“Do you think that will help Madison if you don’t come back? I see how she looks at you. I want her to be happy,” Joe insisted. “And anyway, if I don’t make it back, my mate will send out a special search party, damn the consequences.”
“No, I can’t let you do that. This was my task, my mission.” Rob looked at the vehicle. “Listen, one of us has to get back. We should go now and argue on the way.”
“Agreed.” Joe spoke to their driver who nodded and headed back to the vehicle.
They all got in and the driver headed back toward the village where the plane had landed. Neither Joe nor Rob talked much on the way, both lost in their own thoughts and trying to think of an argument that would make the other realize it was their duty to get home.
“What if Colm is still a dove?” Rob asked in a last-ditch attempt to get Joe to go home. “He knows me. He might come to me.”
“All right.” Joe half turned to face Rob. “I’m going, but only so I can persuade Connie to send a search party back. This might take more than one man.”
“Thank you.” Rob let out a long breath. “I had all these reasons I should stay worked out in my head.”
“I know. Sorry, I could disagree with you if you want to spend the rest of the journey back arguing.” Joe arched one eyebrow and Rob let out a short laugh.
“I can’t wait to call you dad,” Rob told Joe.
Joe barked with laughter. “I never thought of it like that.”
“I don’t know about you, but I intend to marry my mate and if you get around to marrying yours once she isn’t an ambassador, then we will be family.” Rob grinned, feeling hopeful that he might find Colm and finally bring him home.
“I always wanted a son,” Joe admitted. “And if I ever was lucky enough to have a daughter, I would have picked one like Madison.”
They arrived back at the landing strip with a half hour before the plane was due to leave. The cargo had been unloaded and sat to one side of the plane, where a small group of officials was dividing it up.
“You know, since we are here, it might be worth checking out how things are run. At least that way we’re covering Connie’s back,” Rob suggested.
“Good thinking.” Joe exited the vehicle and stood with his hands on his hips, surveying the compound where the grain and other goods were stored before being shipped out to those in need. The fence wasn’t very secure, but it seemed to do its job. There were local villagers milling around outside the fence, but none of them were able to get inside. At least they were not trying it while the plane was here.
“Looks like a reasonable setup,” Rob observed.
“Connie said the locals on the ground ran a tight ship, and they were above corruption, which is always a bonus. The number of times she’s dealt with situations like this where she’s organized relief from the government or charities, only to see some local big shot think he can skim off the top and take the food or medicines from the people who need it most.”
“We should check the buildings where the grain is stored for vermin before you board the plane and I start my search.” Rob walked toward the building, but as he did, Joe reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been thinking, and before you jump to any conclusions, when I agreed you should stay, it was not with the intention of thinking I could change your mind later.” Joe rubbed his chin and stared at the ground thoughtfully before he looked Rob square in the eye. “It makes more sense for me to stay. I know the language, I could ask the driver to take me around the villages and I could ask the right questions, in their own language.”
Joe had a point, but Rob was not about to give up this mission. He had a responsibility to Ray and her kids to leave no rock unturned. “What if you asked the driver to come with me and ask the questions? He already knows we are looking for a white dove.”
Joe shook his head. “I could blend in better. If I ditched these clothes for those worn by the locals, there would be fewer questions. If the wrong people found out there was a westerner here, you might be in trouble.”
Rob turned away from Joe, his mind in turmoil. Joe was right and yet Rob hated the idea of leaving him. “Okay. You win.”
“It’s not about win…” Joe stopped midsentence, his eyes drawn to something over Rob’s shoulder. For a moment, Rob’s heart faltered and then everything happened in slow motion.
As he turned around, a white bird flew out of one of the buildings used to store the grain. Their driver ran at them pointing at it, which alerted the armed guards around the perimeter of the fence.
“Don’t shoot!” Rob shouted, then turned to run after the white dove. “If this isn’t Colm, I am going to look like the biggest idiot in the world.”
Chapter Twenty-Three – Madison
“Still no news?” Madison asked as she sat down at the desk. She’d paced the room, looked out of the window and drank too many cups of coffee as she tried to keep herself busy.
Her mom had simply sat at the desk and worked on a speech she was giving to a woman’s charity the next day. Waiting was her thing, and Madison admired her calm, patient outward appearance since she was certain her mother was just as anxiously waiting for her man to come back to her. “No news.” Connie looked at her watch. “They will be taking off in five minutes.”
“If they found him, they would have made contact by now, wouldn’t they?” Madison asked.
Connie tapped on her keypad, adding another line to her speech. “That would depend on what condition he was in.”
Madison sipped her coffee but could no longer taste it and her brain was wired after so much caffeine. “Patience.”
“Exactly.” Connie leaned forward. “We need to keep a cool head.”
“You were always so good at keeping cool.” Madison ran her hands through her hair. It was impossible to sit still.
“I take it that’s not a compliment.” Connie’s fingers hovered over the keypad.
“It’s not a criticism either. It’s more of an observation.” She clasped her hands together as she studied her mom. “You and Joe make a wonderful couple.”
“You’ve changed the subject.” Connie’s expression softened at the mention of Joe.
