How she could do that was the only problem.
When they reached the second floor, Lonergan pointed to a doorway down the hall. “The Littles are waiting in the classroom while we go hunting.”
A big man Lily had never met before stood beside it, looking fierce with his wide stance and his arms crossed over his chest. Pulling her arm from Chef’s grasp, she planted her feet and looked up at Lonergan.
“Where’s my Papa?”
Both men frowned at her for a second before Lonergan looked at Chef and nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll bring her in a minute.”
He waited until Chef and Shaw disappeared through the classroom doorway before he turned his attention to Lily.
“What’s going on?” Lily asked again, beginning to feel like a broken record.
“We’re not sure. Kodiak, the security team, and the rest of the Daddies have headed out to investigate. You’re going to stay here. Chef Marshall, Kevin, and I will keep you Littles safe.”
While Lily understood his focus needed to be keeping all the mates safe, her concern was Sailor. Her Little side surged forward at the thought that he might be in trouble.
“What about my Papa? Is he okay?”
Lonergan looked uneasy as he took a deep breath. He lifted his gaze to look across the room instead of staring into her eyes.
“He’s hurt, isn’t he? Or dead? Is my Papa dead?”
Lily felt herself spiraling down further into her Little headspace while at the same time winding up for a major panic attack at the mere thought that something had happened to Sailor.
Large, warm hands landed on her shoulders. When she tried to shake them off, he squeezed hard enough to get her attention. Then the tall, massive director of the Bratburg Institute leaned down so they were eye to eye.
“Breathe, little miss. Deep breaths to calm down. The last thing I want to have to do is tell Sailor that his mate was naughty while he was dealing with an incident on patrol.”
Nodding her understanding, Lily took a deep breath. Then another. And another. Finally her feelings settled and smoothed out so she could think somewhat straight and not in a downward spiral.
Taking one last breath, she looked deep into Lonergan’s eyes and said in her calmest voice, “You still haven’t answered my questions about Sailor. What’s wrong?”
“We don’t know. Sailor missed his last check-in and he’s not answering when we call his phone. His tracker shows that his bag is not far from the alarm that went off, but we’re not sure if he’s there with the bag or not. I’m sure he’s fine, but I need you to…”
Before he could give her instructions on what she needed to do next, the walkie-talkie on his belt crackled.
“Boss, we need Kevin to set up an OR. We’re bringing in two injured.”
Lily stopped breathing as fear for Sailor began to grow once again.
Lonergan pulled the radio from his belt. “Who’s injured?”
The radio crackled again. “The intruder and Sailor. He looks bad.”
Lily’s eyes went wide as her heart squeezed painfully tight. “Papa’s hurt,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes and overflowed in twin trails down her face.
She missed the rest of Lonergan’s conversation. When he guided her into the classroom with Chef and the other Littles, she did not argue or try to escape the hand that rested heavily on her shoulder.
The moment the other Littles saw her, they crowded around. She couldn’t speak, but Lonergan gently broke the news to the group that her Daddy was hurt.
Irish was also crying as she stepped up and threw her arms around Lily. She returned the other woman’s embrace, dropping her head to her shoulder and sobbing with fear of the unknown. Irish mirrored her image while the others moved closer, throwing their arms around them in a big group hug.
Lily couldn’t pull herself out of her Little headspace in order to console Sailor’s best friend. The others hugged them and patted their backs, offering whatever moral support they could.
While Lily appreciated the other Littles, right now, all she wanted was to see her Papa and have him hug her tight.
Still in his shifter form, Sailor fought to hold back the moans and groans of pain that wanted to escape. His body was healing, slowly. Too slowly. Draped over Sullivan’s back like a giant sack of potatoes as the centaur worked his way down the mountain as fast as he dared.
