“Shit.” He straightened and eased Kait off his lap and onto the bare stone.
With a sigh of relief, she rolled over onto her stomach and stretched out. Cosky pulled her tangled, golden braid from beneath her hip and laid it next to her body. After a gentle swipe over the back of her head, he glanced up.
“Thanks.” The acknowledgment came grudgingly, and there was still a fair bit of hostility in the gray eyes.
Rawls shrugged. He wasn’t going to waste a second of guilt on what had happened there in the corridor. Of course he’d wanted another healing for Faith. He’d wanted the best possible chance of ensuring her recovery. At the time, he hadn’t realized how much the first healing had cost Kait. If he’d known, he would have backed off.
He didn’t regret his actions in the slightest. Under the same circumstances, he’d make identical choices.
He wasn’t going to apologize for that.
Beneath Cosky’s watchful gaze, he crouched to press two fingers against Kait’s still neck. Her skin was hot and moist against his fingers. But her pulse was steady and strong.
“Her heart sounds good. So does her breathin’.” He glanced around the cavern, skimming face after face. “Nobody brought water?”
He’d had some bottles in his rucksack, but it was buried back in the tunnel.
“Mom’s asking people,” Cosky said gruffly. But some of the tension had left his face.
“Rawls,” Mac barked impatiently from across the hub.
“Go,” Faith said, with a light squeeze to his arm. “I’m fine, really. I’ll wait for you here.”
With a nod, Rawls glanced at Cosky. “You comin’?”
Cosky shook his head and settled on the ground next to Kait. “They don’t need me.”
Frowning, Rawls headed toward Mac and the cluster of people surrounding him. Nobody looked hurt or incapacitated. Hopefully the situation he’d been summoned to rectify wasn’t critical.
When he reached the group against the wall, Mac rested a hand on Amy’s eldest child and steered him toward Rawls. “Would you be able to tell whether a chip was inserted in Brendan’s arm?”
Rawls froze for a second.
That’s how they’d been found? He shook the surprise off.
“How was it inserted?” Rawls asked. Getting down to business, he accepted the narrow, surprisingly muscular arm Amy’s son presented him.
“By injection, right here,” Brendan said, brushing his finger across a slightly raised, rough patch on his arm.
Rawls carefully probed the thickened blotch of skin with his fingers. After a moment he shook his head.
“I don’t feel anythin’.” He lowered his hands. “But if they inserted it deep enough, its presence wouldn’t be identifiable by touch.”
Nobody looked surprised by this news.
“I still say we should check the spot out now. Make sure we won’t be followed to our next safe haven,” Mac said, looking straight at Amy, his voice the oddest combination of defensiveness and conviction.
Check the spot out . . .
Rawls winced, doubting Max was referring to hands and eyes. Sure, he’d operated on plenty of people in the field. But not a kid. And not without some kind of painkiller.
“And I still say no.” Amy’s voice was just as determined. “Not in these conditions. Not when Wolf is on his way to take us to their base camp.”
“Their base?” Rawls asked. He obviously had a lot of catching up to do.
“Our Arapaho friends’ home,” Mac said, staring flatly at Jude. “Apparently we’ve been invited to visit.”
“For a time,” Jude agreed, staring blankly back.
Rawls casually scanned the cave, relaxing when he didn’t catch site of his translucent hitchhiker. At least the Arapaho was fulfilling his obligation and sticking close by. Maybe Jude’s charm really would keep Pachico away.
Mac blew out a thick breath and rolled his shoulders. Rawls could almost feel the frustration heating the air around him.
“Now that the women and kids are safe, how do you two feel about stepping outside? Taking care of business?” Mac suddenly asked, his gaze shifting between Rawls and Zane.
“I’m looking forward to it.” Icy anticipation chilled Zane’s face, glittered in his green eyes.
Rawls, well, he wasn’t quite as eager. Yeah, he was all for leveling out the playing field and taking some of those bastards down—but there were Faith and Kait to consider. He needed to be on hand if they took a turn for the worse. And then there was his ghost. If the bastard made a reappearance, out there on the battlefield, there would be even more weapons for him to play with, and ways for him to interfere.
Best not chance it.
“Get Cosky,” Mac told Zane. “We’ll head out in five.”
Rawls had opened his mouth to man up and inform his commander that he wouldn’t be embarking on the mission with him, when Jude chimed in.
“No.” The refusal was emphatic.
Mac stiffened. Slowly his head turned. Thick black eyebrows shot up. “I don’t remember asking you.”