Chapter 184 Chapter 184
The fifteen-minute mark passed, and then a half-hour. Kobie was having to work hard to not go find them herself. Each time she considered it, she remembered Blair was trusting her to look after the others. She smiled, even if it was to herself. None of the other males in her life had ever given her that kind of trust. Ever.
“How long now?” Shaelan was standing in the doorway.
Kobie glanced at her phone she clutched in her hand. “Almost forty.”
“I’ll go get everyone ready,” Cortney said softly.
Kobie nodded but didn’t look away from the direction Blair would come when he got back.
“Kobie.”
She glanced over at Gage and the urgent look he was giving her. She nodded, “I know. Just a few more minutes.” She took a few steps, so she was away from the others and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she filtered through the scents. Her eyes popped open. “I can smell them.” She said loud enough the others would hear her.
Gage was beside her now and took a long breath. He looked over at Gary, “she’s right, they’re close but something is…”
“Not right.” She finished for him and rushed toward the trees.
Before she could reach the trees, Calum as his cat came running out. He bound past her and right to Shaelan and then turned around and ran back again.
“Get everyone in the house,” Gage called out and took off jogging in that direction.
Shaelan ran alongside Kobie.
Kobie’s heart was hammering in her chest. Blair had to be all right. The others too, but if anything happened to Blair…
Out of the trees came Blair and Noah, in undone jeans and bare feet. Between them, they half carried, half dragged Jake. They tied a shirt around his waist and his head hung down. They both stopped and lowered Jake toward the ground where he started throwing up violently.
Shaelan stopped and looked at Gage. “Run back, grab water, and…” she looked at Jake again, “milk.”
Gage didn’t question her, just turned and ran back.
Kobie reached them and quickly assessed that Blair was intact, then dropped to her knees beside Shaelan to where they gently set Jake.
“I don’t know what it is, but he stuck his face right into it and then started heaving.”
Gage was back and holding out what Shaelan had asked for.
She leaned down and inhaled close to Jake’s face. Lifting her head, she turned his face and looked at it. “It’s not a contact. He had to have inhaled it.” She was murmuring to herself. Leaning down again, she opened his mouth and looked in it. “He didn’t ingest any of it. Let’s get him in a steamy shower. Sweat it out of him until I know more.” She opened the bottle of water and poured it on the ground, then turned to her mate, who was still on four paws. “I need a sample. When you find it,” Calum came over to her, she put the empty bottle in his run pack, “shift, cover your mouth and nose and bring back as much as you can.”
He nudged her with his head. Then looked at Blair.
Blair motioned to the trees. “The fewer of us out there, the better.”
Calum needed no more words; he took off into the trees.
Gage watched Noah and Gary lift, Jake, up and start toward the house. Shaelan was right behind them. “Is it a spill or something the rain-washed on the lot?”
Blair shook his head. “No. We did the outside perimeter first. This was in the middle of the bush.” Blair grabbed Kobie’s hand as he passed her. “It was done purposely. My guess is they planned to grab someone when they were too sick to do anything about it.”
“Fuck.” Gage growled. “I’ll call Dev. We need people here that are trained to deal with this shit.”
Blair nodded. “How the hell are they getting on the property without us knowing?”
Kobie moved closer to him. Her cat wasn’t happy how upset he was. “In the morning when things have dried up a bit, I’d like to go look around the outside of the property.” She motioned with her hand, “on the other side of the fence.” Blair gave her a look of doubt. She shrugged, “I spent half my life figuring out ways around the permitted areas,” she gave him a hesitant look, “maybe I can figure out what Devin’s team missed.”
Blair looked over at Gage, who was handing Jake off to Gary to be carried through the door. “Okay. Calum and I will come with you and see if we can figure it out.” Blair looked at the trees. “Until someone comes that can clean it up, runs will have to be on Ed’s land.”
Kobie nodded. “Beth came and got the girls when I called Gage.”
“Good. I don’t want them to see Jake like this.”
He squeezed her hand. “I thought Gage was going to load me into the truck.” She confessed.
Blair smirked, “you were waiting until the last second, huh?”
“Yes. I knew you’d be back.”
“We ran dragging Jake between us, afraid to breathe the air.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you waited. Three naked half-naked men with a big black jag in the back of the truck tearing down the road could have presented a problem if we’d had to get over to Ed’s.”
She couldn’t help smile at that description. “I guess we cancel our date?”
“To be determined.” He answered, then lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers. “Shae will tell us more when she knows.”
Kobie nodded and continued the walk bedside him in silence. Her cat still wasn’t happy that Blair had placed himself at risk, but she wasn’t about to voice that out loud.