
    “So early that he had to sit and wait at the end of our driveway?” He slipped back into his anger.
    “Now be nice, Rye. This guy’s had a tough time. He reminds me a little bit of you.”
    Creed shook his head and smiled. He was the one who brought home discarded and damaged dogs, while Hannah did the same with people.
    By the time the man parked and was getting out of his car, Creed was marching ahead of Hannah, the shotgun barrel down and relaxed in his right hand. He’d set this guy straight on appropriate etiquette. Being early for work was a good thing, but hanging out at the end of his driveway was bordering on creepy.
    “Rye, just hold up there a minute or two.”
    Hannah was trying to keep pace with him and she sounded a little too nervous about their introduction. She volunteered at a halfway house. That’s where she met runaways, recovering drug addicts, and abused wives. But Creed trusted her judgment when shebrought one of them home. He was beginning to think she wasn’t too sure about this guy.
    At first glance the man looked young. Creed guessed he wasn’t even twenty. Hannah had said the guy reminded her of him, but Creed didn’t see any resemblance. The man was four or five inches shorter than Creed. He was clean-shaven and wore his hair close-cropped. He wasn’t smiling when he