“Coming in hot,” Patch broke through the coms. “Meet me behind our barracks.”
Saint, Taco, and Shadow took off running. Liam stayed behind, guarding the truck and the women.
They rounded the corner and spotted Patch wheeling a gurney toward them, Knight on it. “What the hell, Patch?” Saint growled.
“We need to get out of here. Knight’s coming out of anesthesia. We need to get them somewhere safe. I might’ve borrowed some blood and other supplies. Let’s go.”
Taco grabbed the end of the gurney and pulled as they made their way in the shadows. When they got as close as possible to the truck, Patch stopped.
“Get my portable gurney from the truck,” he ordered.
Taco jogged ahead, grabbed it, and ran back. Moving Knight carefully, they placed him on it and headed for the truck. Liam stood in the back of the truck and helped load him onto the bed beside Sergeant Taylor.
“Cover them up,” Saint ordered. “Sparky, lie down behind my seat on the floorboard. Hollywood, you sit in the back with the dogs. Cole will ride in the back seat. Cover his wound. Patch in the back. Taco ride in the seat and put your legs on Sparky. Shadow ride shotgun.”
The team went into action. Taco leaned down, covering Sparky. “I’m sorry about this,” he whispered as he placed his feet on her.
“Don’t be,” she replied. “We’re a team. You won’t do anything without my best interests at heart. Did Leo get my warning?”
“Yeah, darling, he did. Stay quiet until we get out, and then we’ll update you on everything,” Taco said sadly.
She lay still, listening.
The team handed over their credentials at the guard station. “It’s a bit late for you to work, don’t ya think?” the guard asked while another shone a light inside the truck and in the back.
“One of my men went missing today. We’re going back out to find him,” Saint replied.
“Good luck, I hope you find him.”
Saint nodded and sped off. “We need to get Ice. Cole, where do I go?”
“Same way we came. When the road ends, turn left. It’s dangerous. Keep your eyes peeled,” Cole said. “When we get close, I’ll have you pull over. It’s guarded, and we don’t need the dogs alerting to our presence. I’ll take care of it.”
“Patch will go with you. How badly did you get hit?” Saint asked.
“Bad enough to feel it,” he muttered. “Did Apollo pick up Leo’s scent?”
“Nothing,” Saint said. “Whatever Ford put on the ground confused him. He didn’t pick him up even after smelling the pack.”
Cole lay back, thinking about what disoriented the dogs.
When they got closer, he said, “Stop.” Leaning forward, he opened the door. “Stay here. It’ll take us fifteen minutes to get there and about an hour to get Ice. If we’re not back in two hours, we’re not coming back. Get them out of here.”
Patch jumped from the side of the truck. “You’re in no condition to do this.”
“I’m the only one who can do it,” Cole said, wincing. “I’m not a vet, but I’ve seen them care for the dogs after they’re injured. You’ll have to carry him.”
Saint watched as the two men disappeared into the night. They kept watch after a harrowing day. Shadow turned to Saint as they scanned the darkness.
“They need to return to Serenity. We don’t have enough weapons or manpower. With Knight and Cole down, we’re limited. We can’t keep Sparky without Ice,” he said, thinking out loud. “Someone needs to tell Catherine. She’s texted Leo’s phone three times since we found it.”
Frowning, Saint agreed. “She’s pregnant. We can’t tell her over the phone. Rebecca’s bringing the Texas team. They’ll help. Hollywood has held his ear since we returned. Leo got him from harm’s way, but the blast might’ve hurt his cochlear implant. We need him to go. You, Taco, and I can search for Leo. Once Rebecca arrives with Julio, Matthew, Jameson, and Garrett, we can cover more area.”
“Where do we go tonight?” Shadow asked.
“I say, we get them on the plane. We’ll sleep for a couple of hours and leave at daylight. We’ll start over where we found his pack,” Saint said.
An hour and a half went by with no sign of their teammates. Taco paced, peering in the direction where they last saw them.
