Page 27 of Saving Their Forever

Graham pulls out his multi-tool. “Cover me.”

Widening my stance, I take aim at the center of the trunk. The lid pops open and—oh my God. Charlie’s pressed against an unconscious Cara, nosing her cheek and whining. Next to them, Evianna moans softly.

“Charlie, out,” Graham says. The dog scrambles from the trunk, but he whines when he lands on the concrete and holds up his left paw. There isn’t room for both of us to get to Evianna and Cara, so I drop to one knee and take a close look at his foot. One of his toenails is gone, and a bit of blood oozes from his paw pad. He drops a piece of upholstery into my hand.

“You clawed through the back seat to get to them, didn’t you?” I ask. He looks around, whines again, and stares back at the car.

“Evianna? Can you stand?” Graham helps her sit up, and she leans against him.

“Maybe…” Her voice is weak. Slurred. “They took Dax. And Ripper. There were…three of them. Or…four. A van…”

She stumbles when she gets out of the trunk, and I let her lean against me. “What did they give you?”

“Dunno. Needle.” Her lips flatten, and she pales. “I’m going to be sick.”

I get her over to a trash can, and as she heaves, Graham tries to wake Cara up. But while her eyes are open and blinking, it’s like she doesn’t have any idea what Graham’s saying or what she’s supposed to do about it.

“Can you carry her? We need to get back to Ry’s. Now. We’ll call Doc Reynolds when we get there.”

“I’m right behind you,” the kid says, and hauls Cara up in a fireman’s carry.

I wrap Evianna’s arm around my shoulders and support some of her weight. Charlie presses himself to her other side, like this is the most important job he’s ever had. When this is all over, he’s never going to eat anything but steak ever again.

* * *

Ryker

Evianna and Cara huddle together on the couch. Charlie lies across their legs like a security blanket. Cara has a damp washcloth draped over her forehead, and Evianna rubs the back of her neck.

“It was like I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I didn’t care, either. I think. Everything’s fuzzy.”

“Doc?” I ask.

Joey clears her throat over the phone speaker. “It was probably a benzodiazepine. Like Valium, but stronger. They’re used in dentistry a lot. Minor surgeries too. Ones that cause pain but don’t need the patient to be completely out.”

“Do we need to get them to the hospital?” I wouldn’t let Inara call Doc Reynolds. He got too close when Raelynn almost died. I don’t want him here. Not unless there’s no other choice.

“No,” Joey says. “They’re not dangerous—unless you have an allergy to them. And if that were the case, you’d already know. Just make sure they drink a lot of water and don’t leave them alone for the rest of the day.”

“The rest…of the day?” Inara asks.

“Yes. Benzos tend to stick around in the bloodstream for a while. Evianna and Cara might seem fine now, but tomorrow, they probably won’t remember much of anything from the rest of today.”

Shit. How could we have let this happen?

“It was so fast. Cara came in from the garage, and then there were three men with guns in the room with us. If I’d been closer to Dax…maybe he could have done something. But?—”

“They knew what they were doing,” West says. “They cut the power to the security camera before Ripper got out of the car. Though, even if they hadn’t, I doubt we would have gotten anything useful off of it. Another gray van, tinted windows, no clear view of their faces…”

“Doesn’t matter. We know who they are now,” I say. “Ramin and Hadi Al Aman, Jalal Muhammad, and Mashaal Farrir. Along with at least a couple hired guns. Locals, most likely. Fort Worden is in the middle of fucking nowhere.” I lift a picture of Puget Sound off the wall and grab the remote for the large monitor hidden behind it. A map appears on screen. “Only one road in and out. They’ll have it watched. Drones, cameras…patrols. Who knows?”

West clears his throat. “I’ve got a plan. But no one’s going to like it.”

Inara chokes out a laugh. “No one ever likes your plans, frogman. But we follow them because they work. Every time. So tell us what to do.”

West holds out his hand, and I pass him the remote. “The Battery is full of old tunnels, bunkers, and passageways. We won’t know where Dax, Rip, or Wren are until Ry gets in there with them. But it doesn’t matter. Huddle up, and I’ll tell you why.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

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