Stolen Treasure

Chapter 7

It was good to be home. The bath hadn't even been that bad. And now I was clean, dry, and had a full belly, the events of the day before were starting to recede in importance in my mind. My eyes were just starting to drift closed when I heard a noise at the kitchen door. I was opposite it with a low growl before I'd even fully formed the thought to move. Maybe I was still harbouring some leftover nerves. I could smell Lola before the door was fully open, though, and then there was nothing else to worry about in the world. I got a quick nuzzling in greeting, but then she was dancing backward, her eyes on Mitch and the box he was carrying.

"Where do you want them, Lola?" he asked.

She turned and led him right to my bed and I trotted along beside them. He knelt and unloaded the babies carefully, one by one, and Lola immediately nestled herself behind them, looking proud and regal.

I sighed and leaned against Mitch's leg and he dropped his arm around me. "You should be proud, Nev. That's a beautiful family you've got there."

I rooh roohed my agreement, quietly—didn't want to wake the pups— and did some more wagging as Maddy joined us. She tucked a blanket behind Lola and glanced around. "We should put something against the bed to make sure the puppies don't fall out."

"I don't think we need to worry about that, right, Nev?" He directed me to lie down and stay right across the open edge of the bed and I happily obliged, since it was right where I was going to park myself anyway. I was curled toward Lola and the kids, but could see the reflection of the group gathering in the flat screen to my left. And when I dropped my head back, I could watch their energies swirl and shift.

I sat up a little. Well, that was interesting. Mitch and Maddy had moved toward the group, and as they spoke to other people their energies merged fluidly into one swirling shape. The same way mine and Lola's did. The same way Mia's and Hudson's did.

Then Maddy looked at Mitch and her energy pulled back. His reached out again, trying to re-establish the connection, but hers spiked as she moved away physically. I snorted and settled back to my family. Two-leggers were so silly, refusing to see what was literally all around them.

Mal leaned over the kitchen table and squinted at the picture. Turned it sideways and squinted at it again. "Nope. I can't make anything out. Why'd they do it so far down into the ear? They must have known it'd be hard to read."

"It's probably a lot easier to read if you cut the ears off and lay them out." Maddy's voice was flat, but rage rode just underneath it.

"God, that's vile," Mitch said. "But you know no one's coming near Lola on my watch."

"And you know I can take care of her myself. There's no need for you to camp out on my couch," she replied.

I snorted. If they had any common sense at all, they'd leave Lola and the babies here. No one would get past me.

My snort got a raised eyebrow from Hudson, and I settled again. He'd invited Maddy to stay over until all this was sorted, but she'd been adamant about getting into her own home, spending the night in her own bed for the first time in nearly a year. Mitch was the compromise. And it didn't look as though Maddy was quite sure she'd made the better deal.

Mal was studying the photos again. "Look." He moved them around so they were touching at two points, then folded some of the edges down and slid them together again. "Maybe? It looks like those two lines connect, there and there."

Maddy dropped into one of the chairs and pulled the photos toward her. "Shit. You have got to be kidding."

"What?" Mitch moved behind her and leaned over her shoulder. She stayed focused on the pictures, and their energies flirted and merged again.

"I think it's a map." She adjusted the pictures again. "Maybe if we cut them?"

Hudson started rummaging in a drawer and Mal pulled some mugs down from the cabinet and started pouring coffee.

"Why a map?" Mitch asked

She looked at the pictures again and shook her head. "There were rumours floating around camp about gold that had been looted from Kuwait, and been hidden away by troops involved in the original invasion. It was an old story, had been making the rounds for years, apparently, but we got word that one of the patrols had made contact with a local who had quite the stockpile of stolen military equipment. He was offering to trade the location of the gold for leniency."

Mal choked on his coffee. "That's right out of the movies."

Maddy nodded. "Probably why the stories had legs. The teams used to sit around talking about how to track down the loot. We were an intelligence unit in a high risk area that's rife with corruption. There are strict security protocols in place. It wouldn't be possible to just walk away with a treasure map in your pocket."

Mitch whistled softly. "But to tattoo parts of the map onto the ears of a bunch of different rescue dogs...that's kind of brilliant."

Maddy pulled her phone out and tapped away. It buzzed a second later and her face went funny. She put the phone down with exaggerated care. "I just checked with a friend who was also taking one of the encampment dogs. Hers never made it to Canada at all. Apparently got lost in transit and they're still trying to track him down."

"How big was the rescue operation?" Hudson asked.

"At least five dogs, that I know of."

The silence was thick enough to make the noise I heard a noise from the street clear as a bell. A burst of energy zipped through me and pushed me to my feet. I was at the door and waiting when Mia pushed it open.

She looked mildly surprised to see her kitchen full of people. She dropped her bag by the door. "Hi. What did I miss?"

Hudson got up and started toward her.

Mitch straightened up from his spot behind Maddy. "Lola has puppies, Neville still has testicles, you have a new neighbour, and we may have part of a treasure map to stolen treasure."

Her eyebrows went up and her mouth dropped open.

Hudson held open his arms. "Welcome home!"