Page 37 of Healing Creek (Arena Dogs #3)

Chapter Thirty-One

They gathered in the shuttle bay. Feeona’s ship, the Hawley , looked oversized next to the Abundance ’s one small shuttle.

Creek surveyed the Arena Dogs standing in the circle.

Mercury’s pack were all present. Feeona stood next to Jupiter.

Samantha and Knock had remained on the bridge to oversee things from there.

He didn’t know where Carnage’s mate was.

She seemed shy and reclusive, but surviving years in the pleasure houses could do that.

The other five Dogs with them were each handpicked for the mission.

They were all good fighters. Grace stood at Creek’s left; her hand in his felt familiar and right.

Mercury stood confident at the center. “According to the Resistance’s intel, ten guards provide security. The only others in residence are the Roma scientist and Jennifer. We go in at the darkest point of the night to provide good cover.”

Mercury clicked on a projection of the Roma facility, the lab, a barracks, and a landing site.

“Less than half of the guards should be on roving patrols and one of those will be at the field adjacent to the dormitories.” He pointed to the landing site.

“Creek and Saturn, you’ll take out the guard there then rejoin your respective teams. Alert us immediately if you encounter any additional resistance. ”

Creek barked his understanding.

Mercury explained that the other team would take the dormitory and their team would take the lab.

It was expected to be most heavily guarded.

“Since we’re expecting Jennifer’s family will eventually be reporting the kidnapping to the Alliance Enforcers, we go with non-lethal force as much as possible.

When they come in after to investigate, we want nothing to lead them to direct their attention to us.

The Alliance might not be on our side, but so far, they aren’t actively hunting us. Let’s keep it that way.”

As the Dogs all confirmed their assignments and started packing their gear, Creek turned to Grace. Her pale hair begged to be stroked and her eyes shone with affection. He never thought he’d have so much to love—and so much to lose. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay behind?”

Her lips tipped in a smile. “At least you’ve stopped trying to order me.

” She laid her free hand over his heart and the besotted organ beat faster.

“I’m sure. You might need me to convince Jenny that you’re there to help and that I’m safe.

You’ll need her cooperation at some point.

I already promised to stay on the ship with Feeona until you give the all clear. ”

“And you’ll leave with her if anything goes wrong.”

“Mmm.” She looked at him with the same eyes as when they made love, like she wanted to nibble on him. “But until then, you might need me to convince Jenny that you’re there to help and that I’m safe.”

A flash of heat tightened his body. His gaze lovingly traced the contours of her face and his body yearned to press against hers.

A slap on his shoulder stopped him from traveling any farther down that tempting road. A chuckle colored Jupiter’s voice. “Time to go.”

***

The dense, damp jungle around the facility teamed with life.

Frogs and crickets called to each other in the black of night.

Creek inhaled the loamy scent of vegetation and decay and caught the scattered scent of other Arena Dogs moving through the jungle.

As he and Saturn moved into position near the landing field, the others moved on to the rest of the facility.

The flap of wings whispered above him as hungry creatures darted after flying insects, drawn to the pinpoints of light dotted along the hull of the large transport vessel occupying the field.

Each one of those lights would be accompanied by surveillance sensors.

They hadn’t expected such a large vessel, but it wasn’t exactly a problem or important enough to merit concern—assuming there weren’t extra men housed inside.

Yet he scented only a single male guarding the area and the ship.

He signaled Saturn to watch the ship’s primary entrance and the Dog crouched low in the shadows. As Creek slipped from shadow to shadow, getting closer to the singular guard on the landing field, he barked a low note of concern. Mercury would hear and know to use caution, but not to abort.

The guard stood with his back to the lights, looking into the darker jungle.

Smart of him to protect his meager night vision.

Unfortunately for him, Creek’s vision was better in any light and the man’s sense of smell was laughable.

Creek could smell that the man had recently indulged in strong drink and likely had a full belly. Easy prey.

Creek placed his feet with caution. He’d promised Grace he’d be careful.

The man might be carrying a powerful weapon and a com unit, but he never had a chance to use either.

The man noticed Creek’s shadow and turned, but too late.

