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Just like that, he was sixteen again. Part of him felt like he should have recognized her more quickly—she’d been his first kiss, and more besides—but she was so out of place. No way the popular girl from a rich family had ended up doing something as unglamorous as diplomatic work. But then that hated nickname had tumbled out of her mouth, as though she'd never stopped using it, like she couldn’t remember how she’d gutted him, and his stomach lurched into a zero-G barrel roll.
So much for this being easy. Ren made a mental note to request having his previously unwanted leave restored. Getting shot to hell in the forests on Sagan had been bad, sure. But dealing with Lucia deserved hazard pay.
Lucia. Her name flooded into his memory and left his senses tingling. Of all the people he'd expected to see again, she wasn't even on the list. Especially not as an aid worker on the crappiest, most strife-riddled edge of the planet's main continent. She belonged in a mansion somewhere, living a fairytale lifestyle from some reality-vid drama. Any place where he wouldn’t stumble across her and all his memories of what they’d had that summer.
Inari leaned against his leg, her confusion playing across his senses as she tried to understand what had him so unsettled. He dug his fingers into her fur as much for her comfort as his, and swallowed his tattered pride. He was a TJF Ranger. He’d bonded with one of the wolves for which the special forces were both known and feared. He had all the affirmation he'd ever needed. He certainly didn't have to concern himself with the thoughts of a woman he hadn't seen since she’d broken his heart a decade ago.
He'd get her to safety, because it was his damn job. And then he could get the hell off Tyson. Maybe the commander would let him jump system for leave. Kanaloa wasn't that far away, and he could definitely see the appeal in a world of endless beaches.
He held out the steri-cloth. "You'll probably want to wipe your face clean, since the cloth’s already open. I'll go grab a splint from the big med kit." He’d left the kit by the wreckage he’d found when his ride dropped him off. He would have brought it with him, but Inari had grabbed the scent almost immediately, and he’d hurried to follow her. He’d debated leaving it at the time, but now he was glad he’d done it. It gave him the perfect excuse to get away from Lucia and find some breathing room. He needed to clear his head and put his mind back on the mission at hand.
Inari looked at him, her head tilted in question. "No," Ren answered. "You stay here. Make sure she doesn't get up from there until I get back." He hopped down from the rocks and looked back at his wolf's confused whine. "I don't know. Sit on her."
It would be a short walk back to the wreck, fortunately, and then he could call for his evac. Even with a splint, he didn't think she'd last too long on that ankle. Badly broken, it was certainly the worst of the two injuries. At least as far as he could tell without a 3D imager to check inside her skull. Her pupils were light-responsive and the same size, which was a good sign. She would likely have emotional scars from the trauma, but at the end of the day, didn't everyone?
He dragged a hand down his face, physically resetting his attitude before continuing the trip toward the wreck, when he heard the distinctive rhythmic whine of an incoming flitter. He shielded his eyes and squinted to make out the circular dots of the aircraft’s rotors against the rose-hued clouds. It was all the warning he had before the missile hit and blew the wreck to smithereens.
#
REN COULDN'T HEAR, could barely piece together what had happened. One minute he'd spotted the oncoming flitter. The next he'd been hurled through the air as a pair of AGMs slammed home and destroyed what was left of the wreck. It didn’t make sense—who would blow up a wreck?
His head and back were killing him, and the silence had been replaced with a high-pitched whine that felt like a cheese grater across the ragged nerves of his agony. Lay still, he told himself. If they're watching, let them think you're dead.
He had to hope that whoever was up in the flitter was operating on infrared and only saw the body heat and no visuals. They certainly hadn't noticed his affiliation before the attack; a deliberate attack on TJF personnel was patently stupid. While the Joint Forces preferred to stay neutral in dirtside conflicts, they vigorously defended their own. A constellation of highly trained badasses were not good enemies to make. And that was just the wolves.
Shit, Inari.
Ren hoped she'd stayed under cover like he'd told her. He'd seen what was left of rangers who'd lost their bonded partner—hell, he had no need to look further than his CO. Penzak's wolf had been killed in action just over five years ago. Breaking that empathic bond had left the old man hollowed out inside. Ren had heard the slick-sleeves call Penzak "The Ghost" for the look in his eyes, but that was bullshit. They hadn't bonded with their wolves yet, couldn't understand how deep the ties went between soldier and wolf. They weren't separate entities anymore. More like one being in two bodies.
He calmed his breathing, relaxing his mind until he could feel Inari's panicked curiosity, begging him to confirm he was okay. As soon as he was certain the flitter had left, he answered out loud. "I'm pretty bruised up, girl, but I'm harder to kill than all that."
The concern didn't lesson, but some of the wolf's panic eased.
"I'm serious. You worry too much." Ren chuckled and immediately regretted it as his bruised torso lodged a complaint. Not that he hadn't trained to work through pain and stay focused; he just didn't like to. There was a vast gulf between the ability to do a thing and actually enjoying it. "How's the girl?"
He took a deep breath and tried to assess the situation logically. Someone clearly wanted Lucia dead, probably to strike a blow against her family. Between the wreck and the missile strike, they had nearly succeeded—in her condition she’d never make it back to civilization without help.
And that’s where logic fell apart. Despite all the ugly that had passed between them, the idea of her dying alone in the desert made him alternately sad and angry. His mind drifted too easily to how he remembered her. Sneaking away from summer math classes for a date with the kid from across town. Brown skin that glowed almost gold in the red light of the sun. Clumsy kisses that got more skilled as they practiced. Hands and mouths that grew in confidence as they gained familiarity with each other’s bodies.
Her lips, curved into a cold smile once school had started back up, telling him not to overreach his station while her clique of friends had laughed in the background. Ren In-the-way, they’d teased, like he hadn’t heard the taunt most of his life.
Enough feeling sorry for himself. He had a job to do, and the rangers didn’t fail. He reached out to Inari, leaning into the sense of strength her presence lent him, and pulled himself upright. Pain lanced along his side. Felt like he'd cracked a rib. Maybe more than one. Nothing he couldn't deal with later.
After checking the sky one last time, he glanced toward the wreck. Like the aircraft, the med kit was a useless collection of burnt supplies. Great leave, Ren. Everything’s perfect so far.
He worked his way up into the rocks and back down to the clearing in the center. As soon as she saw him, Inari's tail started thumping into the dirt. The lensing effect of her fur made a blur of the rocks and scrub grasses, which contrasted with the subtle ripple where her body was. When they were perfectly still, umbra wolves could be almost invisible. Most of the time, Inari was too happy to show that much discipline.
Ren sank his fingers into the warmth of her coat, scritching into her shoulders the way he knew she liked and placed his forehead between her tufted ears. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, ‘Ri."
The wolf's happy calm radiated into him. It pushed the pain of his ribs out to the edges, made it easier to ignore. When he looked up, Lucia was watching them both. He gave her a half-hearted smile. "So, you want the bad news? Or the worse news?"