Chapter Two
The rain hammered the ground causing the soil to turn to mud. Tank trudged on, following Dodge as he sniffed the area. He could hear the murmurs of voices behind him, but he tuned them out, his focus on his dog and any clue he'd find.
Lightning forked across the sky and Tank counted, waiting for the thunder to hit. Two seconds later, it did, the sound crashing above his head and causing Dodge to jump before he got back to following his invisible trail.
The storm was moving towards them at a quicker pace than expected and Tank knew they wouldn’t have long before the search would be called off. The deteriorating weather was making conditions unworkable. He could see Dodge pausing more and more, going back on himself and searching areas repeatedly and Tank knew Dodge was losing the trail. At some point, it would disappear completely.
He glanced over his shoulder at Chester, staring for a second at the hair he now had. In all the years he'd known Chester, he'd been bald and to see him with hair still surprised him even though it had been three months since he'd grown it.
"Chester. He's losing the trail."
Chester grimaced, running his hand through his hair and shaking it off. "Shit. We're going to have to pull back soon if this continues. Silas said the weather is set to get worse. There's a storm front coming in." He looked up at the dark sky, the clouds moving rapidly across it. "Shit," he muttered again.
"We can't leave them out here, Chester."
"I know. Fortunately, Elliot knows this area well. He'll find someplace safe for them to ride this storm out. It's the kids I'm worried about."
"Injuries?"
"Last report said three were injured in the rock slide."
"Elliot has six kids and three are injured?" Tank shook his head. He wasn't going anywhere, no matter how bad the weather got. "We need to carry on and find them. How did they go off track?"
Chester shook his head, running his hands over his hair again, grimacing. "Why did I grow it?" he muttered. Looking over to Tank, he said, "I don't know, but even an experienced walker can get confused. We lost connection before he was able to tell us what happened."
"Roberts’ team is on the other side?" Deputy Roberts was searching the other side of the woods, making sure they hadn't missed anything that would lead them to Elliot and the children.
"With Hunter and Jensen," Chester confirmed.
"We keep going, Chester. I'm not leaving injured kids out there in this."
Chester grinned. "I knew you'd say that." He paused, then nodded. "Silas agrees. None of the other teams want to return either. We stay until it's too great a risk to us, then we pull back. Oh, Niles is here as well."
Tank looked sharply at Chester. Why was Niles here? "He is?"
"You're out here in potentially dangerous conditions. Plus, there's injured kids. He volunteered to come." Chester pierced him with a look. "I know he's your mate."
Tank nodded. "Okay."
"You can't leave him hanging, T."
Tank sighed. He knew he couldn't, but he was still struggling to get his head around the fact he had a mate and he was male. "I know. We had lunch yesterday. I'm trying, Chester."
"Yeah, I know."
Dodged pulled at his leash and Tank watched him indicate where they should go. "He's picked up the scent."
"Let's go then."
The mud clung with every step they took, but they trudged on. The storm was almost on top of them now, the rain falling in sheets that obscured the way forward. Several times, Dodge lost the scent and worked his way around the area until he found something, but Tank knew it was only a matter of time until it was completely washed away. The rain wasn’t their friend.
Eventually, Dodge stopped and indicated that it was gone. Tank closed his eyes, then opened them and shouted, "Dodge has lost the trail."
"I'm not surprised. He did great just getting us this far."
"What now?"
"Let me listen."
Tank nodded, watching Chester stand still and close his eyes, focusing on the sounds around them. Tank hoped they were close enough that Chester could pick something up, but the background noise from the rain was loud and likely to obscure any noise Elliot and the kids made.
He watched the frown deepen on Chester's face and he tilted his head, taking a step to the left. Tank moved in that direction and listened as well. When he heard nothing, he took several more steps in that direction, Chester following behind.
Chester glanced at him and he shook his head. "I'm not sure. I thought I heard something, briefly."
"Let me and Dodge wander over there and see if he can pick anything up."
Tank gave Dodge the signal to go, and he moved forward, nose to the ground. They followed behind, watching every move Dodge made. He paused and looked at Tank then headed forward again.
"I think he's got something."
"Let me listen again."
Again, Chester closed his eyes and Tank held his breath, watching and waiting. Suddenly Chester's eyes opened, and he grinned. "Ahead. I heard murmurs, faint, but there. Dodge's on the right track."
"Silas?"
"He knows, and he's updating the teams now. We might have to carry them out. There's no chance a helicopter can fly in."
"Shit."
"I know. Come on, Tank, let's find them."
They moved forward, following Dodge, who was pulling more. Five minutes later, they found a cliff wall and Dodge moved along it until they found a small opening.
Chester squatted at the front and shouted, "Hello?"
A chorus of greeting returned, and they grinned at each other. "Thank fuck," Tank muttered.
Chester's eyes grew distant and when they refocused, he said, "Silas knows and the teams are converging here. Let's get in there."
They crawled through the small opening, and after a few feet, it opened up into a large cavern. In the middle, a fire burned and Elliot stood, smiling at them.
"Thank god you're here."
"Elliot. How is everyone?" Chester asked as his eyes scanned the children.
