Page 6

Cleo’s heart thumped with anticipation as she rounded the rock with Hunter. Her breath caught in her throat and a smile crossed her face. It faded quickly.

“That’s a whip fox,” Hunter whispered.

“And an injured one. That back leg looks broken.” The animal was the size of a large cat with silvery gray fur and a pointed nose. It had a huge bushy tail that hid a deadly surprise. It was immensely strong, and that tail could snap a person’s neck.

The whip fox froze the second they appeared.

Hunter inched closer, and the fox’s eyes narrowed. It slid back, but only made it a few feet, before dropping to its belly and heaving out a sigh, suggesting it sensed defeat and was too broken to keep fighting.

“Get the medical kit out.” Cleo held out her hand, her gaze still fixed on the animal.

“Be careful. It may be hurt, but it’ll still fight if it senses we’re a threat.” He handed her the kit.

“Then you’d better keep away. Your size must be terrifying to such a small animal.” She ran a hand-held portable medical scanner over the whip fox. It was badly dehydrated, running a fever, and the injured limb looked gangrenous. “Hold still, sweetie. Let’s see what we can do to make you feel better.” Cleo gave the whip fox pain relief and a sedative, even though it was no longer trying to escape.

“Maybe it would be kinder to put it out of its misery,” Hunter said quietly.

“Its vitals are shaky, but we can get it stable. We need to get it back to the Apocalypse, though, or it won’t make it.”

“It might not make it even if we take it. And there’s no chance of this fox surviving in the wild with only three legs. It would starve.”

“It doesn’t have to survive on its own. There’ll be room in a sanctuary for it.” Cleo studied the whip fox. “I’d love to know how it ended up here. Did the Siblet bring it here to experiment on? That tail would be a wicked addition to their mutants. Imagine it five times the size.”

“It’s possible. They seem to experiment on anything that’ll give them an edge. I’ll carry it back to the ship,” Hunter said. “There’s no need for a cage, not while it’s unconscious.”

“I’ve never seen a whip fox before.” Cleo wrapped the injured limb and strapped it so the fox wouldn’t be in pain when Hunter picked it up.

“They’re hunted for their fur, aren’t they?”

“Unfortunately, they are. I wonder if this is the only one on the planet.”

“Once we’re on board the ship, I’ll run a wide range scan. We can isolate the whip fox signature and see if there are more out there.”

“If there are, we can send a team back to collect them. They’d be an asset to our sanctuary colony,” Cleo said. “They’re not too rare, but their numbers have been declining for years.”

Hunter’s tempting smile had her heart quickening as she carefully lifted the whip fox into his arms.

“What’s got you so happy?” she asked.

“I’m always happy when I’m with you. But you see what happens when we leave the office? We could make more amazing finds just like this.”

Cleo shook her head. She had moments when she wished she could throw off the responsibility and disappear into the wilds for a few weeks, but she was the person everyone else relied on. And if she made mistakes, they’d suffer.

Hunter balanced the whip fox over one shoulder and reached over to cup her chin with his free hand. “Hey, be happy. We just got an amazing result. You’re always in your head, working things out. Be here, with me.”

“I am happy. And I work with an amazing team. I’ll never let them down.”

He lowered his hand, and a flicker of sadness entered his purple eyes. “And you’ll always put that team first.”

“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.” Cleo ignored the tickle of regret that decision cost her. “Let’s head back to the ship and get this animal fixed up.”

There was no time for fun or romance in her line of work, no matter how tempting it was to have fun with Hunter.

And Cleo was determined not to ruin this career. Not like she did the last one.