Chapter 796 Chapter 796
Bear was exhausted, but the adrenaline surged every time he looked at Calla. He hadn’t moved them far, but the location was off the road and in the trees. It allowed him to see if anyone was coming and the accident sight at the same time.
Edda sat beside Calla, talking quietly to her. He was grateful for that. After he’d gotten her moved, he had run back and forth to get the bags and equipment.
He glanced over at her. The sight of her wrapped up lying on a door made his chest ache. He touched the earbud. “Amari, how much longer?”
“We had to go around some flooding, but we’re close. How is she?”
“It’s getting harder to keep her awake.” He moved around the tree so he could see the truck better. Should he move the bodies? He hadn’t bothered, just left the one lying on the shoulder of the road. “I’m nervous.” He announced. “If they were reporting back to someone, they’re going to know by now that they’re not responding.”
“Clean up is roughly twenty minutes out,” Calum told him. “They were already on the road heading to the US HQ when you called.”
Twenty minutes. He could do that. “How are you doing, Calla?” He looked over and saw she had her eyes open and was looking up at the trees.
“Tired.” He barely heard her answer.
“If Fionna isn’t there in the next few minutes, you’re going to have to check her legs, Bear.”
He nodded. “Okay.” Edda had done the IV with Shealan’s step-by-step guidance. Bear could have done it if she hadn’t been willing, but he was very thankful he didn’t have to.
“Just down the road, Bear.” Amari practically yelled into the phone.
He went up the ditch and stood on the side of the road. “I’m going to have to find Calla’s phone. My battery is almost dead.”
“Reconnect when you do, Bear,” Calum said calmly. He had to hand it to him. Even Jesse had sounded panicked despite his calm questions, but Calum? Steady all the time. How did he do it?
When he saw the van heading toward them, he started across the road.
Tripp pulled up, put the car in park, and was out the door before Bear arrived. Reaching back in, he pulled out a rifle and went toward the wreckage.
Amari was carrying bags and running with Fionna beside her.
“Down there.” He pointed. Now that others were here, he needed a moment just to breathe. Pulling his phone out, he disconnected from the call and went over to the van. Climbing in through the driver’s door, he set his gun, which hadn’t left his hand since he moved her, on the twisted dash.
Grabbing her seat, he yanked on it. He heard the satisfying sound of metal breaking apart. He shoved it toward the back and leaned down to look for her phone. It was under the mangled area where her feet had been.
Tripp came over to the door, holding two run packs. “I will never understand why our own kind would do this to help one-forms.” He scanned the ditch and then opened one of the packs. “No phone.” Checking the other one he set them on the compacted hood of the truck and went around the door.
Bear grabbed the gun and phone and climbed out. He hadn’t even looked in the truck. Once he’d gotten everything moved over by Calla and Edda, he hadn’t left them at all.
Tripp jumped out of the truck and held up two phones. He jerked his chin toward the cab. “Guess buddy found out why you should wear a seat belt.”
Bear nodded. He hadn’t examined him, just checked for a pulse and hurried back to Calla.
Tripp touched his ear. “Tracking app on one of their phones.”
Bear scowled. “Edda did have some sort of chip in her.”
Tripp nodded. “I’ll make sure Nate gets them.” Checking their surroundings once more, he looked Bear up and down. “You made a puzzle out of that.” He pointed to the van.
Bear blew out a breath. “I probably won’t be able to use my arms tomorrow.”
Tripp snorted. “Tomorrow, you get a day off. Anyone of the rest of us wouldn’t have been able to get her out.” He looked over in the direction of the women. “Go. I’ve got watch,” He turned around and climbed up onto the roof of the truck and stood there.
Bear unlocked Calla’s phone and pressed the Bluetooth symbol. He synced his earbud with it. Running down the ditch, he connected to the call. “I’m back.”
“…I agree, Fionna. Get her into the van, you can asses further once you’re on the road again.”
He stopped and looked at Edda but couldn’t tell what had happened in the last few minutes.
Fionna turned and looked at him. “I’ll do an ultrasound when we’re in the van.”
He glanced at Amari, who was either worried like he’d never seen or was so angry that her facial expression didn’t know how to be. “Go get Tripp. We’ll carry her to the van.”
