Page 45 of Declan's Hope

Within seconds, Destiny fast-walked past him to catch up with Solace where she followed closely behind Colonel Sheppard, leaving his buddy to chase after her. From the tense set of Destiny’s body, Garrett had said more than enough.

I should have told Hope I loved her.

He should have told all of them—Hope, Mercy, Kara. He’d given the words to his parents before he’d hung up with them just before they’d taken off. So, at least they knew. He could kick himself at how his mother had cried. Even his father had gotten choked up.

He’d learned his lesson. Once he had Hope back in his arms, it was the first thing he planned to say to her. And she would be back in his arms soon—as would Mercy and Kara. Any other option wasn’t acceptable.

He kept his gaze focused ahead as the eight of them trekked through the woods in silence. He still held Destiny’s phone tight in his free hand. It had been more than twenty minutes since they’d lost their connection to Hope, so he’d put it on vibrate just in case she called back. The colonel had said it wasn’t anything to worry about, since there were several areas with spotty cellular service on the way to his home where the signal could have dropped. But prior to that, she’d been remarkable—leading the children in songs, having them answer questions about the field trip they’d just been on. She was a wonderful teacher.

He’d soaked in the sound of her voice until it had cut off on him. If only he knew—

The phone vibrated and he quickly answered it, wanting to shout, but keeping his voice to a whisper. "Hope?" Everyone around and ahead of him stopped.

Nothing.

"Are you there?"

"This is Destiny Maddox’s phone?" a deep male voice asked, "Isn’t it?"

"It is," Declan answered. "And you are?"

"Harrison Shaw," came the irritated reply.

"Mr. Shaw."

Destiny’s eyes widened as Declan held her gaze and Garrett tensed next to her.

"I’m sorry, but this phone isn’t available for calls right now." With that he hung up. Within seconds it vibrated again. He checked the caller ID.

Mr. S.

Destiny mouthed, "Sorry," as Declan pocketed the phone and the colonel gave the signal for silence, then motioned for them to head toward a stand of evergreens at the top of the hill in front of them.

Declan hustled past Destiny, giving her arm a reassuring pat as he went by, before rushing up the incline. Once he reached the top, he stayed close to the trees. The back of the colonel’s house sat below them.

Various cars littered the front and side yards, with men carrying weapons and dressed in military gear milling about.

"Damn it," the colonel muttered, coming up beside him. "How did they bypass my security system?"

"They’ve got to have Mercy and Kara inside," Solace murmured as she carefully placed the infrared equipment on the ground. "Let’s get this set up."

"When do you estimate the bus arriving?" Noah asked as he and the rest of their crew surrounded them.

Declan eyed all of them, noting the pained grimace on Chance’s face as he rubbed his thigh, but the look quickly cleared when he noticed Declan watching him. He wasn’t going to question the other man. He had to assume he knew his limitations. Then his gaze fell on Garrett pulling his phone out.

"From their location," his friend said, "I’d say twenty minutes. Maybe less."

"Then let’s not waste any of that time. Mask up," the colonel quietly said, eyeing each of them before casting his angry, light blue gaze down toward his home. "We need to clean my house."

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