Page 21 of Liberating Mallory

“Huh?” Pratt asked, startled when she heard Carter’s voice closer to her.

“Are you okay?” Carter asked softly.

“Yeah, yeah. Just my back hurting. I’m tired, ready for a nap, missing Highlander and worried about Mallory. Same shit, different day.”

Carter looked over at Brody who shrugged before looking down at his phone. When he looked back up, he smirked over at Carter and nodded.

“Well, tell you what. Let’s get you two ladies back to the hotel, feed your little ones, get you showered and relaxed. Brody and I have a surprise for you guys.” Carter winked at Pratt and Raso, both women looking at him skeptically.

“Food and a shower sound like heaven right now, I admit.” Raso agreed, linking her arm thru Pratt’s as they walked off talking.

“What are you two up to now?” Sgt. Brocard asked, watching Carter and Brody closely.

“Not a thing! I was just thinking about food.” Carter smirked at Sgt. Brocard who just stared at him as he walked away with his hands in his pockets, whistling.

Pratt and Raso walked into their hotel room, talking about the case. Both women worried about Opie and the fate of Mallory.

“Ok, Laura, what’s really going on? You’ve been wincing and rubbing your back all day. If I was a newbie, I’d believe you on the Braxton-Hicks, but…” Raso trailed off.

Pratt chuckled as she shook her head. “Really, Lindsey, I’m good. I was at the baby doc when the call from sarge came in. The Dr. confirmed this one is definitely his or her daddy’s kid with all the activity. I’m not even dilated. He even green-lighted me to come here while I was in his office.”

“When do you start your maternity leave?” Raso asked as she took off her vest and duty belt, leaning back against the pillows to rest before trying to tackle her boots.

“My lovely wife will be on leave as soon as we get back to California, after ye have found Mallory, of course.” A Scottish male voice said, coming out of the rest room with just a towel around his waist.

“Joe!” Pratt screamed before she walked as fast as she could to where he was standing, wrapping her arms around him.

“Hey beautiful! I’ve missed ye!” Lt. Joseph ‘Highlander’ MacLeod murmured to his wife, holding her tight, kissing her lips.

A knock sounded suddenly on the room door. “I’ll just go grab that.” Raso said awkwardly, walking over to the door.

Pratt’s eyes narrowed when her husband winked at her before placing another quick passionate kiss on her lips as Raso answered the door to their hotel room.

“Now, ye beautiful, are the best thing I have seen in this cruel, harsh world!” A male Scottish voice said, causing Raso to scream out Marcus’s name and Pratt to laugh at the cheesy pick-up lines.

“What are you two doing here?” Pratt asked, looking between the two men as Marcus stepped into the room, his arms wrapped around Raso.

“I didn’t get ye message about what was going on. When I couldn’t get ahold of ye, I contacted Marcus to make sure ye lasses hadn’t gone dark on a case. He told me what had happened. He was just getting off the phone with Russell when it was mentioned you’d been wincing and experiencing some bad Braxton-Hicks. Marcus here, also worried about Lindsey, had spoken with his team leader and their XO, who were worried about Russell. So, since my team is on down time for the next forty-eight hours, as my vacation starts next week, with yours, we came out here to assist ye lasses and Opie with the hunt for Mallory. What’s the status?” Highlander asked his wife as he rubbed her back, causing her to moan slightly from the relief.

“We’re stuck. Yeah, we have a few leads, but for the most part, we’re stuck. We know her truck was targeted, it all leads back to the ex, Kevin. I think the kid got in over his head and hooked with the wrong crowd. Hell, we can’t even find the little bastard to interrogate him.” Pratt commented, eyes closed, head back against Highlander’s chest.

“There are too many moving parts, doesn’t make sense.” Raso told the two men, agreeing with Pratt.

Pratt and Raso got both men up to date on what they knew in the last forty-eight hours of their investigation. They admitted what had them worried is that Mallory has been missing for three days and the longer she was missing, the worse the outcome could be. They advised of the situation with the truck, Pratt outing Raso for having shot a man’s dick off, making both men wince, and the interrogation with Rodney.

“Wait, Brody Evans, Carter, Jordyn Alvarez and two other Trident Security men are here?” Marcus asked, looking at his wife.

“Well yes, and no. Abbott is Lindsey Abbot, a former female Marine sniper.” Raso answered, smirking at her husband’s look.

“Wait, Costello is here?” Marcus wheezed a laugh out.

“You know her?” Raso asked, her eyes squinting at her husband.

“Yes, I know her, no, I never slept with her. A former teammate had a fling with her a few years ago. Douche was a playboy and got his panties in a wad when she did him the way he did all the other women he has been with. It was comical.” Marcus admitted, pulling his wife back into his arms.

“I’m liking Abbott more and more each day.” Pratt laughed, hearing Marcus’s statement about Abbott.

“Makes two of us. Okay, you…” Raso pointed at Highlander who was still standing around in his towel while he rubbed his wife’s back. “Get dressed. Laura, you get changed. I’m assuming since you’re both here, we have our own room and you’ve already moved my stuff into ours?” Raso asked, looking at her husband.

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