"Three injured. Fortunately, nothing too serious. It looked worse than it was. Cuts and bruises. Nikita has a badly sprained ankle."
"What happened?" Tank asked.
Elliot glared at two boys, who looked sheepish sat in the corner. "Want to explain it?" he asked them. Both shook their heads. "Those two decided to go exploring on their own."
"Enough said," Chester muttered, shaking his head. Boys will be boys and it was always worse when they thought they were invincible. "Okay. The weather's bad so we're stuck here for now. The other teams are on their way over. We'll have enough supplies to keep us going until the weather breaks and we can leave. Dr. Conway is on hand and he'll assess everyone when we get back. We have snacks and water, Elliot. Pass them around the kids."
Tank opened his pack and pulled out what was needed, then sat on the ground, Dodge curling up next to him. Now, they just had to wait for the weather and he would get the chance to talk to his mate.
❊❊❊
Niles watched Silas walk over to him, a smile on his face. "They've found them, Niles."
Niles released the pent-up breath he'd been holding. "Thank god for that. Injuries?"
"Nothing too serious, thankfully. Cuts and bruises and a sprained ankle. Could have been so much worse considering the weather."
"They were very lucky," Niles agreed. He'd been to these types of situations before and had seen the death and destruction left behind. "Tank?"
"He's fine, Niles. In the cave now feeding the kids. Dodge is being spoiled too."
Niles gave a sigh of relief. As the weather worsened, his worry for Tank had increased. He'd fought the urge to go out and find his mate, to make sure he was safe. He knew it was his job and that he'd trained for it, but he was still his mate, and Niles couldn’t help but worry about him.
Silas echoed his thoughts. "It's difficult to let them go into these situations. I fight it every time Chester is out in the field. I know he's trained for them, trained extensively, and knows exactly what he's doing, but he's still my mate."
Niles nodded, admitting, "I'm struggling."
"I didn't give Chester an easy time, but he stuck it out. Tank's struggling too."
Niles nodded. "I know it threw him having a male mate. We've all experimented in college, but that's different to realizing that your future is tied to someone you would have never considered."
"Chester was a surprise for me too. I was married." Silas sighed. "It didn't end well." Niles nodded. He'd heard about Silas' wife and what she'd done. "Chester's arrival was a complication I wasn't willing to accept, but he stayed around. He grew on me, a bit like mold." Silas grinned.
"And now Troy's mated."
Silas frowned then chuckled. "He's happy, and that's all I want for my son. Ale however..."
"Still not in your good books."
"He hurt my son and even though I know they're both happy, it's hard to let go of the anger. Troy thinks I'm nuts and should move on. In a way, I have, and over time I'll forget about how they mated and the months following, but for now, I'm enjoying making Ale squirm." Silas shot Niles an evil grin.
Niles chuckled softly. "How long are you going to keep it up for?"
Silas shrugged. "I'll give it a good ten years."
Niles laughed outright at that comment. "That's evil."
Laughing, Silas slapped Niles on the back. "Yeah, it is."
Niles shook his head. "I'm going to ask Tank out for a meal tonight and try to move things forward."
Silas nodded. "Good idea. Get him used to seeing you in different settings. Your house?"
"I think so. I'll cook and we'll see how it goes."
"Good luck." Silas straightened, glancing up at the sky. "The weather’s clearing now and they're on their way back. Let's get ready so you can treat the kids."
Niles spoke with the paramedics and double checked they had everything. Time seemed to drag while he was waiting and by the time Tank finally appeared, Niles' was buzzing with anticipation and nerves. Tank was a mess, his clothes covered in mud, and while he looked tired, he was happy.
Tank gave him a small smile, acknowledging his presence, which Niles returned. However, catching up would have to wait until later as he was too busy checking the children over and making sure there were no other injuries. The only one that required treatment was the badly sprained ankle. The rest were free to go after Sheriff Bailey had spoken to them.
Niles watched the looks on the two boys as Silas talked and he knew they wouldn't be making the same mistake anytime soon. He hid his own grin when they walked past him towards their parents and he had to turn away when he heard their parents muttering angrily to them.
He was packing his equipment away when he felt Tank approach. Smiling, Niles said, "That went well."
"Yeah, it did. Could have been worse."
"Those two boys won't mess about in the future."
Tank grunted. "Stupid kids."
"Are you free tonight?" Niles asked as he continued to pack. "You can come over to mine and I'll cook for us. I think we could both do with something after today, don't you?" He glanced up at Tank, catching him biting his lip.
"I'm not sure."
"Why? We went out for lunch, so why don't you come over. I'll make sure I have plenty of cold beer in for you. Come over and relax. Today's been a long, cold, and miserable day."
He waited for Tank to answer and felt his heart drop the longer it took.
"Okay. What time?"
Smiling, Niles said, "Seven okay for you?"
Tank nodded. "I'll see you them. I've got to go and check on Dodge."
He watched him for a minute and when it became obvious he wasn't returning, Niles sighed and got into his car. At least he'd agreed to come over that night, that was progress. Starting his car, he drove away, leaving his mate behind.