“No, I mean Camo’s last mission.”
That gave him pause. “Nothing at all…but, wait. You mentioned that knowing Camo’s story, you had to keep him. Doyouknow about his last mission?”
She nodded.
“How?”
“Camo was with his team when they came under heavy fire,” she intoned, like she was reciting something she’d read. “They’d just completed a mission, but they’d been seen and pursued. Their extraction point was compromised, but they had a secondary plan. The river. They called in backup and the closest Swick team answered and radioed the coordinates to rendezvous. They hunkered down by the river and suffered casualties, including their own medic. Camo’s handler was wounded too. And that’s how Sean met Camo.”
“Arden—”
She waved him off. “Sean was his team’s best medic so while they covered him, he and another teammate came ashore to assist with triage and carrying the wounded and the equipment. Sean got to the handler and Camo, who wasn’t about to abandon his post. He got the handler patched up enough to transport though he was unconscious. Being the son of a veterinarian, Sean knew dogs. He turned the handler over to his teammate’s care and took control of Camo. They brought up the rear.” Arden squeezed her eyes shut. “The rest of the guys made it to the boat, but Sean…”
Kyle wrapped her up tight. “Arden, baby.”
“Camo was the last one who ever saw my brother alive. Sean was lying there, and he could have died alone but he didn’t, he wasn’t alone. He had Camo. I’ve pictured it so many times that I dream it sometimes. My brother in the sand by the river, and he’s just…the enemy’s all around and his team can’t get to him. But Camo was there, and he didn’t let anyone near Sean. He guarded him from the enemy, even after Sean…Camo guarded his body. They told me that after they neutralized the threat and they got to Sean, Camo still wouldn’t let anyone near. It was like he couldn’t recognize his own team. He had one mission, and that was to protect Sean and he wasn’t going to quit. They had to…they had to tranq Camo. Shoot a dart at him.”
She was crying hard again, and Kyle couldn’t stop his own tears. “They loaded him unconscious onto the same stretcher as Sean and carried them out of there, back to the boat. They said when Camo woke up later he was groggy, but he still looked around for Sean. He got up and tried to find him.”
Arden sobbed. “They had to…they had to take him, to take him to…Sean’s body…and let him smell him. And Camo howled. And then he curled up in a ball on the floor and wouldn’t move. He still wouldn’t leave him. Even when his handler was conscious and came to get him, he wouldn’t leave. So his handler just curled up with him and they let him stay as long as they could.”
Kyle held Arden while they both petted Camo and shed their tears.
“I guess Camo wouldn’t do his job after that. He just… It was too much for him. So, they decommissioned him. Sean’s buddy, the one who kept the letter let me know what happened. He told me Camo was available and gave me a phone number, and I called it, gave them my story, and then Camo was mine.”
She wiped her eyes. “I can’t give him up, Kyle. He’s the last link I have to Sean. He was the last one to see my brother alive. He was there as he died. He heard his last gasps, he licked his face. And when I look into Camo’s eyes, I can’t stop thinking that they’re the last eyes my brother saw before he died.”
And that’s when Arden started shaking.
“My brotherdied. He died, and I couldn’t be there. When we were kids, we did everything together. I wasn’tthere, Kyle. But Camo was. I can’t give him up.”
Kyle held her through her tears and sobs and shaking until they subsided.
“God you probably think I’m crazy,” she whispered against his chest. “That I couldn’t admit to myself that my brother’s dead.”
“No, baby, I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I think you’re very strong. I think you’re used to helping everyone else with their pain, and you’ve been trying to carry your own for a long time now and you’ve been trying to do it alone. But you’re not alone, baby. You’ve got a lot of people around you who believe in you and want to help you. You’ve got Sergeant Williams and Cynthia. You’ve got Ellie. And I’m sure that if you reached out to your brother’s teammates, all of them would do anything to help you as well. You aren’t alone in the world. And I want you to know that you’ve gotme. You’ve got me, Arden. Heart and soul, baby.” He stroked her hair. “You had me at, ‘I won’t hesitate to pull this trigger to protectmydog.’”
Arden snorted and laughed, and God was that a beautiful sound.
“You’re right. I do have a lot of people who love me. It’s just that I’ve lost my family. Mywholefamily. And I’ve felt so alone.”
“You’re wrong there. You’ve got a big family, Arden, even if they aren’t blood-relations.”
He felt her nod again.
“So, let’s just have the best night we can, okay? I’m not in any hurry to get back to California, so you just stop worrying about that. I wanna make sure you’re all right here before I do go back. And we’ll figure it out, I promise.”
“Kyle?”
“Yeah, babe?”
Arden kissed his throat. “You’re the wish I never thought of making.”
“And you’re the answer to a prayer I never knew I had.”
Arden’s phone buzzed and she ignored it. Then it buzzed again and Kyle didn’t need to see her face to know she shared his sudden dread. She reached for it on her nightstand and looked at the screen even as it buzzed a third time.
She covered her mouth with her fingers. “Oh, shit!”
