Page 46 of Sheltering Instinct

For fourteen years, she’d been a widow. She hadn’t looked him up. In Levi’s mind, he’d always thought Tess’s marrying Abraham was an act of duty. She was living her ethos. He’d imagined that something very bad had happened, and Tess marrying Abraham was the only solution to making it better.

Levi had imagined that, given the choice of free will without moral pressures, Tess would have chosen to marry him as they’d planned from the day they met.

But if that were true, Levi reasoned, wouldn’t it follow that once Abraham died, Tess would find him, explain everything to him, and return to his arms?

The story he’d been telling himself for the last sixteen years was merely a fantasy bandaging his heart.

Yeah, he was struggling.

Enrico shouted back, “We’re here. Levi, when I pull up, just stay where you are.”

“Wilco.”

“They have medical staff and a gurney,” Goose said.

Enrico glided to a stop, checked the time, and said, “Close to your timeframe, Goose. We’re here three hours and five minutes post-bite.”

Goose grinned. “Hell of an effort.”

“Thank you,” Tess called out.

As soon as they pulled up and Enrico put the vehicle in park, the hospital staff swarmed in the practiced choreography for moving emergency patients.

The men stood at their vehicle as the nurses pushed the gurney through the automatic doors, then ran down the corridor and away.

Mojo, standing in the cargo area, moved forward and draped his head over Levi’s shoulder. “Thank you, buddy,” Levi whispered as he scritched Mojo’s ears, then turned so he could give a double-handed reward. “You did an amazing job today. I’m grateful for you.”

Mojo gave a whining yawn, releasing stress. He’d been part of the team. And like the team, he’d felt the mission pressures and met the needs in ways both commanded and intuited. As Levi looked into Mojo’s eyes, he thought that he read compassion there.

It was really something for Levi to finally find the dog of his heart and, at the same time, realize that the connection he’d always felt with Tess had been a figment of his imagination. It spun his head.

Goose petted a hand down Mojo’s side. “Damned impressive training.”

“I’m not taking credit for everything today. Yeah, it was part training. But a whole lot of that is heart. Once Mojo understands a mission, he gives it his all. He’s a solid partner.”

Because of Mojo, the men stayed on the benches outside the hospital. The nurses knew where to find them with any updates.

While Levi passed what information they had to Reaper and Gwen, Enrico took off to find some grub to replenish their depleted systems.

They’d eaten in silence.

After sitting long enough, the adrenaline that had fueled the rescue left their bodies, and they were too tired to speak.

As the sunset and the stars blinked against a crisp black sky, a man in a white lab coat, stethoscope draped around his neck, strode through the automatic doors.

“Levi Elliot?” He lifted his brows.

The men stood.

“Miss Dagomba has asked that I tell you where we are in her care.”

“Thank you.” Levi’s heart was in a vice.

“We have identified the bite as a zebra cobra.”

“She’s receiving anti-venom?” Goose asked.

“Right now, we are observing and waiting for lab results,” the doctor said. “We’re balancing the risks and have decided to take a conservative approach.”

---