Coughing from the cloud of dust and decimated concrete, they ran toward the gaping hole in the stone wall surrounding the pool area.
“Hope to fuck the others are in position so we can get the hell out of here,” Steele said in terse tones.
“Cool your jets. We’re on it,” P.J. snapped.
Steele shook his head. Temperamental woman. That much never changed, thank God. She was back where she belonged. He’d never said as much—he wouldn’t offer her that kind of disrespect or lack of confidence in her abilities—but she’d worried him coming off her solo mission of revenge. Besides overcoming multiple injuries, her emotional and psychological trauma had been off the charts. If it had been up to him, he would have grounded her another few months. Only she wasn’t having any of it, and if she was taken out it meant he lost Cole too. No damn way he was going to operate two team members short.
“Glad to have your cranky ass back, Rutherford,” Steele said in an uncharacteristic display of humor.
There was complete radio silence. And then, “Holy shit, did he just crack a joke?” Baker asked aghast.
“Hey, that’s Coletrane now,” Cole complained. “She married me, remember? Pretty damn sure the paperwork says she’s Penelope Jane Coletrane now.”
“I’m going to kick your fucking ass, Cole!” P.J. snapped.
“Penelope Jane?”
Steele couldn’t tell who said what because it all came in three directions followed immediately by hoots of laughter and instant jibes. Jesus Christ. They weren’t out of the woods yet and his entire team was acting like it was a night out in a bar.
“I need everyone to shut the fuck up and make the rendezvous point with the chopper,” Steele snapped. “You can bicker later.”
Steele set a rapid pace but was careful to keep Dolphin and his charge close behind him so he was shielding them both with his body. Baker and Renshaw fell in, closing ranks around Dolphin.
Blood dripped in a steady stream from Baker’s face, splattering the ground and leaving a visible blood trail.
“How serious is it?” Steele barked in Baker’s direction, his gaze never stopping its sweep of the terrain.
“Bleeding like a fucking pig. I have no idea,” Baker bit back. “Can’t feel a damn thing at the moment and my ears are ringing like a son of a bitch.”
“I told his dumb ass to get farther back from the blast zone,” Renshaw muttered. “I didn’t have the time to calculate the strength of the explosives so I went for more than I guessed was necessary.”
Steele swore. Just what he needed. Another out-of-commission team member when he’d only just gotten his team back together after two months of training rookie recruits and being bored out of his mind.
“We’ll be making a pit stop to see Dr. Scofield. She can check you and the woman over. Make sure it’s nothing serious and then we can get the hell home and collect a paycheck.”
Renshaw caught up to Steele and cast a quick glance at Steele’s arm. “And you too, boss man. Looks like you have a boo-boo too.”
Steele’s lips curled in impatience. “It’s fine.”
Renshaw shrugged. “Hey, if you don’t want to get checked out by the pretty doctor, your loss. I’m sure Baker won’t be complaining.”
Steele sent Renshaw a quelling look that instantly silenced his teammate. If the damn girl hadn’t thrown herself in front of a bullet for an asshole who didn’t give a shit about her, they wouldn’t even be stopping in to see Dr. Scofield. And now he had Baker to worry about.
He glanced back at his teammate to see Baker shaking his head, blood sliding down his cheek and onto the ground. He was still trying to get his bearings, obviously, but from what Steele could see, it didn’t look serious. That didn’t mean he didn’t have a concussion or a possible injury that Steele couldn’t see, but he was going to remain optimistic that it was just a few cuts and scrapes and nothing that would require downtime.
Steele had had enough downtime for a lifetime. He was ready to be back in action, preferably with his team at full strength.
They burst through a patch of dense foliage and into a clearing where the helicopter waited. P.J. and Cole were already there. P.J. was wearing a scowl and Cole was grinning. He did that a lot around P.J. now. Where before he’d attempted to maintain strict professionalism between them at all times, now that he’d convinced P.J.