“Your head.” I can’t believe she was hurt again. I’m ashamed I let it happen.
“It’s okay.” Bea strokes my chin. “I’m okay.” Then she glances at Mack, still laying unconscious on the ground. “But… now what? Can we get out of here? And what about him?”
“We’ll find our way out,” I tell her. “As for him…” I’dliketo leave him here. “We can send the police back for him.”
“Indy? Bea?”
An unfamiliar voice has me spinning around. I shove Bea behind me and grab the discarded gun I have shoved into my waistband. “Freeze,” I growl. “Don’t come any closer.”
A bright beam of light approaches. Then another. And another.
“Rafe sent us,” the same voice replies. “We’re here to help.”
“Although,” another voice adds wryly, “it seems like you handled things just fine yourself.”
“Indy?” Bea’s fingers are digging into my waist. “Whoarethey?”
“I don’t know. Just stay behind me.”
The bouncing beams of light draw closer. A new yet familiar voice says, “Indy, man. It’s been a long time. When I suggested you come for a visit, this wasn’t exactly what I meant.”
Shock slams into me.“Zeke?”
A beat later, understanding sets in.
Of course.
My teammates know we’re in trouble. I triggered the alert on my ring as soon as I saw the man in Bea’s kitchen. And just like the earrings we gave Bea, my ring has a GPS tracker in it. And a tiny button I can press if I’m ever in trouble—one that will alert my team the second I trigger it.
I knew they’d be trying to help. But from across the country… it makes sense they’d call on one of our contacts.
Or in this case, several of them.
“Zeke?” Bea whispers. “Who’s Zeke?”
“Zeke used to be a Green Beret,” I tell her. “Not my battalion, but I’ve worked with him before. We’ve done training exercises together.”
“So,” Zeke says. “Are we good to approach? Or are you going to shoot us?”
I lower the gun. “You’re good.” As Zeke comes into view, flanked by two men I haven’t met, I ask, “Can you blame me? Considering—” I glance at Mack.
Zeke follows my gaze. His expression turns stony. “No. Of course not.” He jerks his chin towards the man on his left. “This is Ethan Watson. Or Chaos, if you’d prefer.” Gesturing to his right, he adds, “And this is Drew Koopman. Koop. They work with me in Fallport. With the Search and Rescue team.”
As Bea pokes her head out from behind me, Zeke gives her a reassuring smile. “Hey. I’m Zeke Calhoun. I know Indy from way back when. How are you doing?”
“Hi,” Bea replies. She moves to my side, and I wrap my arm around her. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You need any medical attention?” Ethan asks. “I brought along a medi-kit.”
“He punched her,” I tell him. “In the head.”
The three men stiffen. “Hehither?” Ethan asks. He walks towards us, his expression creased with concern. “Did you lose consciousness, Bea? Are you dizzy? Nauseous?”
Bea clutches my shirt. She’s still shaking, but not as much as before. “No. I was a little dizzy at first. But part of that was because I lost my implant.” At Ethan’s confused look, she explains, “I have cochlear implants. And when he”—she shoots an angry glare at Mack—“punched me, it fell off. So it messed up my balance a little.”
“Asshole,” Drew mutters. “Hitting a woman. If he wasn’t unconscious already…”
Almost on cue, Mack moans.
