Chapter 861 Chapter 861
Uri was annoyed and mad at the same time. He was so distracted he almost dropped the case he was carrying on his foot. He had gone after Oryn and they both got to Amari. She was standing naked, pointing the rifle at the man who had tried to shoot Oryn.
Uri decided at that point that even in his other form, hanging around Amari while she was naked would be bad for his health if Tripp found out. So, he’d left and headed back to where his clothes were.
“As ops go, this one was not exemplary.” Sloane came back into the room.
Uri stacked the case of files with the other one. “How are our guests?”
She smiled. “Quiet and broody.”
Without more preparation, they had to hold them in the garage until Raymond’s transport arrived.
She stopped beside the desk and looked at him. “How much trouble do you figure we’re in?”
“Trouble?”
Her pale eyes widened. “Yeah. Owls jumping from helicopters. Amari going all predator—” Her brows furrowed, and she touched her earpiece. “Say again.”
Uri stopped filling the case with the papers and looked at her.
She grinned and then sobered like she shouldn't have smiled. “Are we going to search for her?”
His heartbeat tripled. Oryn had gone with Kelii and Jett to take the two men to a small airport nearby. Had something happened? He thought she’d be safe and happy to be with her brother.
Sloane looked around. “We almost have it packed up. We’re not as fast as the clean-up team.” She nodded. “Got it.” She turned back to him. “It seems women feel the need to jump out of Konner’s helicopter. The rescued woman jumped out into the water.”
Uri knew he had a gobsmacked look on his face but couldn't help it. “Is Konner going after her?”
Sloan shook her head. “He said there’s no sense. She could be miles away by now.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. This day has been full of surprises.” She went over and opened the door and looked in the small storage room they had locked Oryn’s brother and the other man in. She touched her ear. “Kelii, what do we do with the filthy space they held them in?” She stood there for a moment and then turned around and looked at Uri. “Kaid has someone nearby coming to help Kelii do this the right way.”
Uri’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at it. “Calum says they’ll be at Esen’s in an hour.”
“That makes this op a full-on success.” She chuckled. “The kiddos are safe. Bad guys are tied up. The two rescued are on their way to the center.” She shrugged. “Water woman is free and clearly healthy enough to leap from her own rescue and swim away.” She clapped her hands together. “I wonder where I’m off to next.”
Uri put his phone in his pocket. “Can you tell Kelii to let Oryn know about the kids?”
“Sure thing.” She pointed. “I’m needed in the garage. Tripp is afraid he might shoot Kenric.” She hurried toward the stairs.
Uri put his hands on the desk, dropped his head forward, and then blew out a breath. “She’s safe.” He said out loud. His owl had been relentless inside him since she flew out of the chopper. He was just as worried about her but knew other things were priorities right now. Opening the last drawer, he pulled out a pile of notebooks. Flipping one open, he scanned the page. Dates, places, and names. He frowned and flipped a few more. There were a lot of full pages. It wasn’t his job to go through all of this and figure it out, but he helped whoever did when they had a list of locations for them to find more of their kind.
Everyone knew he was going to be taking Oryn to Esen’s, but after that his future was now very much unknown. She was his mate. He understood now why he’d been so concerned with her. It wasn’t just because she was from the same clan type as he was. Pawed shifters had it easy, they knew in any form. Fliers only knew for certain after shifting, and even then, they had to get close to recognize their mate. So now he knew and had no idea what came next. He had a job. She had eight children that needed her. He wouldn’t feel right taking a leave of absence right now. The Alliance had their hands full, and for the first time in decades, they were winning against the network of one-forms that had it in for all shifters. He needed to go for a quiet flight and do some thinking, but right now he didn’t trust his owl to behave and not take off to find Oryn. Slapping the notebook closed, he set it in the empty box on the chair. They were going to have to have a serious conversation when she got back.