Like hell that would happen.
Some of the tension that had knitted her brow eased and relief was stark in her eyes. Joe took Donovan’s place in front of Shea and carefully peeled back the blood-soaked shirt so he could ascertain how much if any she still bled.
The others who’d hung back and remained silent during the entire flight leaned forward, their expressions ones of astonishment as Shea’s side slowly began to return to normal.
Nathan knew it would take longer this time, but he was content that at least the bleeding had slowed and that she was no longer bearing the agony in his stead.
His jaw was tight as he battled the burn in his side. The medicine Donovan had injected was already starting to take hold, though, and wooziness stole over him, leaving him heavy and lethargic.
“How are you feeling now, Shea?” Joe asked gently.
She slowly turned to look at Nathan’s twin. She licked her lips and attempted to smile, but she seemed far too tired to actually pull it off.
Her brow furrowed as she seemed to give his question a lot of consideration. Finally she sighed. “I don’t know.”
Some of the dullness had returned to her eyes and that worried Nathan. It was as if she’d gathered the last of her strength in her effort to help him and then to crawl back when he’d begged her to let go.
Exhaustion. He could feel her exhaustion and her confusion beating at her in relentless waves. She looked to each of the occupants of the helicopter but there was no recognition in her eyes, even though Nathan knew she knew who they were.
She turned her face into his chest and whispered so low that he couldn’t hear what she said. He leaned down close and gently touched her cheek.
“What did you say, baby?”
She shifted just enough that her mouth was visible and she whispered, “Promise me you’re okay. Promise.”
He kissed her because at that precise moment he was too choked up to get out even the simplest of words. He sucked in ragged breaths and closed his eyes. He laid his cheek against hers and whispered close to her ear, “I’m never leaving you, Shea.”
CHAPTER 43
“WHAT am I going to do about Shea?” Nathan asked as he sat on the edge of the exam table waiting his discharge.
His side hurt like a bitch, but the knife hadn’t struck anything vital and had only penetrated two inches. The doctor had wryly told him that a higher being had guided the blade because it had every opportunity to strike a vital organ but had slipped past without so much as scratching anything but fatty tissue and muscle.
He’d been stitched up, but he’d refused more pain medication. If it got bad later, Donovan could fix him up. For now he needed a clear head because Shea needed help, but they didn’t dare expose her to further scrutiny.
“I’ve called Maren,” Sam said in a low voice. “Joe’s with Shea now. As soon as you get out of here, we’re going to fly Shea to see Maren.”
“We’re taking her to fucking Costa Rica?” Nathan demanded.
Maren Scofield was a doctor KGI had rescued from Africa a few years back. She’d been instrumental in Rachel’s rescue or at least her recovery. She was someone KGI trusted and a damn good doctor. But the last Nathan had heard, she was still in Costa Rica. Not ideal. He wanted Shea home, not in fucking Central America.
“No. I’ve asked Maren to come to Tennessee. We’re taking Shea home and Maren will meet us there,” Sam replied.
“Then what the fuck are we waiting for?” Nathan hopped off the bed and started for the door. Pain jolted through his side, momentarily robbing him of breath. He stopped to steady himself and breathed away the rising nausea.
Sam made a grab for his arm. “You can wait a few more minutes to get your discharge paperwork. You’ll need the prescriptions and you’re going to take the meds or I’ll shove them down your throat. Shea needs you.”
“Yeah, I might have been a little hasty on that get the hell out of here,” Nathan gritted out.
“Let them give you the goddamn injection,” Sam snapped. “You’ve got to remain calm and pain free or Shea’s going to pick up on that and start taking it for you.”
“You’re right, you’re right. Look, let’s just get out of here. Van can give me an injection. I won’t argue. I’ll do exactly what he tells me, I swear, but let’s get the fuck out of here. I want to get back to Shea.”
They were interrupted by the nurse walking back in. She handed Nathan a clipboard and pointed to the places she wanted him to sign and then she handed him the prescriptions. She didn’t act particularly friendly and she beat a hasty retreat, but then Nathan supposed she likely thought they were some kind of criminals.
At least Resnick had kept the local cops out of the picture. The asshole did have his uses.
“Let’s go,” Sam said. “And you better take it easy. They’re waiting at the airport. The jet just touched down a few minutes ago, so as soon as we get there, we’re on our way home.”
Surely there wasn’t a better word in the world. Despite Sam’s order to take it easy, Nathan walked as fast as he could down the corridor and out the emergency exit to the parking lot, where one of the SUVs was parked.