Creek wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and locked it in place with the other—compressing the man’s carotid arteries to restrict the flow of blood to his brain.

It also ensured the man couldn’t speak. It took only ten seconds of struggle to subdue the guard.

Another twenty and he was securely restrained, gagged, and dragged out of the lights.

Saturn moved up on Creek’s left. “No sign of movement from inside the ship.”

“Good. We join the others.”

With that they separated to join the two teams approaching the buildings.

Creek sprinted across a patch of open ground as he drew nearer the lab. The rest of the patrols had to be inside the building since he hadn’t heard or smelled them outside. There was also no sign of the team. They must have already entered.

Annoyance flared but quickly faded as unease shivered across Creek’s skin. There were no sounds of battle in the building.

They’d planned everything based on the resistance’s information and so far, everything seemed to be as they expected. There was no reason for his agitation and no time for doubt.

Creek sprinted to the lab door, opened it, and slipped inside.

The lab corridor was nearly as dark as the jungle, but his excellent night vision should have given him an unhindered view of his surroundings.

Instead, everything was cloudy and distorted.

There should be a wide vestibule with a corridor with rooms to the left and a staircase to the right.

Creek inhaled cautiously. Something bitter tinged the air. Immediately, he stopped breathing.

One step forward.

The hazy shape of a booted foot formed out of the haze in front of him. Its owner lay on the floor, unmoving. Recognizing it as one of his team, he crouched low with another step forward.

Out of the haze the Dog formed. A spray of blood coated his chest. Jupiter’s unseeing eyes staired back at him. Still the dog didn’t move or speak. Grief ripped through him, but a hand on Jupiter’s chest assured him the Dog’s heart still beat.

Creek spotted another pair of boots further into the room. Blood on the floor. His ears flexed forward as he listened for movement. A hint of a breath sighed in the doorway to his left. Another in the shadows across the entryway.

Silent but quick, he lurched into the darkness, claws extended, and grappled with the guard hidden in the hazy cloud filling the space. His claws sunk deep as the guard grunted in pain and pulled away as if in retreat.

The man slapped at him ineffectively, his strikes bouncing off Creek’s blocking arms. Blood coated his hands. Then one of the man’s slaps struck him flat on against his shoulder. A sting pricked his skin. It was nothing really. But it was everything.

***

Grace twisted her fingers in her lap while Feeona paced the length of the Hawley’s pilot’s station.

They’d stayed behind with the ship, waiting for the all clear to enter the facility.

Feeona had sent her remote miniature drone into the sky to observe the operation from above and rigged it so Grace could watch on a monitor in the pilot’s station.

The facility appeared quiet and sleepy, with only a few soft puddles of light providing illumination for the cleared perimeter around the buildings.

The Arena Dogs had hiked in from north of the facility then melted out of the black of the jungle, making use of the shadows.

They’d slipped into the buildings one after another with Creek the last to enter.

That had been thirty minutes ago, and Grace and Feeona were both edgy.

“It’s been too long.” Grace lurched out of her chair and tried very hard to fight the wave of emotion that rushed up her body. She felt hot and nauseous and ready to cry.

“It’s been too long.” Feeona repeated, but she continued to pace, arms crossed over her chest. “I hate it when a plan falls apart.”

“They have to be okay.”

Feeona nodded. “Let’s not panic. Something’s gone wrong, but let’s not assume the worst.” Feeona came to a stop behind one of the chairs. She squeezed the back of it in her hands and closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking Bug in for a closer look,” she said, referring to her remote drone. The remote was controlled by a neural device implanted just under the skin behind Feeona’s ear. “You can watch on the screen.”

Grace turned back to the viewer and saw the facility grow larger and then more focused until all she could see was a vent on the roof of the lab.

Bug zipped into the small opening and Feeona had to navigate conduits and dark spaces until she finally landed the device just outside a grate looking into a hallway in the lab building.

They watched as two guards looking relaxed and confident walked down the hall.

As soon as they were gone, Feeona maneuvered Bug back through the conduits to another grate.

This time they couldn’t see anything but an empty corridor.