Page 39 of Shielding Instinct

“Hey!” Ash called. “Currents picking up.”

“We still good?” Reaper called back.

Ash glanced toward the horizon, then slid his gaze from left to right. “Yeah. The waves might get a little higher than they’ve been today. But right now, it’s manageable.”

Hoover scrambled onto the board and Ash started pushing out past the break.

“Hoover got on himself,” Reaper said. “I want you to lift your dog on. They need the experience of being hoisted out of the surf so they don’t scramble and can relax their bodies. Lift them onto the back in that sweet spot we practiced back at Headquarters.”

Cooper was a natural.

He lounged on the back of the board as Hawkeye pushed him out.

It was surprisingly easy.

Ash wrangled himself up on the board with Hoover and was looking around. He cupped his hands around his mouth so the wind wouldn’t snatch his words. “We’re not supposed to have low tide for another couple of hours. This is wrong. Something’s wrong.” He scooped his hand over his head in a motion that would send the team back. “Get back to the shore. Go back!”

And with his last word, screams rode the wind, coming from around the other side of the craggy ridge of stones.

The men stilled, assessing if those were shrieks of glee or danger.

The next scream was unmistakable terror.

Then shouts, very distinct yelling, “Help! Oh my God, Help!”

Reaper stood on the shoreline. His fingers at the corners of his lips, Reaper sent up the shrill whistle that superseded any other command. It told the dogs, “To me!”

The K9s were instantly off their boards and in the water, paddling for shore. The men watched until the dogs made it past the break, and Reaper grabbed their collars and hauled them in. “Go! Go! I’ve got them. Go!”

With Cooper safe, Hawkeye flattened on his board, spinning himself around to point toward the open sea. With his brothers moving up fast to join him, Hawkeye cupped his hands and dug into the water, pulling hard to propel himself forward.

Another scream went up. And Hawkeye could hear his heartbeat pounding over the roar of waves.

With adrenaline-fueled power, Hawkeye was driving hard to get around the rocky stack.

He had no idea what would meet him on the other side.

Chapter Fourteen

Petra

Petra wasn’t wearing the right shoes for this trek.

The website said there would be an adventurous trip through jungle-like St. Croix to the tidepool. Once there, it was a short walk to the pools.

Shortwalk,not a mountain climbing adventure.

There was another way out, which the website described as a short hike.

But Tamika was gung-ho on the adventure part. And she preferred her adventures while sitting down. She couldn’t see a reason to hike all that way for a tidepool. “Ride through jungle-like St. Croix. Nowthat’sgoing to be a memorable experience.”

And she was right. It was an experience. And Petra would remember it.

Her driver, Lucky, was a hoot and a half. Just a naturally easy-going, wry-kind-of-funny guy.

He was also an ace mechanic who got that engine humming again when everything cut off, which it did every time his tire slid into a rut. And his tire went into a rut every few minutes.

But he was having a good time of it.

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