“Mary? Nutsbe here. Who is that screaming?”

  Mary turned to the child, still crying in her car seat, jangling Mary’s overwrought nerves.

  “Oh, thank god you’re on the phone. Halo will explain.”

  “We can’t get through to Halo.”

  “He’s here. Maybe we have different servers,” she said for absolutely no reason. This wasn’t a time for a chat. “We have a situation. I’m putting you on speaker and holding the phone out so Halo can tell you what’s going on.”

  The phone shook in Mary’s hand. Her own nerves for being on the road like this under these circumstances. Her own worry about the mother and the reason why that child would not stop screaming.

  The professionalism of their “affirmative” and “WILCO” helped.

  “I have your shirt online,” Nutsbe said. “You are four minutes out from the hospital.”

  “I’d like to keep this line open,” Halo said.

  “Standing by,” Nutsbe responded.

  Yes, it was nice just to know there was someone out there who was doing overwatch.

  Chapter Twenty- Eight

  Running on generators, up ahead, Halo saw that they had lights on at the hospital where they were out in the rest of the city.

  Blocks away now, Halo knew Panther Force was there, ready to assist.

  Here, the water was running deep, farther up his wheel rims than he’d like. And as he knew from many a mission past, you don’t count the win until you cross the finish line.

  That thought had formed just as Halo felt the car lift and his control vanished.

  Mary braced, sucking in a lungful of air.

  The car behind them plowed into them, pushing them forward until they, too, hit the vehicle in front. Luckily, they were barely moving. Out of his window, he saw the water churning.

  He called the situation out for the team to hear over their open line.

  “Moving.”

  And Halo knew that help was on the way.

  He rolled down the windows lest the car roll or submerge, taking advantage of the limited time that the electrical system would function.

  The rain poured in.

  “Oh, wow, Halo, it’s up to the windows!” Mary called, leaning out.

  “Get the child out of her seat.”

  If they went under, Mary, Max, and the baby could get out the windows. Halo and the mother were too big to even try. Max was a strong swimmer, but Halo didn’t know about Mary’s skills other than that she was comfortable enough to swim in the black waters of the bog. But she’d try to save the child, and that would put them both at risk. He had to get the windshield out.

  Yelling his directives back to Mary to cover everyone in the back seat with her poncho, Halo reached for the tarp and wrapped it over the pregnant mother. He curled over the top of her.

  Each time another car was swept up and pressed forward by the raging waters, they bumped and jostled.

  “Titus. Halo, we’ve entered the building in front of you from the parallel roadway. We’ve made it to the apartment window on the second floor. We’re rigging pully lines to the light pole at your eleven o’clock. We have you in sight, brother. Coming your way. Over.”

  “Copy.” Halo braced one foot under the dash and, pulling his knee in for a sidekick, he started battering the windshield, aiming for the corners and side where the window was the weakest. The first cracks were a victory. He kept kicking as the window pressed outward, like taffy. Created to protect the passengers in an accident, Halo knew there was no breaking this glass; all he could hope for was peeling it free.

  With each kick, tiny shards peppered over them.

  Suddenly, there were thunks on his hood. The car dipped forward. Gloved fingers wrapped into the progress he’d made and dragged the glass backward.

  Gage’s face came into view. “We’re here. We’re tying you in. The people behind you are going to knock into the car, but you’re not moving forward anymore.” He swept his hand around the edge of the empty windshield space, removing the last of the glass shards.

  “Got the mother?” Gage called, passing a line into the car. “Let’s get her out first. How’s she doing?”

  “No change.” Halo clipped the carabiner in place. “The contractions are still five minutes apart.”

  “We have an exit strategy and a car waiting.”

  Hands, legs, feet, faces, there was a press of common effort as the unconscious woman was lifted free.

  The water splashed and then gushed into the car.

  Mary was thrusting the child forward.

  Halo passed the tiny girl on to other hands.

  “Come on, Mary, You’re next.”

  But she grabbed Max’s collar and shoved him toward Halo.

