Page 98 of Whispers of You
I cried out, frantically searching my keychain for what I needed. A second later, a piercing siren split the air.
I thought I heard someone curse and then footsteps running away. But I couldn’t be sure. All I knew was that the darkness was trying to claim me.
33
HOLT
“You’re sure about this?”
The uncertainty in my second-in-command’s voice had me fighting annoyance. “I’m sure.”
Jack sighed. “We’re gonna miss the hell out of you. Things won’t be the same.”
I set down the tweezers I’d been using to lift out a watch’s face. “I’m not disappearing. I’ll be a chopper ride away. I’ll still sit in on meetings when you need me. I’ll always be a second set of eyes.”
“But you won’t be in the field with us.”
“No.” Because what would I prove to Wren if I left every other week to take on some job? And more than that, I didn’t feel the pull to take off to parts unknown like I had before. Maybe because I wasn’t trying to distract and numb myself any longer. I was facing things for the first time. And as painful as it had been, I couldn’t imagine anything more worth it.
“I wanna meet this girl.”
I grinned down at Shadow and gave her head a scratch. “You’re gonna like her.”
“I know I will, which just annoys me because she’s stealing my best friend.”
I chuckled. “She has an awesome dog, too. I’m training her for SAR.”
“You’ve already got a sidekick.”
I leaned down, pressing my forehead to Shadow’s. “What do you think? You gonna be my sidekick?”
Shadow let out a low woof, and Jack laughed. “I think that’s a yes.”
My phone beeped, and I pulled it away from my ear. The name on the screen had dread pooling in my gut. “That’s my brother on the other line. I need to take this.”
“Sure. Keep me updated and let me know if you need some backup out there.”
“Will do.” I hit the button on the screen to switch calls. “Law?”
There was a split second of silence before he spoke. “Wren’s fine.”
Everything in me locked, my muscles turning to stone, heartbeat stilling. “What happened?”
“She was attacked outside the station.”
He barely had the third word out before I was moving. My keys were in my hand, and I was jogging toward the door, giving Shadow the command to stay. She obeyed, but I could tell she didn’t want to.
I yanked open my SUV’s door. “Is she hurt?”
My voice didn’t sound like my own. Even. No emotion.
“The doc is taking a look at her right now.”
“Station?” I clipped.
“Yes. Drive safe.”
I hung up before he could say anything else. Rocks flew as I reversed out of my makeshift parking spot and took off down the dirt road. My pulse pounded in my neck, and images flashed in my mind.
