“You have fucking none!” I boomed, beyond pissed and still trying to rouse Hallie.
Arnauld’s wide eyes cut from Trudy to her daughter. “Fuck!”
“Wrap it up already,” I bellowed.
Arnauld refocused on Hallie’s mom. He took her face in his hands and pressed a hurried kiss to her lips. “I’ll see you as soon as I can. I love you, Trudes.”
“See you soon,” she rushed back. “I love you too.”
With that, Lexa shoved him from the door space while Ty hustled Trudy into the rear seat. Lexa jumped in and slammed the door closed as Claire threw herself into the front passenger seat, and we took off like a bat out of hell with Jackie at the wheel. We peeled onto the street on screeching tires.
Still facing sideways trying to rouse Hallie, I clung to the back of the seat and the overhead handle until the van stopped snaking.
“This thing handles like a piece of shit!” Jackie yelled, gritting her teeth.
“Working with what we’ve got, Jack,” Claire snapped, still gripping the overhead handle, then radioed Papa Team Three. “Papa One and Two bird-bound with the two cargos. Papa Three update please. Over.”
Kellie’s breathless voice responded. “Papa Three has reached Playtime. See you at bird. ETA fifteen. Over.”
“Roger. Out.”
Lexa worked on consoling Hallie’s sobbing mom while Ty monitored Hells’ vitals as well as we could without medical equipment. My girl came around, dazed and bleary-eyed, and stared straight through me as if I wasn’t there.
I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Hells? Squeeze my hand, baby.” When her reaction didn’t come, I patted her cheek again. “Hellcat, can you hear me?”
“Yup,” came her groggy, single syllable response.
“Oh, thank fuck,” I breathed out, then took her face in my hands. “I’ve got you, Hells. Hang tight, baby, we’re heading home.”
She closed her eyes and nodded, then jolted when Ty spoke close behind her. “Pulse is on the low side, but that’s to be expected when sedated. Once we get her on the plane and conduct a full assessment, we’ll know more.”
Hallie grew increasingly coherent on the way to the airport, and by the time we pulled up to the private jet on standby, she was lucid enough to hold short, weary conversations.
Shaun rushed forward to assist while Zeke got the engines running to ensure we spent as little amount of time on the ground as possible.
The instant I helped Hallie from the van, Shaun gathered her into his arms. “Christ, Hells,” he hissed into her hair. “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay!”
“Thanks, Shaun,” she murmured against his shirt, arms hanging limp at her sides.
“Fuck you had me worried.”
Our eyes met over the top of Hallie’s head and the possession in Shaun’s had my blood temperature rising. I wasn’t one to get insecure; Hells was a fierce as fuck woman who could handle anyone as good as I could, so I’d never felt the need to piss on my territory. Shaun’s gaze, however, held something more than friendship.
“Go get seated, Hells. The others have just arrived,” he murmured while holding my eye contact.
Sure enough, the sound of a vehicle approaching at high speed grew louder and snapped me back to the urgency of the situation. I rushed Hallie up the jet steps and didn’t stop guiding her until we’d reached the end where the casualty stretcher lay in wait.
“Lie down, Hells.”
“Mom…”
“Is onboard getting checked over by Lexa,” I assured her and set a hand on her shoulder. “You can speak with her soon.”
She nodded and perched on the stretcher. “I can sit.”
“No. Lie down—you need to rest.”
Her hazel gaze lifted to connect with mine, and the shadows within them made my heart drop. They held despondency over and above the lingering effects of the drugs. The dark void made the one she’d brought home from Mexico pale in comparison.