Page 8 of North (Hunter Squad #2)

CHAPTER EIGHT

North

I talked quietly to Hudson as the quadcopter flew toward St. Albans.

The splint I’d put on his arm and the painkillers I’d given them had done the trick. There was color back in his cheeks and he chatted non-stop. I even got him to laugh.

“I’ve never been on a Talon,” he said with awe.

“Cool, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

I’d administered nano-meds. The tiny, medical machines were racing through Hudson’s small body. I was also carefully monitoring his vitals. I’d had nano-meds a few times myself, and I knew that sometimes they could go out of whack and attack things they shouldn’t. Doctors kept sharp eyes on patients while they had the treatment. It had only been in recent years that we’d been able to take nano-meds out in the field.

I ruffled the boy’s hair and felt a shot of warmth. He was alive. Thank God.

I looked up, and my gaze locked with Jess’ dark one.

Then Jameson sat down beside her, and I looked away, but I listened to them talk.

“What do you think about the cocoons we found?” Jameson asked her.

“Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it,” she replied. “It seems strange that the monster hadn’t killed…” she glanced at Hudson “…its prey.”

“Perhaps it was saving…the prey for later?” Jameson said.

“The woman was dead. She hadn’t been eaten.”

I frowned down at the floor. All of this left us with more questions than answers.

“You got enough pictures?” Jameson asked. “Of the cocoons and the woman?”

Jess nodded. “I’ll run analysis on the cocoon substance and check my database for anything similar.”

“I’ll ask the leader of St. Albans if anyone is missing who matches her description.”

“It’s all very strange, Jameson. Monsters usually hunt when they need to feed, or they just attack for fun and leave the remains. It’s a lot of trouble to take live prey.” She frowned. “I haven’t seen anything like this back home. And those monsters on the beach, they were definitely communicating and working together. Much more so than my studies on pack monsters in North America.”

Jameson crossed his arms, his face tense. “So you think something’s going on with our monsters here?”

“It looks that way, but I need more data.”

“Well, we have no shortage of monsters. We’ll get more data, whether we want it or not.”

That was the truth. I hoped to hell Jess could find out what was going on.

Soon, the Talon came into land at St. Albans. As soon as we touched down, I saw Hudson’s mother running toward us.

I lifted the boy and carried him out of the quadcopter.

“Huddy!” The woman was crying as her gaze locked on her son. Garth, the head of security, walked with her. Zeke and Marc stood nearby.

“Mom!”

“His arm is broken.” I carefully handed him over to Garth. “He’s had a dose of nano-meds. He’s going to be fine.”

“Thank you.” Hudson’s mom smiled through her tears. She clutched Hudson’s hand. “Thank you, all of you.”

Nearby, I saw Jess smiling.

It was a happy ending. We didn’t always get them, so we had to savor them when we did.

“North?” Hudson called out. “This is for you.”

He was holding out his small robot.

“That’s yours, buddy.”

“I want you to have it. Echo will help protect you when you fight the monsters.”

I smiled and took the toy. “Thanks, Hudson.”

With a nod, the mother and Garth walked away with the boy. He was already telling them all about his adventure. I shook my head. Kids were so resilient.

“Thank you.” The town leader, Danielle, stepped forward. “I cannot thank you all enough for bringing the boys home safely.”

“Danielle, we did find a body,” Jameson said quietly.

Her brows drew together.

“A woman,” I said. “My guess is mid-twenties to late-thirties. Long, blonde hair. I found a tattoo on her wrist. It looks like a butterfly.”

The town leader’s eyes went wide. “No. Melanie.”

“She’s been missing a few weeks?”

The older woman pressed a shaky hand to her mouth. “Melanie Wakefield. She was unhappy here. Chaffing at life behind the walls. She’d saved up and purchased a vehicle. She left for New Sydney three and a half weeks ago. We hadn’t heard from her, but we weren’t worried.” Danielle closed her eyes. “She never made it.”

“No,” Jameson said. “She didn’t.”

“That poor young woman.” The town leader’s eyes opened. “It was the same monster that took the boys?”

“It looks that way.”

She nodded. “So, its dead. You saved Hudson and Joe, and got justice for Melanie.”

“We’ll take her body with us for an autopsy,” I said.

“Fine.” Danielle glanced at the surrounding hills. “Don’t bring her back. Bury her somewhere pretty.”

It was a quiet flight home. Most of the guys were dozing, and Jess had her eyes closed, too.

I sighed. I felt…edgy. I should be elated that we’d found the two boys alive and gotten them home.

But my thoughts had turned to Drew. The boy I hadn’t been able to save.

My hand curled into a fist, and I tried to relax. I knew I’d have nightmares tonight. Drew screaming in pain, me unable to help him.

The teenager dying in my arms.

I tapped a boot on the floor and that’s when I felt a gaze on me. I looked up and saw Jess watching me.

She slid across the seats, then touched my hand. She must have sensed that I didn’t want to talk. We just sat there, and she was a quiet, supportive presence beside me.

Before long, we came in to land at Squad Command.

“I like it when a mission ends like this,” Marc said, leaping out of the Talon. “Kids alive, and us not covered in monster crud.”

“You still need to shower,” Zeke said. “You stink.”

