Deserted - Cara Dee Page 0,118
highway.
In pursuit.
(I have a rattlesnake story for ya later.)
House is engulfed.
SOPS walking. My buddy’s in position.
Buddy spotted, SOPS in sight. Contact initiated.
SOPS safe in car toward the station.
Proceed with standard protocol. I’m out.
Gray read the messages out loud to Darius and felt the happiness and relief bubbling up with each update. By the end, his eyes were full of unshed tears. Jackie was free. It had worked. He was going to see his family soon. In a matter of hours, they would get a call. They’d find out that their son was alive.
Gray sniffled and touched his lips. “He did it. He’s going home. We fucking did it.”
Darius gathered his hand and kissed the top of it.
“What’s standard protocol?” Gray wondered.
“That we delete the messages and speak later on a secure line,” Darius answered. “In this case, the conversation will consist of a two-minute briefing followed by an hour-long review of his binocular goggles with night vision.”
Gray spluttered a laugh, remembering that Ryan was fond of gadgets. He wasn’t as, uh, technically disadvantaged as Darius either.
“I can finally relax,” he sighed contentedly and sank into his seat. “We actually pulled it off, Dare.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. We make a good team.”
They fucking did.
Twenty-Two
“Are you going straight home?” Gray unbuckled his seat belt and peered up at the shelter.
“Almost. Gotta make a quick stop to pick up new tires for the ATV.”
Gray sent him a frown. “Is there something wrong with them?”
That made Darius quirk a sly little grin. “Tire tracks are practically like fingerprints.”
Oh Christ. Gray chuckled, leaned over the center console, and kissed him quickly. “I love you.” Man, it felt good to say that. “Pick us up in a few hours.”
“Wilco.”
What Gray really wanted involved a movie marathon with the boys in the cabin, where Jayden and Justin would be distracted by cartoons so Gray could get some sleep. But that would have to wait. Today was gonna be a long day. A day that had only just started.
They’d made it home in record time, and they’d recently stopped serving breakfast at the shelter. So, Gray would hang out with the boys while Darius went home for a short nap. Then he had an early shift at the restaurant, and Gray would take the boys there. At least, they’d get some time together. It was what mattered.
Gray jogged up the steps to the shelter and opened the door.
His being exhausted hopefully helped give him that “I just survived the flu” kind of look.
About a dozen people were gathered in the downstairs common room. Some talk show was on, and a handful of kids were playing on the floor.
Gray went straight to Adeline’s office and knocked. He couldn’t see any other staff nearby. Or the boys, for that matter.
“Come in!” Adeline hollered.
Gray opened the door and smiled. “Hi.”
Adeline lit up. “Oh, I know two little someones who’re gonna be freaking ecstatic.” She left her desk and came over. “How’re you feeling, hon? You look better.” She snuck in for a quick hug.
“I feel like I’ve been body-checked on the ice for two weeks.”
Adeline chuckled and winced. “I’m glad it’s over. Sounded like a nasty bug you two caught.” She glanced at the door. “Is Darius here too?”
“No, he has work later, so he wanted to rest,” Gray replied. “He’s picking me up before his shift, and I would like to take the boys for a late lunch slash early dinner if that’s all right.”
“Of course, of course.” Adeline returned to her desk and searched through a stack of papers. “I won’t keep you, but I think you wanna see this before you head upstairs.”
Gray trailed over to the desk as Adeline extended a piece of paper.
He furrowed his brow and read it, unsure of what it was until he saw…
Carol Chapman—deceased.
Gray’s heart jumped up into his throat, and his gaze flashed to a smiling Adeline. “This is Jayden’s mom, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “She died of a drug overdose, and I know I shouldn’t find any pleasure in it, but fuck it. It means she can’t contest the foster care procedures once we get you an application. Which should be soon, for the record. Jayden should get back into the system so he can begin catching up with his peers. He needs to be in school.”
Gray nodded and pinched his lips, grinning. This was the best goddamn news.
He couldn’t remember if Jonas had told him about their mother’s fate, but now it didn’t matter. They knew the truth.
This was gonna