She hoped Cam wouldn’t take too long to get there. Breathing through her mouth, much like she did when working in the OR on traumatic abdominal cases, helped. But she didn’t want to stay there too long.
The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness. Just when she was about to put the car in gear to drive out to find Cam, she caught a glimpse of him rounding the corner of the restaurant on foot. Breathing a sigh of relief, she motioned to the back seat.
“Go on, Bruno. Get in the back.”
Cam opened the passenger door and stood back to let Bruno out. He opened the back for the dog, tossing the backpack inside as well, then slid in beside her. “Wow, has it been this stinky the whole time you waited?”
“Yep.” She put the car in gear. “Those poor employees have to smell this every day, can you imagine?”
“I’m sure it’s worse in the heat of summer.” He shook his head, clicking his seat belt into place. “I have a room and left the Jeep parked behind the building. I didn’t want to make it too obvious that we were laying a trap.”
“Sounds good.” She glanced at him as she drove around to the front of the building. “You really think the killer will look for us there?”
“I hope so.” He frowned and pulled out his cell phone. “I want this guy behind bars as soon as possible.”
She wanted that, too, but not as much as she wanted Cam to be safe. As she continued driving through town, she listened as Cam spoke with someone named Doc.
“Hey, Doc, call me as soon as possible. If you’re available, I need backup in Grand Haven, Michigan.”
“Doc?” she echoed, when he lowered the phone. “As in he’s a physician?”
“No, as in our team medic,” Cam explained. “His legal name is Regan Harmon, but everyone knows him as Doc. He fought alongside the rest of us, but his main duties were all about providing emergency and often temporary medical care while under fire.”
“I see.” There were many days working trauma cases in the OR seemed chaotic at best, but at least she was providing care under a semi-controlled environment. Patching wounds in the middle of combat must have been challenging. “I’m sure he saved plenty of lives during his tours overseas.”
“Yeah. But it’s the ones you can’t save that haunt you.” Cam’s grim expression betrayed his sorrow. “And there were too many of those to count. Especially at the end of our tour when we were bugging out to come home. A surprise attack hit us hard, and we lost more than half our team because a group of pencil pushers were incompetent.”
“I’m sorry.” She reached out to touch his arm. “That must have been horrible.”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
As they passed a burger joint, she made an abrupt turn. When he looked at her in surprise, she flushed. “I don’t know why, but I’m starving.”
“Burgers work fine for me.” He glanced around the fast-food parking lot. “I haven’t seen the black truck anywhere, have you?”
“No, and I looked.” She took her place in line at the drive-through lane. “I’ll need to feed Bruno before we head out to do any more searches.”
“Understood.” He turned to scratch Bruno behind the ears. “I’ll have two of whatever you’re having.”
“Grilled chicken, fries, and a water?” She arched a brow as they edged closer to the speaker.
“Sure, why not? Only one water, though.” He grinned and pulled cash from his pocket. “My treat.”
Much like their earlier stop to get sub sandwiches for lunch, this felt a little too much like a date. After placing their order, she drove up to the next window. Feeling self-conscious, she took his money and paid for their meals. A moment later, she passed the water bottles over first and then the bag of food. The enticing aroma of french fries was a welcome change from the garbage.
“You remember how to get to the rental house?” Cam asked as she pulled out onto the highway.
“Yes.” She watched the rearview mirror closely as she left the downtown area of Grand Haven, relieved there was no sign of anyone following them or the black truck with tinted windows.
As she headed down the driveway to the rental house, a wave of exhaustion hit hard. It seemed like eons rather than hours since they’d been there. This constantly being on guard and looking over her shoulder was getting old.
And Cam still wanted to use Bruno to help search the nature preserve. Swallowing a sigh, she parked in the driveway, as there was no garage associated with the place. She killed the engine and pushed her door open. Cam passed over the bag of food so that he could grab the backpack. Bruno jumped down and stood for a moment sniffing the air before he followed her inside.
She quickly filled a bowl of water for Bruno, then took the pack from Cam so she could feed him. Bruno was a high-energy dog who loved to eat, digging into his food with enthusiasm.
She joined Cam at the table. “We need to say grace.”
He nodded and surprised her by reaching for her hand. Gripping it tightly, she drew in a slow breath. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for keeping us safe today. We ask for You to continue watching over us as we seek to uncover the truth. Please also bless this food we are about to eat. Amen.”