“Are you avoiding the subject?” Madison asked. “You and Joe are meant to be together. Yet your work life keeps you apart.”
“For now.” Connie shut her laptop and placed her hands on top of the smooth case. “I’m retiring.”
Madison’s head snapped back as if she’d been slapped. “You are retiring?” She kept her voice low so no one else in the room could hear. “Because of Joe?”
“I suppose.” Connie looked uncomfortable talking about her relationship with her bodyguard. “I think he’s waited long enough, don’t you?”
“I do,” Madison agreed enthusiastically. “You both deserve to be happy. You’ve both made sacrifices and now it’s time for you to take time out for each other. Joe has stood by your side for all these years because you are his mate and he needs you. He was there in the background all the time I was growing up. That means something. That means everything, Mom.”
“He was more of a father to you than your own father, wasn’t he?” Connie asked. “I used to think that was why I kept him by my side and trusted him.” She looked down at her hands, her eyes misted with tears. “He is one of the few people I’ve always trusted. He is one of only a handful of people who have never let me down.”
“And you have given your life to your job, Mom. I say that without bitterness or regrets. I can see what you do. See the difference you make.” Madison moved closer to her mom. “Take this time now and move on with your lives. Go trek across a foreign land together, go and revisit the places you have helped rejuvenate and meet the people who owe their lives to you and the work you do.”
“Do you really mean that?” Connie asked. “No bitterness or regret. Toward me?”
“Yes, I do. It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with my l
ife and your life and the relationship you had with Dad. But it’s made me who I am today and I’m happy. I can’t turn back the clock, we can’t remake the past, and I made a decision not to let that change who I am and who I want to be.”
Madison meant what she said. There were times when she’d blamed her mom for not being there for her. But she’d grown out of that, along with the hang-ups over her body image. She was happy and with Rob in her life, she was determined to move forward and not look back.
Would Rob be able to do the same, even if they had no luck finding Colm?
“We have confirmation the plane is in the air and on the way home,” an Army officer told Ambassador Singer.
“Thank you.” Connie’s shoulders slumped forward. “Now we wait.”
“He didn’t mention any extra passengers.” Madison’s hands trembled and she clasped them in her lap. “Do you think that means they were unsuccessful?”
Connie placed her hands over Madison’s. “We have to wait.”
As they sat side by side, Madison was thankful for her mom’s grace and poise. Even though underneath the layers of calm she’d built up, her mom was as worried about Joe as Madison was about Rob, she didn’t flinch, she didn’t show any emotions.
“Shall we go outside and wait?” Connie asked at last. “The plane will land in ten minutes.”
“Yes.” Madison stood up on stiff legs. What waited for them when the plane landed, she had no idea, but she had to prepare herself for the worst. She had to prepare herself for a mate who hadn’t found his brother-in-law and who would have to comfort his sister and possibly care for her for the rest of her life.
“You’ll all get through this,” Connie told her daughter. “No matter what the outcome, Rob is a good man and he will get his family through this and with you by his side he will find the strength to get through it too.”
“Do you feel the same attraction to Joe?” Madison placed her hand on her heart. “I thought I did. It’s like a tether connecting us. But if Joe was in your life for so long and you never knew…”
“You were wondering if it was your imagination.” Connie showed her pass and they went outside into the fresh afternoon air. She sucked in a deep breath before letting it out. “Yes. The simple answer is yes, I felt an attraction to him. A belonging, I suppose. But I denied it, I shut it down and I shut him out. I was focused on my career with such clear-cut clarity, I had no room for distractions.”
“That’s a lonely life.” Madison placed her hand on her mom’s back and rubbed it to comfort her, wanting to forge a bond, a connection with her mom.
“It’s what my parents wanted and what they expected of me.” Connie looked at Madison with such sorrow in her eyes, it broke Madison’s heart. “Your grandparents were old-fashioned, they didn’t lavish me with praise or tell me I was doing well. They always pushed me to strive for more and I was scared to let them down. It molded me into the person I’ve become.”
“But Joe has changed that?” Madison asked.
“Yes. When your father left, after a respectful period of time, of course…” Connie smiled wistfully. “We were in the Maldives. Some conference or other…and one night he came to me as I sat on the beach wondering what the hell I was doing with my life…” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “Anyway, he woke something in me that had been dormant my whole life. He didn’t have to tell me about mating bonds or eternal love. I saw it in his face, and I knew then he was what I wanted. And that I would give up everything if it meant not losing him.”
“I’m happy for you, Mom.” Madison looked up as the plane appeared in the distance. “I’m happy for both of us.”
“I’ll do all I can for Rob and his family,” Connie promised. “If they didn’t find Colm, I’ll keep trying.”
“If they had found him, we’d know, wouldn’t we?” Madison watched as the plane got bigger in the sky. As she watched and hoped for a miracle, the pilot lowered the landing gear. “And if they found no sign of Colm, is it right to send other troops into danger?”
“Welcome to my world, Madison. These are the decisions I have to make on a daily basis, and it sucks.” Connie’s voice shook with emotion. “I make decisions that affect the lives of people like Rob and his family all the time.”
