“Declan would know the smoke from the wreckage would draw the hybrids like flies. He would have gotten everyone away from it as fast as he could,” Tate said. “Do you know which way they went?”
Ivy exchanged looks with Clayne. “Declan and Kendra headed out going due west, directly away from the landing zone.”
Landon frowned. “Kendra and Declan? Not the others?”
Clayne shared another look with Ivy. “The other two headed out on their own, going almost due south.”
“Why didn’t they all stay together?” Butler asked.
Tate swore softly. “Because they saw Declan shift during the ambush. From their point of view, there isn’t much difference between him and the hybrids.”
“So what do we do?” Carter asked. “I know you brought us in primarily to rescue your friends, Captain, but we aren’t just going to abandon the other two, are we?”
Everyone turned to Landon, and Angelo was once again struck by how people naturally turned to him for leadership. Always had, always would.
“No,” Landon said. “A couple of us will track down the locals while the rest of us focus on finding Declan and Kendra.” He looked at Ivy, then Clayne. “But any team I send out will need a shifter to help track them.”
Angelo knew Landon well enough to know he didn’t want Ivy running around the jungle without him, but the alternative was pointing at Clayne and saying, “Tag, you’re it.” Landon wouldn’t do that, if for no other reason than Ivy wouldn’t put up with it.
“I’ll do it.”
Angelo turned to see Tanner standing there with his eyes glowing in the green light of the NVGs.
Landon hesitated. “Can you use your nose well enough to track them?”
Tanner nodded. “My nose isn’t as good as Ivy’s or Clayne’s, but now that I have a good bead on their scents, I can find them.”
“I’ll go with him,” Carter said.
Tanner shook his head. “I can travel faster alone.”
“I’m sure you can,” Carter agreed. “But what are you going to do once you find them? Club them senseless and force them to do as you tell them? I speak the language, remember? I can get them to come with us willingly.”
“I’ll go, too,” Gavin said quietly.
Tate’s mouth tightened. “Like hell. We’re out here to find Declan and Kendra.”
“I know that. But there are two locals out there who are as good as dead if they run into those damn hybrids,” Gavin said. “Someone has to go after them. If Declan were here, he’d say the same thing.”
“For all we know, the two locals could already be dead,” Tate ground out. “And as far as Declan agreeing with you, he was the one who let them go off on their own.”
“Because you told him to get Kendra out of here safely,” Gavin shot back.
In the green glow of the NVGs, Angelo could see Tate’s jaw clench. For a minute, Angelo thought he might have to get between the two men.
“Dammit, don’t you think I know that?” Tate finally said. Cursing, he turned and stormed off.
In the silence, Angelo let his gaze follow the man, half-afraid Tate would be stupid enough to go out looking for his missing teammate on his own. But the DCO operative stopped on the edge of the clearing to stare off into the jungle. Tate might not have come out and said it, but it was obvious that he felt responsible for what happened to Declan and Kendra. If they died, Tate would carry the weight of that with him for the rest of his life, and nothing anyone said would ease the pain or the memory. Unfortunately, Angelo had some experience with that.
Angelo gave himself a mental shake and turned his attention back to Landon, listening in as they hammered out what Tanner’s team would do if they found the locals, as well as if they didn’t. The details took a while to work out, but they finally decided that if they found the locals, they’d head in whichever direction seemed the safest. If they didn’t, Tanner and the other men would backtrack and link up with them again. A few minutes later, Tanner and his group went south while Angelo and the others headed west.
“Do you really think it was okay to let Tanner lead the other team?” Ivy asked Landon as they walked.
Angelo had been wondering that, too. He didn’t know much about Tanner, but if half the stuff Landon told him was true, they’d just let a ticking time bomb take charge of a three-person rescue team.
“We didn’t have any other choice,” Landon answered.
Notexactlyaringingendorsement, Angelo thought.