Amari nodded and started up the ditch. She stopped beside him. “Owe you big time for looking out for my girl.” She ran up the ditch.
Bear went over and dropped down beside Calla. She moved just her eyes and looked at him. “Hey.” He brushed the hair away from the side of her face. “You’re going to have to talk to Amari to calm her down.”
She smiled briefly. “Angry is just her personality.”
He grinned. “I guess that sucks for anyone she doesn’t like.”
“I’m so tired.” She whispered.
“Once I assess her injuries completely, I’ll give her something to help her rest,” Fionna said.
Bear looked at her. He didn’t know her well enough to read her expression. Then again, most medical professionals had incredible poker faces.
Tripp came running down the ditch. He touched his earpiece. “You might want to hustle, Marsh. My mate is up there emptying gas tanks.”
Bear couldn’t hear anyone through the earpiece, so Tripp must have called the clean-up team that was coming.
Tripp grinned. “We can do that. Gotta go.” He touched his ear again. “After we get her to the van and load everything up, we need to move the dead guy to your van.”
Bear got up and leaned over Calla’s head to pick up the door. “Why?”
Tripp took the foot as Fionna unhooked the IV from the tree branch. “My mate is going to torch the whole scene.” They lifted her up slowly. “She’s very upset right now, and that will calm her.”
Calla made a sound that could have been a laugh. “She just needs to kill something.”
Tripp grinned. “Today, it’s two vehicles because there’s no time to go hunting.”
“Bear, Marsh just told me Amari is burning vehicles.”
Bear smiled.
“Damn right, I am,” Amari answered. “If I had marshmallows, I’d stay and roast them off their bodies after they burn, but there’s no time.”
“Just get everything out of them first.” Calum sounded amused.
Amari snorted. “Of course.”
Fionna exchanged a looked with Edda but didn’t comment.
Tripp was grinning.
Bear looked down at Calla. He was immensely pleased his mate was gentle with a sense of humor. He didn’t have the patience or energy to deal with someone like Amari. Until he met Tripp, he didn’t think anyone did.
“Fionna,” Calla whispered.
“Yes?”
“Will I be able to shift again?”
Bear looked down to see the worry in her eyes.
“I won’t know for certain until I see inside, but no protruding bones is a good sign.”
“Kay. Just as long as I don’t get stuck.” She closed her eyes. “Bear doesn’t want to make out with a furry face.”
Everyone paused and looked at him. They’d reached the van. Amari had heard. She was grinning.
“Told you.” She said to Tripp. “Gia called it.”
Bear wasn’t sure what Gia had said.
Amari opened the side door and looked out the back at Fionna. “Are we leaving her on the door?”
Fionna nodded. “Moving her around too much might cause more damage.”
Amari shrugged. “Okay. Let the local law try to figure out why there’s an entire door missing.” She turned around. “I’ll go grab the stuff. Gotta move, people. I have a bonfire to light.” She ran across the road.
Tripp glanced at her and then moved so they could slide the door in.
Bear checked to see Calla looking at him.
“Thank you.”
He offered a quick smile. He didn’t know what she was thanking him for.
“Clean up team will be there in five. Has Amari torched it yet?”
“She has not,” Amari answered.
“Can you take pictures of their faces before you do?” Calum still sounded amused.
“I can carve them off if you’d like.”
“Pictures will be fine.” Calum chuckled.
“All right. I will take some nice headshots for you.”
Bear climbed out the side door and watched Tripp meet Amari halfway across the road. He grabbed her face and kissed her, then took the bags from her hands.
Edda came over to him and watched Amari run back down the ditch. “She’s interesting.”
Bear smiled. “No one is going to bother us while they’re with us.”
Edda smiled back at him. “I can see why.”
He motioned to the van. “Climb in and find a comfortable spot. We’ll get going as soon as the bags are loaded.”
“Edda, can you give me a hand?” Fionna was leaning over Calla as she pulled a hard case up beside her.
Edda climbed back in.
Bear rubbed his hands over his face and turned to look at the van one last time. His cat let his anger be known. Bear nodded. Torching them had been earned.