  Another bang shifted the car, and while it held in place, it tipped to its side.

  Halo fought the rush of water. Filling his lungs he dove and reached, searching for Mary, but she was gone.

  He couldn’t wrap his mind around the empty space.

  A hand dragged Halo to the surface. “She’s in the water,” Gage yelled.

  Halo scrambled out of the open windshield. Titus was on a line swimming toward Mary. Mary was digging in with one arm. Max had clamped his mouth onto Mary’s other arm and was swimming toward the car with single-minded determination.

  Titus made a one-handed grab for her wrist and pulled them both in.

  Gage got his fingers through Max’s collar, snapped a carabiner, tethering him to the line, and pulled Max onto the submerging car.

  The water churned dark and angry. Halo was clamping into one of the lines, then dove into the water, clasping safety rigging for Mary. Until he was all the way in, he hadn’t fully appreciated the strength of the flash flood. The debris burned as it abraded his skin. With Titus gripping under her arms, Halo wrangled Mary into the harness.

  Gage hefted Titus from the water.

  The two turned and dragged Halo and Mary onto the side of the car. “We’ve got you!”

  Halo looked over at the distance to the window. The waters below. His eye followed the rigging, and he was grateful for his team's expertise.

  With Max draped over his shoulders, Gage moved hand over hand to the window where Nutsbe waited with an assist. After handing Max off, then climbed through the window.

  Titus leaned in to talk into Halo’s. “I’m going up to join Gage.” He pointed at the second-story window where the rigging hooked in above the flood waters. Nutsbe leaned out, projecting a light down to illuminate the rescue. “Once we get up there, we’re going to use the pully to get your two into the apartment. Mary’s reserves were taxed by that swim. We’ll pull you two up together. Hang tight for a second while I get across.”

  Titus swung hand over hand to the second-story window. “Ready?” Titus called out. “You two keep tight hold of each other.”

  Mary and Halo looked at each other. “Always,” they said as one, then their lines tightened, and they were snatched into the air.

  Epilogue

  “Are you kidding me right now?” Sam asked from the corner of the couch where she’d curled up. “Kyle’s and my first meeting story is so sad compared to yours. Dangerous, romantic.” She hugged herself. “I mean, when Kyle proposed, it was on the same beach where we met having cocktails with friends, and I thought that was so sweet. But there you and Halo were, dangling from buildings and braving raging floods.”

  Mary smiled at her future daughter-in-law as she rubbed a steady hand over Max’s coat. Max had popped his head up and stared toward the door, his gray whiskers prominent in the reflected light. Halo must be home.

  “When Kyle and I have our own children,” Sam said, moving her computer with its Pinterest bridal boards display off to the side. “They’ll grow up knowing their grandparents were heroes.”

  Mary felt the same pitter pat of her heart, the same smile sliding across her face as the door opened and her husband moved into the room. He had a package under his arm and a cake box in his hands as he kicked the door shut.

  His eyes were locked on Mary, as they always did, until he made his way over to her and gave her the kiss. It was the storming car kiss. It was the “I’ve made a commitment to your well-being and my love for you kiss. It was their kiss. The one that they greeted each other with and the one they gave as a promise each time they left.

  “Y’all are so cute,” Sam cooed.

  Halo handed the cake box to Sam and then the package to Mary.

  Halo’s next kiss was for Max. “How you doing, old man?”

  “Don’t call him that!” Mary and Sam said together.

  Mary reached for the cheese knife from the snack board on the coffee table to slice open the package, and Sam opened the cake box.

  “It looks delicious, but what does 10 – 50 mean?” Sam asked.

  “Our origin story that I was just telling you,” Mary’s hand wrapped Halo’s as he rested it on her shoulder.

  “We met ten years ago today,” Halo said. “And Mary is turning fifty. We celebrate both.”

  “Yes!” Sam said. “Harrowing! Terrifying. I can’t even imagine. Why hasn’t Kyle told me your story?”

