“That’s not Jeanie’s blood. Her feet are small and she was barefoot.”
“The window.” Justice steered him toward it. “She got out here.”
True regained enough of his equilibrium to pull out of their hold as he approached it. The window was wide open and he sniffed. His senses were dulled but some blood was visible on the lower section of the window shelf. He bent and sniffed. Relief came instantly.
“It’s not hers.”
“You’re sure?”
He glanced at Darkness. “I know it’s not hers.”
“Good. Now sniff around the frame. I did and found more. It’s different. I just wasn’t sure if it was hers or more blood from a male underneath that artificial odor.”
“This is hers.” He turned his head, smelling the other side. “And here. That’s Jeanie’s blood.”
“It’s faint. She probably harmed her hands when she grabbed hold to pull herself outside.” Justice backed away, lifted a radio and spoke into it. “Get our best trackers here. We’ve got blood from one of the humans and from the mate.”
True tensed and then jumped, barely wincing when one of his shoulders slammed against the frame. He landed in the backyard. He stayed low, staring at the ground. It was flattened, trampled where Jeanie and the males had exited the bathroom. He sniffed, not picking up blood right away. Then he did. It belonged to the human male. He bent closer, sniffing.
“What do you have?” Darkness climbed through the window and crouched, sniffing too. “I smell it too. The male stepped here and he’s bleeding.”
“We need lights out here!” Justice yelled. “In the backyard.”
True kept low, sniffing. “I lost it.”
“Me too.” Darkness frowned at him.
“He must have known he was bleeding and stopped it somehow.”
Darkness growled. “They are smart.”
True rose and began to circle the brick wall that enclosed the yard. He sniffed, also looking for evidence of where they went over it. Darkness shadowed him, doing the same.
“It would be faster if you started on the other side.”
“You were drugged. Two noses and sets of eyes are better. We don’t want to miss anything.”
True should have been offended but the male had a point. He wasn’t going to trust his senses at that moment with Jeanie’s life on the line. The slider at the back of the house opened and more males rushed out. They were canines and they started along the other wall.
They met near the center. “I don’t understand,” Darkness growled. “Did they fly over the wall?”
True wanted to howl with frustration. “Maybe they went back inside and left through the front door or the side gate.”
“You saw the lock still in place and it hasn’t been touched. It was rusted in place,” Justice argued. “Also, I was the first to arrive. Jessie wanted to come with but I demanded she stay. They didn’t leave from the front. Two teams arrived within half a minute of me.” He shook his head. “We had Species rushing out of their homes. They didn’t leave that way.”
“The backyards?” Darkness leapt, landing gracefully on the corner edges where the walls connected. He stared out, turned his head, and frowned before glancing down. “I only see Species. They appear to be searching every yard.”
“I ordered them to.” Justice growled. “How did they get her out? For that matter, how did they get inside Homeland?”
“It’s almost as if they flew out,” one of the Species muttered.
“Darkness?” Justice frowned at him. “Is it possible they somehow flew over Homeland and dropped in? Maybe found a way to fly out as well?”
He jumped down, landing in the yard. “I’m going over options but no. We would have heard a helicopter if they were airlifted in or out. There’s no way they could have used gliders.” He pointed to the hill behind them. “Even if they’d managed to climb up there to use it for a jump-off point, they don’t have the range to make it out from that height.”
“Air balloons?” Tiger strode into the backyard. “Is that possible?”
Darkness snorted. “Do you know how big that would have would be to support the weight of three humans? We’d have seen it and radar would have picked it up. No way did they get that in and out of here without it being detected.”
“Perhaps they have something smaller.”
Darkness shook his head. “It would be too difficult to control with this wind without motors to guide them and we’d have heard them. We just haven’t thought of how they were able to get in or leave.”
“So where did they go?” True was frustrated and worried sick. His stomach churned and he wasn’t sure if it was from that or the drugs he’d been dosed with. He spun, staring at the yard. “The attic. That’s where they got in the house.” He lunged forward, ready to tear it apart searching for Jeanie but Tiger blocked his way.
“Already looked there. That’s how one of them got in. He tore off the air vent on the side of the house and used it to gain entry.”
“Which side of the house?”
“The right.” Justice pointed. “All the cottages have them.”
True stomped toward that area and stared up at the hole in the side of the house near the roof. It infuriated him that he hadn’t known about it before or he would have made sure no one could get in that way. He frowned though as he stared at it.
“How did a human get up there?”
“Maybe they climbed on the roof and used a rope?” Darkness backed up and then ran to gain momentum before he leapt. He landed on the roof.
True was stunned. It was a twenty-foot jump. Species were good but that was something he couldn’t have done. Of course he wasn’t feline either. They were better jumpers than canines. The male crouched, easily scaling the tile to the peak of the roof. He straddled it, glancing around.
“There’s no sign of that. I don’t see any disturbances up here.”
True lowered his gaze to the hole. If a human hadn’t used the roof, he would have needed a ladder. There was no sign of one. He walked forward, leaving the grass for a sidewalk. The air-conditioning unit was there but it wasn’t high enough to have been helpful to a human who was trying to gain access to the attic vent, unless maybe someone boosted him. He crouched, staring at the artificial grass that had been laid around the area to make it appear more natural looking.
His nose twitched as a faint scent filled his nostrils and he growled, bending over as he leaned closer. “Jeanie.”
“What is it?” Tiger came closer with Justice on his heels.
A heavy body landed behind him as Darkness jumped from the roof.
“Her blood. It’s here.”
True sniffed again, following it. It stopped and he drew back. A faint gap in the grass became noticeable. He reached out and slipped his fingers into it, touched concrete. He lifted, seeing more of it instead of the dirt he suspected should be there. He tore it back and stared at a metal grate.
“Son of a bitch,” Darkness grumbled. “What is that?”
True released the area-rug-size artificial turf and bent, sniffing. Some of her blood was on the side of the hole. He turned his head, staring at the feline. “This is how they got out.”
“What is that?” Justice sounded furious. “Why didn’t we know about it? It’s big enough for people to fit through. That is probably how the human escaped after their first attempt. That’s why we could never locate him.”
Darkness cursed and nodded. “Homeland was built as a military base, correct?”
“Yes.” Justice still frowned.
“The humans could have built underground tunnels or it could be for rain runoff from the hill above.”
“I don’t care what it is.” True grabbed the metal grate and lifted. It was heavy but it yielded easily. He tossed it aside. “I’m going after her.”
Darkness grabbed his arm. “Wait. We need more men and flashlights. Our eyesight is good but there will be no light below ground.”