Page 21 of Cast in Shadow
That was a rarity in our world.
But he didn’t have the stomach for field work. Some people didn’t, just like some of us weren’t cut out for spending our days cooped up inside behind a keyboard as the incessant buzz of electronics slowly drove us mad. It took all types to keep an organization like Lexa running.
“Shut down the feed, Dennis, but keep it recording in the background. Have one of the techs scan back through later to make sure we didn’t miss anything.” The bodies weren’t going anywhere. The answers, though? Those were slipping through our fingers by the second. The image of her winking at the camera played in my head, and I looked at Nguyen and the others. “She’s gone, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t left traps. Fan out. Stay alert. Maybe we can figure out where she’s headed next.”
I’d taken all of two steps toward the trail littered with body parts when Dennis’s voice came through my earpiece again. “Pull up, boss. We have a new problem.”
9
I shot a glance over my shoulder to make sure Nguyen was still close. “What’s up, Dennis?”
“Just got a ping from Echo. They’re tracking the shifter girl. Looks like she’s headed in the general direction of her grandmother’s cabin, but half the pack is closing in on her too.”
Not good. Even if she could find her grandmother’s place, she wouldn’t be safe with pack enforcers running her down.
“Did you get that?” I asked, directing the question at Nguyen. “The cabin isn’t far from here. A couple of miles as the crow flies, I think.” But it would be triple that if we drove it, thanks to the network of dirt and gravel roads out in the woods.
Nguyen nodded once. “Dennis, activate Charlie—they’re on standby today—and send them to the campsite as backup.”
The idea of leaving just two agents to guard the area grated, but with no sign of where Megan went, the next few hours would likely be all about investigation and cleanup.
I glared up at the blue sky peeking through the trees. “How close is Echo to the girl?”
“Not close enough,” Dennis replied. “They’re trying tointercept, but when I said half the pack is closing in, I wasn’t exaggerating. Monty said there’s got to be sixty or seventy adult wolves running her down.”
Damn. With that many wolves in pursuit, pack mentality would take over. When they did eventually catch up with the girl and her grandmother—which they would—it would be a bloodbath.
I’d already seen one of those today. If I could do something to prevent another, I would do it.
“Patch Nguyen and I through to Echo,” I said.
The comm crackled again as I headed for my Jeep, motioning for Nguyen to follow me. A few seconds later, the sound of gunfire erupted through my earpiece, and I winced. When I glanced back, his expression was twisted with pain, and he was scrambling to turn down the volume on his own earpiece.
“Echo, what the hell is happening out there?” I asked, fighting the urge to yell over the noise that only Nguyen and I could hear.
More shots came through, along with more vicious snarls than I could count and a scream so gut-wrenching I felt it in the base of my skull.
“There’s too many! Disengage! Fall back to the trucks!” I recognized that voice as the team’s second-in-command.
“Erin, what’s happening?”
“They’re everywhere. Monty is dead. Shit! They tore him apart. FUCK, GET BACK!”
Bang. Bang. Bang.Another scream pierced my eardrum, followed by the wet sound of flesh tearing and a sickening gurgle.
My heart was in my throat, but all I could do was stare into Nguyen’s brown eyes and watch the fury building inside himshine back at me like I was looking in a mirror. “Erin, talk to me.”
Another wet, choking sound broke through before the line went completely silent.
Anger detonated in my chest. “Dennis!”
“I’m—I’m trying to get them back.” He sounded absolutely fried.
“You have my location. Tell me where I need to go.”
One of the other agents circled around from behind me. “What about Navali?”
I jabbed a finger toward the ground. “Stay here and wait for the cleanup crew. Do not let a single soul see those bodies until they’ve had a chance to do their thing.”
