Matt Archer: Bloodlines (Matt Archer #4) by Kendra C. Highley Page B

forget, I said, “Tink, you’ll know I’m in bad
shape for asking, but could you knock me out?”
    Of course, she murmured. Her voice was kind and a
little melancholy. I never knew if those emotions were really hers or something
I projected onto her, but for the moment, I felt like she cared. I sense
nothing at all, so we should be safe for a time. You rest.
    Before the last word finished echoing in my head, I fell
asleep.
     
    * * *
     
    The whine of a helicopter spinning up startled me out of a
deep sleep. While I’d been out, three more cots had been shoved into the tent.
Blakeney was snoring softly, sprawled on one of them. The other two, presumably
for Lanningham and Dorland, were empty, but all their stuff was piled along the
walls. From the way the light fell against the canvas, it was late afternoon.
I’d slept like the dead, and for a long time.
    I sat up slowly, wincing as the dozens of bruises, strained
muscles and scratches woke up with the movement. I’d been in worse shape after other
fights, so this pain was manageable and I turned to let my bare feet rest on
the ground.
    I didn’t remember taking off my boots…but I had. For once,
I’d been comfortable enough to sleep without being ready to fight at the sound
of a Dingo’s howl. And for once, I actually felt rested while on assignment.
    As I finished getting dressed, the helicopter’s rotors faded
into the distance. I stepped outside and shivered a little. The air had grown
cool while I slept. Two fires were going in the center of camp and a dozen guys
were sitting on portable stools around them, eating dinner. My stomach growled.
I ducked back into the tent for my MRE—glazed chicken, peas and applesauce—then
went looking for the command tent.
    Soldiers watched me pass through camp. The new guys stared,
then huddled together to whisper. More than a few laughed. Derisively.
    Not sure what that was about, I hurried on my way. Command
wasn’t hard to find. A shiny new private was guarding the front of only one
tent, which meant the colonel, and likely Uncle Mike, were inside. The private
eyed me as I approached but didn’t stop me from announcing myself and entering.
    Inside, Mike and Colonel Black were speaking with Captain
Johnson and Badass Aunt Julie, who was looking especially cold and intimidating.
    “It’s time to go back,” Mike was saying. “We have all the
information from the coven we’re going to get out here. There’s no reason for
your team to stay.”
    “There are a number of tiny towns around here. My team could
canvass the area and do some interviews. See if there’s something we’re
missing.” She crossed her arms and aimed her glare at Mike. “Besides, Officer
Archer still needs to find his contact. You’d go faster with more boots on the
ground. If you want to send me home a few days before the eclipse, fine. But I
can still do some good out here.”
    “Captain, we’re not questioning your abilities,” Colonel
Black said. “The situation has changed. This has become a hardcore combat
mission and we simply can’t let you stay. The general has ordered your return
to D.C. He wants you on point, coordinating all the intel coming in. There’s
been a huge increase in chatter—monsters are coming out of the cracks of the
earth all over the world it seems.”
    Julie let out a short breath. “Sir, yes sir.” The colonel
met her glare head on, but Mike avoided looking at her. “I’ll prepare my team
to leave immediately.”
    She paused next to me on her way out. “Take care of
yourself.”
    After Julie flung the tent flap open and stalked away, Mike
sank down on a folding camp chair and let out a long breath. “I told you she
wouldn’t be happy, sir.”
    “Happy or not, orders are orders. I can’t reverse General
Richardson’s commands just because she’s unhappy. She’ll have more resources in
D.C., too. We need everything she can give us, and being on the ground isn’t
feasible anymore.”
    I doubted