The plane touched down and mother and daughter stood side by side until the plane came to a stop. When the rear ramp lowered and the troops began to disembark, they walked slowly toward the plane. Neither Joe nor Rob appeared.
“Didn’t they get on the plane?” Madison asked. Her heart thumped so hard in her chest she thought it might explode.
“Patience.” Connie didn’t move as they waited.
“There.” Madison breathed as Joe appeared at the top of the ramp with Rob right behind him. She leaned her head to one side. “Does he look a little odd?”
“He looks fine.” Connie shot Madison a warning glance. Then took her smartphone from her pocket and made a call. “Can we prep to leave, please? I have an emergency in Bear Creek.”
“What’s wrong?” Madison asked, following her mom toward the plane they’d arrived in. When she cast a glance over her shoulder, she saw Joe and Rob heading their way, too.
“Get them on the plane, I need to go and speak to the commanding officer.” She gave a curt nod and then turned and walked away before Joe and Rob reached them.
“Rob, is everything okay?” Madison asked, falling into step with her mate and Joe as they approached the plane.
“Everything is fine.” Rob held his arm across his chest as if he were injured.
“Did something happen?” Madison asked as they climbed the steps into Ambassador Singer’s plane.
“We got lucky.” Rob gave her a quick wink before he went to the back of the plane and opened the bathroom door.
“You’ve got him?” Madison fought to keep the excitement from her voice.
Rob nodded. “But he does seem to be stuck.” He opened his jacket and showed her the head of the white dove who nestled happily against his chest.
“What do we do?” Madison asked.
“Take him home and see if he’ll shift for his mate.” Rob’s eyes met hers and she read the uncertainty there. “If that doesn’t work…”
“It will,” she assured him. “It will.”
Because the alternative was too much to bear thinking about.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Rob
His hands shook as he pulled the small bird out of his jacket and placed him down in the small sink of the plane restroom. Rob had seen Colm plenty of times in his bird form, but for some reason today he looked tiny, as if he would break. Had he lost a lot of weight since he’d been lost?
And then he addressed the worry that had niggled at him ever since Joe had closed his hands around the bird in a flying leap that made all the guards at the base alert for danger. Why wasn’t Colm shifting back into his human form?
“Hey there, buddy.” Rob gently stroked the feathered chest of his sister’s mate. “What’s going on with you?”
The bird turned his head to the side and blinked at him. Did that mean he understood Rob? Or was he simply looking at the stranger who had stowed him in his jacket on the plane journey home?
“Maybe he needs a drink,” Madison suggested from behind him.
Rob ran some water into his cupped hand and offered it to the dove. The bird dipped his beak in the water and drank thirstily. “What if he doesn’t shift back?” He looked back down at the small bird. “How will Ray cope?”
Madison rubbed his back with the palm of her hand. “We’ll figure it out. There has to be a way to get him back.”
“Time to buckle up,” Joe said from behind Madison. “We have clearance to depart.”
Rob picked the dove up and nestled him inside his jacket once more before taking a seat in the luxurious plane. Compared to the transport plane that made the humanitarian drop, this was like a flying palace. But Ambassador Singer seemed right at home.
“I’ve managed
to get our flight plan approved. We’ll be landing near to Bear Creek on a private airstrip where a car will be waiting to take us to your house, Rob. That is where your sister is still living, isn’t it?” Connie Singer asked.
“It is. Thank you.” That was some relief. They would be home in a couple of hours and maybe Colm would hear his mate’s voice and shift into his human form. If not, Madison was right, they would find a way to get through this. Only a couple of weeks ago one of the other bodyguards who worked for Bear Creek Protectors had helped a child shift back to his human form.
Of course, that case was different, the shifter in question was a child who had never shifted before and couldn’t figure out how to shift back to his human form. Colm knew exactly how to shift.
“Tell me about Colm,” Connie asked as the plane took off. “What kind of man is he?”
“A good man.” Rob stroked the bird’s head as the plane climbed in the sky. “He is one of the best men I know. And an amazing father to his two children.”
“Jon and Frank. Ray told me about them when I spoke to her. I can’t wait to meet them. She said Jon loves football. And that Frank had taken up the guitar but refuses to have lessons.” Connie smiled as if recalling a fond memory. “I remember now, she said Frank was waiting for his dad to get home so he could teach him.”
“Yeah, Colm was in a blues band when he was growing up. He often entertained us with his guitar.” Rob pulled the bird out of his jacket as soon as the plane had stopped climbing. “I guess we’ll have to get him to tweet to us if he doesn’t shift back.”
Connie glanced at Joe and then at Rob before asking, “Are you sure it’s Colm?”
Madison tensed. “Surely the chances of another white dove being in the area are so small it would be almost impossible to make a mistake.” Yet she sounded worried.
“It’s Colm.” Rob picked the bird up and turned him around, so his back was facing Connie and Madison. “See this marking here? Colm had one just like it. The feathers are dark along the edge of his wingtips.”
Savior Bear (Bear Creek Protectors Book 5) Page 16