He opened his mouth and shut it. “I’m no expert.”
These guys were the experts on black ops and cover-ups. Less than ten hours after Von had led them back to Schink’s Station, the rest of Leo’s team had swooped in here, taken control, and made it look smooth and easy. Eric cocked his head. “What’s next for you, then?”
That wasn’t a question he could answer in front of this crowd, with all these eyes on him. Especially when the one face he most wanted to see—the one he cared about—wasn’t here.
And that, right there, was his answer. “I make decisions with Leo.”
A few brows rose, one head nodded. That was Von, who’d seen them on that riverbank. He more than anyone knew what Elias felt for Leo.
“Okay.” Eric—the team leader—and his brother, Ford, exchanged a look and smiled. “We hold the prisoners, keep this here, in town. And wait for Leo to wake up.” He looked around the room. “That work for everybody? You guys okay with keeping the town contained for a while?”
“Depends.” Amka snorted. “Y’all gonna sit around or help us rebuild?”
“Now you’re talking my language.” Jameson, the big Santa Claus guy stood. “Where’re the tools at?”
***
In less than a day, Von and Elias developed a weird sort of partnership—the kind that neither of them was used to. Von had his team and that was it. And Elias, well, he’d had himself. Until recently.
Which was why it surprised the hell out of him when Von volunteered to head out into the mountains with him that afternoon in search of Bo. Initially, Elias figured Von was there to babysit—either they didn’t trust him not to take off, or they thought he physically couldn’t handle it after the last week’s adventures.
Adventures. Funny way to think about the lifetime he and Leo had spent running for their lives.
For five hours, they searched for Bo, taking breaks only so Elias could catch his breath—he’d broken a couple ribs after all, gotten shot, and had his head bashed in—and drink water.
But his legs still worked and his feet, though a mess, could handle the terrain now that he’d managed to borrow boots in his size from Jameson.
Shoulders bowed, back hurting, he trudged back into Schink’s Station, Von at his side, straight into a rebuilding scene like he’d never imagined.
Leo’s team was efficient, that was for sure. As they neared the lodge, a couple guys stopped cutting and hauling and hammering long enough to nod hello. Their eyes skipped quickly to Von and back before returning to work. Nobody mentioned the missing dog, which he appreciated. He’d find Bo. He wouldn’t give up.
He focused on the work the people had done in the past few hours. Amazingly, they’d almost finished repairing the lodge’s structure. All that was missing was the massive window, which they’d had to special order from Anchorage.
On the lodge’s front porch, Von stalked to a cooler and grabbed a couple beers, throwing Elias one.
Just the sound of the tab popping did things to his insides. The smell reached his nose and his mouth watered. His first slug drained half the can. When he looked up, Von’s cynical nonsmile cut into his deeply scarred face. For a second, Elias wondered if the man could smile at all with those injuries.
Von lifted his brows and grabbed a couple more beers, which he brought to a picnic table before sitting down.
“Doing okay?”
Elias had a feeling he wasn’t talking about his physical injuries.
“Fine.”
“You sure? You seem…” He tightened his lips. “Not fine.”
Oh, good. Another guy who matched him in eloquence.
He opened his mouth to reply and then paused, let the air puff from his mouth, shut his eyes, listened to the sounds, took in the smell of fresh-cut wood, the bitter taste of beer on his tongue.
Slowly, he shook his head. “No, man. I’m…lost.” His eyes opened and met Von’s black ones. “What if she doesn’t come out of it?”
“She will.”
The other man’s confidence did nothing to boost his own.
“What if she…” He swallowed and let the thing he’d been denying swim to the top. “What we went through?” He tried to smile, but it was pointless. “It was just five days, man. Five days. She might not even remember me when she gets up.” He thumped his fist to chest. “People don’t just…”Find their soul mate in five days.He couldn’t say it out loud. This guy wouldn’t get it. And, frankly, just thinking the words made him feel ridiculous.
