“He will.” Then Dylon opened the door and ushered Cody into the hall. Once he was alone with his mate, Dylon asked him, “Are you all right?”
Cody snorted. “Really? Now you’re worried about me? After all that gung-ho crap in there?”
“Babe, I’m sorry. I get like that when I’m planning a mission. The guys used to call me ‘Laser’ because I couldn’t focus on anything else.”
“Laser? Can that be our code word?”
“Sure, why?”
“If there’s danger that I can see and you can’t, I want a word I can say so you know to be prepared for it. I don’t know if I’d have time to give you detailed information, so I thought a code word would be a perfect way to alert you.”
“Good thinking. Laser it is. Let’s get packed so we can have some time with my parents.”
~/~/~/~/~
Logan knocked on Frank and Lizzie’s door. “Cody! Dylon! Jackson said the helicopter is almost here.”
Dylon strode over to the door, opened it and said, “Thanks Logan, we’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Okay, everyone is waiting to say good-bye to both of you.”
“Great!” Dylon turned back to his parents and his mate as Logan walked away.
“Come here, honey,” Lizzie said to Cody, “I always give Dylon a giant good-bye hug with instructions to make sure he comes home to me in one piece so now, I get to do it to you too.”
Cody moved into Lizzie’s arms and stood in her embrace. The love that flowed from her surrounded him, reminding him of the hugs his mother used to give him. A lone tear slowly crept down his face as he returned the hug. Slowly, he pulled away and whispered in her ear, “Thank you, so much.”
Lizzie reached up and used her thumb to wipe the wetness from Cody’s face. “That’s all right, sweetie. Everything will work out just fine and I’ll be waiting for you and Dylon to return and try some of my other recipes. You didn’t think I was going to let you escape your duty as a son, did you?”
Cody giggled, “No, I didn’t think that at all. I’ll be very happy to have you cook for me.”
Then Frank spoke. “Cody, take care of yourself and my son. I have a lot of faith in your ability to help my son rescue Slate. Dylon’s skills are the best I’ve ever seen.” Then he reached out and gave Cody a hug and a pat on the back. “Take care over there and if you need anything from the High Council, Dylon will know what to do.”
Dylon received his hugs and then said, “We better go.” Taking Cody’s hand, he shepherded him out of the roombut not before his mate said, “See you, soon,” to Lizzie and Frank.
As they entered the great room, Cody saw all his brothers, along with Ian, Steel, Daniel, Oracle and Maximus waiting to say their good-byes. Touched by the turnout, he and Dylon made their way through the group before he finally reached Jackson and his mate. Steel was holding Daniel who reached out his arms, wanting to be held by Cody. Cuddling his nephew and hugging him close to his chest, he whispered in Daniel’s ear, “Thank you, my little badass dude for helping me become completely invisible, but if you ever piss on my leg again…” Cody stopped as Daniel began to giggle which turned into a bout of laughter that jiggled his belly. Giving his nephew a kiss on his nose, he handed him back to Steel.
Taking his son, Steel said, “Thank you Cody, for doing this. I owe you one.”
Cody hugged Steel and Daniel and said with a wink, “Good, I’ll collect on it someday.” Then he turned to Jackson who had tears in his eyes, “Bro, are you pregnant again?”
Startled, Jackson exclaimed, “No! Absolutely not! Why would you say that?”
“Because you’re an emotional mess,” teased Cody.
“Funny, funny. Listen, you better make sure you come back. That’s an order from your Alpha.”
Cody wrapped his arms around Jackson and held him close while he whispered in his brother’s ear, “I promise I’ll be back…safe and sound in the Blackwood Pack den. Take care of everyone and keep an eye on Colton and Carson for me. Promise?”
“I promise. I love you, Cody.”
“I love you too, bro.”
Cody took Dylon’s hand as they walked out into the late afternoon sunlight toward the helicopter that would take them on the first leg of their journey.
Chapter 36
So far, the run had gone smoothly, but now Slate’s wolf had slowed, padding over the rocks gingerly. Something was bothering him. Suddenly, he stopped short behind several huge boulders and bared his teeth. They were in danger! Slate went into high alert. His enforcers were grouped alongside and behind him, awaiting his signal to attack. But attack what? That was a question Slate had no answer for.