“So do you.” Marc elbowed his brother.

“I need to debrief General Masters,” Jameson said. “Clean up and go home. Good work, everyone.” He looked at me. “Really good work.”

The others headed for the locker room.

Jameson grabbed my arm. “North, you all right? I know this would’ve dredged up some memories.”

I blew out a breath. “I’ll get there.” Hell, it was Zeke who should be messed up, not me. He’d lived through being kidnapped by a monster. I needed to get a damn grip on this.

My friend nodded. “If you need to talk, call me.”

That wasn’t happening. I knew he’d be busy with Greer. “Thanks, J.”

The others finished up in the showers, and called out their goodbyes. I didn’t see Jess anywhere. I stripped my gear off, taking my time. Then I finally stood under the hot water. I dipped my head and stood there for a long time, letting it pour over my head.

I watched the water circle down the drain, and wished the old memories and old pain were as easy to wash away.

Jess

I finished scribbling my notes in my communicator, then closed my locker.

I’d taken a quick shower, then headed straight to the lab to get my samples analyzed. Squad Command had a well-equipped lab and excellent staff. They’d have some results for me tomorrow.

Those cocoons… I had to work out what the monsters were doing.

The sound of running water caught my ear. The shower was still on in the men’s locker room.

I bit my lip. The others were gone, so I knew it was North still in there. I fiddled with the hem of my clean T-shirt.

Don’t think about him wet and naked.

I knew something was off with him. He should be happy about saving the boys. They were alive because of him.

Go home, Jess. Don’t get involved.

I blew out a breath. I was already involved.

I’d been involved the moment those blue eyes hit mine.

And definitely after we’d had a quickie against the wall in my living room.

The shower turned off and I tightened my ponytail.

But North didn’t come out.

I moved to the shower room door. I saw him, with a white towel wrapped around his waist and his chest bare, sitting on one of the benches. The air was steamy and his hair was damp. I let myself take a second to look at the tattoo on his chest. It was a dragon. It was amazing black ink that hugged his muscles and wrapped around his back.

Then I focused on him.

The white towel looked stark against his tanned skin. His handsome face was blank, but tight. One hand was bunched up by his side, and the other was turning Hudson’s small robot over and over between his fingers.

“North?”

He didn’t move or look up. “I’m not good company right now, Jess.”

I walked over and sat beside him. “I wasn’t expecting witty conversation.” I paused. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I didn’t ask if he was okay. It was clear that he wasn’t.

“I don’t talk about it.” His voice was tight. “Ever.”

“Sometimes talking can help.”

He grunted.

“You did good work today. Those boys are alive thanks to you.”

“The whole squad helped save them.”

“But you treated them. More than that, you kept them calm and relaxed. You have a gift. Those boys will sleep better tonight because of you.”

Silence fell.

“What was his name?” I asked.

The silence stretched on, then North sucked in a breath. “Drew. He was sixteen.” A harsh expulsion of breath. “He’d gotten his first, part-time job in the agriculture fields. He’d only taken it because he wanted to buy his girlfriend a gift.” North rubbed his face. “A monster attacked and dragged him off. It took a while before anyone realized.”

“Hunter Squad went to find him.”

North nodded. “Jameson was the second in command back then. A guy called Rich was in charge. God. I’d just finished my medical training.” He shook his head. “I thought I knew everything. I was cocky as hell, and I thought I was invincible.”

“What happened?”

“We tracked the monster through the bush. There was a lot of blood, so I knew the kid was hurt badly. I just believed that if we found him, it would be fine.”

“You found him.” But everything clearly hadn’t been fine.

“Yeah. We found the monster and killed it. It had been snacking on Drew before we got there.”

My stomach did a sickening turn. “Oh no.”

“He had deep bite marks, and his abdomen was a mess.” North stared at the wall, lost in the old, painful memories. “He was in terrible pain, and I gave him painkillers to help. Back then, nano-meds weren’t stable enough to have out in the field. If I’d had them then, I might’ve saved him. There was so much damage.”

“It’s not your fault, North.” I gripped his arm. “You did everything you could.”

“He knew he was dying. He cried and asked for his mom. I held him as he took his last breath.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I shifted close to him and wrapped my arms around him.

He was stiff in my hold, then he moved, dragging me closer and burying his face in my hair.

“He was only sixteen. A good kid. He had his entire life ahead of him. If only…”

“If only the Gizzida hadn’t invaded. If only Drew hadn’t been attacked by a monster. That was out of your control, out of everyone’s control.” I smoothed my hands up his back.

He didn’t say anything else. We sat there, holding each other, until he finally sat back.

“I am sorry about today, Jess. With the wraith. I just wanted to keep you safe. But you’re right, in that moment, I didn’t trust you or your skills. I should have.”

But he was trusting me here and now. Sharing his darkest wound and letting me comfort him.

“It’s all right, North.” I rose. “Trust is earned. I know that. Get some rest tonight.”

He nodded.

I hoped he would. I hoped he went home and slept this off.

I headed into the locker room, and he followed. I tried not to drool over his abs and that tattoo. I wasn’t sure what I liked most—the abs, his chest, or his muscular arms.

Maybe all of him.

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. “Night.”

“See you later, Jess.”

I felt his blue gaze on me as I left.