  “Perhaps he’s not a hundred percent sure that his mom could really do the things we said.” Mary looked into the brown box and pulled out a piece of pottery, holding it up and turning it this way and that. “This is proof positive that it all did happen, though.” She held it out to Halo to examine. “Every year, on the anniversary of the storm, Anneli, that’s the little girl Max found in the woods, sends us a piece of handmade art.” Mary dug further into the paper, pulling up a framed picture and folded stationery. “We get a picture and an update.”

  “So, the mom and the infant? They survived?” Sam asked.

  Mary held up the photo for Sam to see. “The baby is now a ten-year-old boy. Toomas.”

  Max sniffed at the letter and then looked at Mary expectantly. “Let’s see, Max.”

  Mary dug through the box and pulled out a dog toy. “They didn’t forget you, buddy.”

  Halo accepted the letter from Mary, then walked around the back of the sofa to sit next to her and Max, wrapping his arm around them while he studied the photo.

  “And how long between the time you got home from Tallinn to the time you were married?”

  “Three weeks,” Halo said. “The longest three weeks of my life.”

  “Wait!” Sam turned to Mary. “You said Mrs. V. predicted three changes in Tallinn. Obviously love. Obviously, life trajectory. But your career?”

  “Iniquus knew of a group that needed a flight nurse in the D.C. area, transporting pediatric patients,’” Halo said. “And Mary was able to start right away. Of course, in the halls of Iniquus, she isn’t Mary. She’s Flagpole Mary and much revered.”

  “Stop teasing.” Mary lifted her chin to accept Halo’s kiss before turning back to Sam. “I will tell you, when Deidre called and told me we were flying to Switzerland to change our lives, I didn’t believe her at all. Of the three places that she was offered, Deidre decided on changing her life trajectory. That’s how she ended up contentedly delivering babies alongside her husband in Namibia. It’s all because we followed our charts.”

  Mary and Halo’s eyes caught and held.

  “You see?” Sam said, “That’s what I want for Kyle and me, that level of love and devotion. The happily ever after of it all.”

  “If you want that,” Mary said, bending to kiss Max’s head, “you’ll need to make sure you have a dog with you that’s as magical and amazing as our Max.”

  While this is

  The END

  of Guardian’s Instinct,

  more Team Charlie books are coming in 2024.

  The next book in Iniquus World Chronology is

  Nutsbe Crushed’s story

  Please join Cerberus Tactical K9 for a new K9 series of doggos trained by Cerberus Tactical

  starting with Beowolf.

  Are you reading along with the Iniquus World?

  Guardian’s Instinct is book thirty-two!

  It all started with

  WEAKEST LYNX

  If you’re new to Iniquus, turn two pages to read chapter one.

  Readers,

  I hope you enjoyed getting to know Mary, Halo, and Max. If you had fun reading Guardian’s Instinct, I’d appreciate it if you’d help others enjoy it, too.

  Recommend it: A few words to your friends, book groups, and social networks would be fantastic.

  Review it: Please tell your fellow readers what you liked about my book by reviewing Rescue Instinct.

  Discuss it! – I have a SPOILERS group on Facebook.

  Weakest Lynx

  Chapter One

  The black BMW powered straight toward me. Heart pounding, I stomped my brake pedal flush to the floorboard. My chest slammed into the seat belt, snapping my head forward. There wasn’t time to blast the horn, but the scream from my tires was deafening. I gasped in a breath as the BMW idiot threw me a nonchalant wave—his right hand off the wheel—with his left hand pressed to his ear, still chatting on his cell phone. Diplomatic license plates. Figures.

  Yeah, I didn’t really need an extra shot of adrenaline—like a caffeine IV running straight to my artery—I was already amped.

  “Focus, Lexi,” I whispered under my breath, pressing down on the gas. “Follow the plan. Give the letter to Dave. Let him figure this out.” I sent a quick glance down to my purse where a corner of the cream-colored envelope jutted out, then veered my Camry back into the noonday DC gridlock, weaving past the graffitied storefronts. I recognized that the near-miss with the BMW guy probably wasn’t his fault. I couldn’t remember the last ten minutes of drive time.

