Page 76 of Shielding Instinct

“They are.” Reaper rocked back on his heels. “Most likely, they’ll be here by morning. That’s where we’re at. Tomorrow, we can figure out where to assist, maybe free up some hands or eyeballs.”

“Rest and recuperation sounds like a good plan,” Petra said. “If you’re acting as volunteers tomorrow, I can join in. I’m FEMA-trained. Minimally, I could put pins in a map or monitor a radio.”

Reaper focused on Petra. “You’re pretty banged up. You might feel differently about being up and about tomorrow. If you’re good to go, we welcome your assistance as a citizen volunteer, which is the capacity in which Cerberus will be working. But, if you’re not a hundred percent—”

“I won’t endanger or slow down your team. If I’m not up to the assignment, I’ll back out.”

“Very good,” Reaper nodded. “We’ve concluded the hot wash, gentlemen. We’ll meet in Conference Room B at zero seven hundred hours. You need to be fed, and your dogs need to be ready to go. That gives you twelve hours to get some effective calories and a good night’s sleep.” His gaze slid over the team. “I’ll be here with Ash. Halo, I want you to manage Hoover.”

“Sir.”

“You all need to take care of your dogs and yourselves. Outstanding effort today. Outstanding.” Reaper turned and sauntered toward the door.

The men peeled off, heading toward their various vehicles.

Hawkeye pointed his fob toward the rented SUV. “Good?”

“This is where we started the trip,” Petra said as they approached the vehicle. “I’ve seen more of this hospital than the island.”

“As far as adventure trips go, this one will be memorable. We’ll tell these stories over wine at friends’ dinner tables for years to come.”

They were silent as they drove to the pharmacy and left the prescriptions at the drive-through.

It would be a fifteen-minute wait.

“Ten minutes,” the pharmacist said as she looked into the SUV at Petra. “I can get it done for you in ten.”

“Thank you,” Petra said. Yeah, she looked like she’d been through a meat grinder.

Hawkeye drove to the other side of the lot to park under a tree. “When we get back to the hotel, it’s straight to the shower.”

“Are you joining me?” Petra asked with a tired smile. A little bit flirty, a lot of fatigue.

“If you’re inviting, yes.”

“I’m inviting. Maybe we could order a pizza and eat it in bed again?”

“Absolutely. Glad to get in bed with you any time. I think we have a plan. Somewhere in there, I need to take Cooper for his last walk of the evening.”

“Cooper,” Petra cooed, “you were such a brave helper dog today. Here you thought you were going to the beach to play with your buddies, and instead, you got a day of chaos.”

“Speaking of chaos,” Hawkeye started.

Petra looked up at him, and Hawkeye focused on her eyes. “Your pupils have evened out now.”

“Oh?” Petra flipped down the visor to look in the mirror.

“Also, speaking of chaos, I’ve had a question I wanted to ask you since we were on the plane.”

Petra slapped the mirror shut and pushed the visor toward the roof before turning back to him.

“On the plane, even when the animals were racing around, you—”

“Cooper and the other dogs were completely unfazed,” Petra cut in. “Amazing.”

Hawkeye saw the deflection. Was that habit, part of her neurodivergence, or that she really didn’t want him to focus on her reactions to things that happened? “You were very calm and compartmentalized. You made me think of the phrase, ‘not my monkeys not my circus.’”

“Chaos breeds chaos. And in a confined space like that, things can get really bad really quickly. The last time I took a flight, it was a demon racing around the cabin instead of a cat.”

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