Kash chuckled. “Trust me, jumping into the ocean this time of year would have been worse. Because that was your next move, right?”
Dalton flipped Kash off, cinching the blanket tighter around his shoulders. “Am I having a stroke or does everyone else smell smoke?”
Foster looked back over his shoulder. “We took some damage. Engine’s puking oil, temps are climbing. I can milk her back to the hangar, but I won’t be able to make it to Providence, even if the weather wasn’t this bad.”
Bodie clapped Foster on the shoulder. “You came back, brother. Can’t ask for more than that.” He nodded at Rowan’s dad. “How’s Alister?”
Chase looked back over his shoulder from the other side of the cabin. “Hard to tell. His vitals are all over the place, and he’s slipping in and out of consciousness, but he’s alive.” Chase sighed. “This isn’t anything I can fix. He needs a secure place he can rest until there’s no longer a threat. We’ll run through some options once we’re back at Raven’s Watch.”
Dalton loosened his vest, reached inside and removed those IV bags from the hospital and some folded papers. “This might help. It’s the Neuravive serum they’d been administering. Seems to be restoring some of his cognitive functions, at least, that’s what his files say.”
Chase accepted both, brow raised. “Where the hell did you get these?”
“They were hanging on the IV cart next to his bed. Thought it couldn’t hurt.”
Chase shook his head as he grabbed supplies, started one of them dripping away.
Bodie nodded his thanks. “Looks like I owe you guys. Again.”
Kash waved it off. “You’ve had our backs from the start, buddy. We’re good.”
Rowan shuffled in beside Bodie, punched him in the arm as soon as she’d settled in. “That’s for lying to me.”
Bodie held up one hand, torn between wanting to talk it out and wanting to kiss her. “When?”
“You promised I’d get to go last the next time we were staring down mercenaries. Yet, there you were, hanging from a chopper because you went last. Again.”
He smiled, gave into the urge and dropped a quick kiss on her mouth. “I’ll make it up to you.”
She stared at him, looking as if she might loop the harness around him and shove him back out the door, before she huffed, laid her head on his shoulder. “You’d better. And next time, kiss me like you mean it.”
“Deal.”
He relaxed against the seat, content to give himself the next ten minutes to just breathe — enjoy the easy press of her body against his — appreciate the fact they’d gotten out mostly unscathed when static filled the cabin, the radio at Nick’s hip crackling to life.
“Roger, alpha team. Termination protocol initiated. Black code tracker coming through five-by-five.”
A pause, then another voice. Low. Gruff. “What the hell, Westwood. I said no chatter on open channels.”
The unit clicked, a thick silence bleeding through.
Nick cleared his throat. “Everyone heard that, right? I’m not crazy?”
Bodie cursed. “Chase…”
“Already on it.” Chase had Alister on one side as Chase smoothed his fingers along his skin. He hit Alister’s hip, swore. “I’ve got something under his skin.”
Chase smeared some cream on the older man’s hip, then carefully sliced a small line across his flesh. A micro-chip slipped out with a smear of blood, the obvious truth staring up at them. “Shit.”
Bodie held out his hand, turned the unit over a few times, muttering under his breath. “I should have guessed they’d tagged him.”
Rowan sighed. “It wouldn’t have mattered if you had. We didn’t have enough time to check before we would have been overrun. You barely made it down that chute as it was.”
“Still…” He fisted it, wondering if he should simply crush the thing when Dalton placed his hand over Bodie’s.
He leaned in, sighed. “I have an idea.”
Bodie groaned. “Is it better than jumping off that cliff?”