  I watched my review mirror as a bike messenger laced between the moving cars on his mission to get the parcel in his bag to the right guy at the right time. Once he handed over his package, he’d be done—lucky him. Even though I was handing my letter off to Dave, the truth was that wouldn’t be my endpoint. I wasn’t clear about what an endpoint would even look like. Safe. It might look like I was safe, that I had my feet back under me. But that thought seemed like it was far out on the horizon, and right now, I was just looking for something to grab on to, to keep me afloat.

  When I finally parked in front of Dave Murphy’s mid-century brick row house, I sat for a minute, trying to regain my composure. I’d pushed this whole mess to the back burner for as long as I could but after last night’s nightmare… Well, better to get a detective’s opinion. Dave had handled enough crackpots over his time with the DCPD that he’d have a better grasp of the threat level. Right now, even with all my training, I was scared out of my mind.

  I glanced down at my hands. The tremor in them sent the afternoon sunlight dancing off my brand-new engagement and wedding rings. I felt like an imposter wearing them—like a little girl dressed up in her mother’s clothes. I’m too young to be dealing with all this crap, I thought as I shoved my keys into my purse. I pulled my hair into a quick ponytail and stepped out into the February cold. Casting anxious glances up and down the street, I jogged up the stairs to bang on Dave’s front door.

  The screen squeaked open almost immediately as if he’d been standing there waiting for my knock. “Hey, Baby Girl,” he said, stepping out of the way to let me in. Dave had been calling me Baby Girl since I was born because my parents couldn’t decide on my name, and that was how I was listed on my hospital ankle tag.

  “Glad I found you at home.” I walked in and plopped down on the blue gingham couch. It had been here since I could remember. The fabric was threadbare and juice stained by his five-year-old twins. On a cop’s salary, fine furnishings ranked low in priority. Right now—edgy and confused—I appreciated the comfort of familiarity.

  Dave shifted into detective mode—hands on hips, eyes scanning me. “Long time, no see.”

  “Where are Cathy and the kids?” I asked.

  “They’ve got dentist appointments. Did you come to tell us your news?” He lifted his chin to indicate my left hand and settled at the other end of the couch, swiveling until we were face to face.

  “Uhm, no.” I twisted my rings, suddenly feeling drained and bereft. What wouldn’t I give to have my husband Angel here? The corners of my mouth tugged down. I willed myself to stay focused on the reason for the visit. My immediate safety had to take priority over my grief.

  Dave raised a questioning brow, waiting for me to continue.

  “Angel and I got married Wednesday. I’m Lexi Sobado now.” My voice hitched, and tears pressed against my lids. I lowered my lashes, so Dave wouldn’t see. But his eyes had locked onto mine, and he never missed much.

  “Married? At your age? No introduction? No wedding invitation? Why isn’t he here with you now?” Dave angled his head to the side and crossed his arms over his middle-aged paunch. “I’d like to meet the guy,” he all but snarled.

  Dave probably thought I’d come here because my husband screwed things up already. I pulled the pillow from behind my back and hugged it to me like a shield. “I’m sorry. I should have let you and Cathy know what was going on—I was caught up, and I just...” I stopped to clear my throat. “Angel and I got married at the courthouse, and no one came with us. Not even Abuela Rosa.”

  “Angel Sobado. He’s kin to Rosa, then?”

  I gave the slightest tip of a nod. “Angel is her great-nephew. I couldn’t bring him with me today because he deployed with the Rangers to the Middle East Thursday. That’s why everything happened so fast. He was leaving.” The last word stuck in my throat and choked me.

  Dave leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Lacing his fingers, he tapped his thumbs together. “Huh. That’s a helluva short honeymoon. Married Wednesday. Gone Thursday.” Dave’s tone had dropped an octave and gained a fringe of fatherly concern.