He reached down into the dark pit—Christ, Zeke must be so scared—and pulled the far lighter man out of the hole. Panting, he fell back, Zeke tumbling on top of him. Their hands surrounded each other, Noah pulling Zeke against him as tight as possible, forming their own private bubble while Wolf whined and pressed himself against the pair of them. It was all okay again. Noah’s inner compass recalibrated. His true north was back in his arms, and it was all going to be okay.
Noah pushed them back up to a less compromising position. He scanned the platoon, reading off the names that flashed up next to them on the interface, scanning for his flock. When he locked eyes on Brodie’s body, he allowed himself to relax somewhat. Ever since promising Habib he would never prioritise Zeke over the rest of them, he’d secretly doubted himself. The immense amount of relief that coursed through him now that scenario had been tested—with Brodie of all of people—made him feel giddy.
He turned to dust the mud off from Zeke’s body. “What the hell were you doing, going up here by yourself? You almost died!”
“There were four of them trying to get Wolf!”
“Wolf is a canine unit. A dog. I know I don’t always treat him like he’s one, but he is. Under no circumstances do you put yourself in danger for him. If you do that again, I’ll kill you myself.”
Infuriatingly, Zeke glowered at him, a small smile visible through the glass on his muddy visor.
“What?” Noah said, scowling. “Why are you smiling right now?”
“You go more Dutch when you’re angry.”
“Neuk je.”
“I’m presuming you just told me you love me very much.”
Noah raised his middle finger at him.
“Forrest!” Lowenna’s booming voice came through the audio feed. “We need you. There’s one casualty.”
Every inch of the fleeting moment of joy faded away as Noah crossed the cemetery, jumping over loose gravestones and the fallen bodies of the typeBs to reach Lowenna.Please not Habib, please not Vitt, please not Frankie, please not us.
Next to Lowenna, a body lay in the fetal position, neck sliced. Through the cracked helmet, Noah could make out the face of a woman in her early twenties.
“She was the newest member of K. Gracie Bellows,” Krish said, his voice flat. “A stray bullet clipped her leg, and she went down. Two typeBs latched on before we even had a second to get there. We had to mercy kill.”
Tobias, covered in gore but still recognisable from his cocky walk, stepped towards the body. “I knew this was a bad—”
“Stand down, Newman,” snapped Lowenna. “Take half the platoon and sweep the church. Krish, document everything you find and send it to me. After, instruct everyone to set up camp. We’re sleeping in there tonight. We need a proper rest and a space to clean up and regroup.”
And grieve.Guilty thoughts about being thankful it was one of K and not his flock swirled inside him.
Once they were alone, Lowenna turned to him, stepping close and tapping the palm of her hand three times. Noah stared at her until he finally realised what she was trying to communicate. Noah released the catch at the back of his helmet and pressed the button three times, powering it off. This was standard procedure when officers were about to go off the record. Glancing around to ensure her team had indeed secured the perimeter, she pulled her helmet off her head, so Noah did the same.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t let Tobias contact Command,” said Lowenna.
Noah frowned. “What?”
“Let’s just say I’ve told some half-truths this evening. You and I will need to get our story straight before debriefing.”
Puzzle pieces clicked into place.
“Are you… working with…” he trailed off, not wanting to say Leonie’s name.
She nodded. “Yes. Their influence got our two squads assigned to this mission, but apparently they could only go so far, hence us being stuck out here withhim.”
So many questions danced on the tip of Noah’s tongue.
“When I saw the footage, I knew we needed to investigate. I couldn’t risk Command saying no. Holy fuck, did you see the ones who made the torches? Terrifying.”
Indeed. Everything they’d seen here so far terrified him to the point he dreaded going into the church.
“I’ll call some of my team over to help me with Gracie’s body. Go supervise inside.”
