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“Oh my God.”
Another mercenary crossed to stand beside Jesse. Not a man, but a woman with gorgeous brown skin and braids pulled back into a bun at her nape. “Hi, Ellie. I’m Lanie. You okay?”
She couldn’t answer. Not really. The world was spinning, her vision narrowing in a way that made her feel both hot and cold.
Mostly committed suicide.
Some appear to have been forced…
Especially the kids…
Those words replayed through her mind on a loop.
Ellie shook her head furiously. “What about True? My niece. Dark curly hair, light blue-green eyes. Just a teenager. Is she…?”
Lanie frowned and glanced back at the rest of her team. They all shook their heads, and she turned back, gentling her voice. “We didn’t see her.”
Then she was out there somewhere, too. Maybe she was even with Cal. That was the best-case scenario because he’d protect her with his life. The worst case…
She was dead, and HORNET just missed her during their sweep of the compound.
Ellie popped to her feet and swayed a little before catching herself. “I... I want to see. I need to see.”
“Ellie…” Zak began, a note of warning in his voice.
“I need to,” she insisted. And if they left on foot, Puzzle could track them. You said he’s good at trailing—one of the best you’ve seen. He can find them.”
Zak exchanged glances with Lanie, who nodded. “It’s not a bad idea. Our K9 team is…” She hesitated. “Unavailable right now.”
One of her teammates scoffed at that.
Lanie ignored them. “So we could use the help.”
“Then Ranger will do it,” Zak said, setting a hand on his dog’s head. Ranger’s radar dish ears twitched, and his yellow eyes watched the humans with startling intensity.
“Ranger’s only trained on cadavers for the last few years,” Donovan reminded him. “With all of those bodies in there, he won’t be able to help. And Spirit’s a bomb-sniffer. Shane and Clue aren’t here. Pierce and Raszta…” He let the thought trail off without finishing it. “We’re shorthanded. It’d be stupid not to use her and the pup.”
Zak let out a breath. “All right.” He held up his hands in defeat. “It’s not ideal, but let’s see what Puzzle can do.”
“Thank you,” Ellie said.
Zak just shook his head and turned toward the entrance. “I still don’t like it.”
If she was honest, neither did she. Puzzle was so young, still a puppy in many ways. Was he ready for this?
The knot of dread in her stomach twisted tighter with each step they took toward the commune, but she forced herself to keep moving forward, one step at a time.
She had to know. Had to see for herself that Cal was not among the victims and make sure True wasn’t there.
The smell hit her first—a strong, musty odor like old socks. She’d smelled it before when she and Cal first arrived, but now it was a thousand times worse, mixed with the scent of death.
The first body they came to was Remedy, still in her garden. She lay among the flowers and vegetables with her arms spread wide as though embracing the earth. She looked asleep, a half-smile frozen on her blue lips that was both heartbreaking and terrifying.
Jesse carefully stepped around the body and bent to examine a nearby plant. After a moment, he straightened and backed away. “That’s hemlock. Knew I recognized the smell.”
“Fuck,” the Cajun guy muttered. Ellie still didn’t know his name. “That’s a hell of a way to go.”
Zak looked back at Ellie, his gaze worried. “You sure you wanna keep going?”