Garrett was leaning against the hood, and when he saw Sam and Nathan heading toward him, he shoved off and opened the passenger door so Nathan could get in.
“Any word on Shea?” Nathan asked when Garrett climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Bleeding has nearly stopped. Wound is still open but seems to be closing at a slow rate.”
“But how is she?” Nathan asked anxiously.
Garrett sighed. “Same, man. No change.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“She’ll be better when you’re there,” Sam said.
Nathan hoped to hell his brother was right. What Shea had gone through was unimaginable. It hurt him to know just how much she’d endured. He’d never get over the fact that he’d promised to protect her and yet he’d been powerless to prevent her from being taken from him.
It seemed like an eternity before they roared up to the private airfield where the jet was waiting. Nathan opened his door before the SUV came to a complete stop and was already out and hurrying across the hot concrete to the plane.
Outside the plane, Steele, Cole, P.J., Dolphin, Renshaw and Baker stood guard. They may have looked relaxed, like they were waiting for someone, but Nathan saw that each was focused on an outlying area, watchful for any potential threat.
He mounted the few steps into the plane, and when he stuck his head in, he saw Donovan in the cockpit along with Ethan. He glanced to the right to see Swanny sprawled in one of the seats.
Swanny sat forward and motioned back to the sitting area. “Joe’s back with Shea.”
Nathan pushed down the aisle past the seats and into the lounge area, where there was a sofa, a table and two other armchairs. Joe was sitting on the couch, Shea cradled against his chest.
Her shirt was pulled up just over the wound on her side, and Nathan sucked in his breath at the shock of seeing his wound on her flesh.
Joe looked up and their gazes met. Joe’s lips tightened and he silently shook his head. His heart about to split wide open, Nathan went forward and gently took Shea from Joe and then crossed to one of the armchairs to sit.
A moment later, Sam and Garrett walked back, and Joe spoke in low tones to them, giving them his report. Nathan tuned them out, his concentration solely on the woman in his arms.
He smoothed his fingers over the lines of her forehead, wanting to ease the strain. He touched the softness of her cheek, traced the delicate line of her jaw.
She was so much a part of him. As much as breathing, eating or sleeping. She was there in every thought, every part of his heart and soul.
“Rest now, baby,” he whispered against her brow. He didn’t want to drain any of her flagging strength by speaking telepathically to her. She was so fragile and infinitely precious. So very precious to him. “We’re going home. I’m taking you home, where you’ll get better. I’ll take care of you. I’ll be with you every minute of the day, and we’ll put our demons to rest together.”
She seemed to relax and he cradled her close, tucking her head underneath his chin. Her breathing evened out, and he sensed for the first time that she was actually resting.
Donovan pushed his way through Sam and Garrett and squatted beside the chair where Nathan sat. “You’re getting this whether you want it or not. If we control your pain, we control hers. You both need rest, so don’t fight the effects.”
Nathan didn’t offer any protest. His side was screaming, and for Shea, he’d do whatever it took to make her more comfortable.
When Donovan was finished, he stood and told the others to prepare for takeoff. Nathan remained where he was while the others took their seats and belted in.
The drug didn’t take long to take effect. His muscles seemed to uncoil and he relaxed as the pain’s edge was tempered. He held Shea tightly as the jet taxied down the runway and then lifted off.
Home. To Tennessee. He was bringing Shea home. He just hoped to hell that she trusted him enough to stay.
He dozed lightly, Shea’s warmth as soothing as the drug that Donovan had given him. His eyes flew open when he heard footsteps.
Sam, Garrett, Joe and Swanny came through and sat on the couch and the other armchair.
“Is she doing any better?” Sam asked in a low voice.
“She’s resting,” Nathan said. “Really resting.” He glanced down at her eyelashes resting on her cheeks and his chest tightened all over again. “They broke her. Whatever they did, they broke her.”
“Bullshit,” Joe said. “She’s down but she’s not out. I don’t believe for a fucking minute that they completely broke her. She saw you through hell. She’s fierce. She’ll be okay.”
Nathan smiled at his brother’s staunch assessment of Shea.
“I’ve spoken to Resnick,” Sam said. “Things are a mess right now. A lot of fingerpointing. A lot of denial. He’s collecting evidence before it can be destroyed.”
“What about Grace?” Nathan asked quietly.
Sam shook his head. “No one knows. She wasn’t there. Resnick’s putting out his feelers. Rio hasn’t reported in, which means he’s turned up nothing yet. My guess is she’s lying low somewhere.”
Nathan tried to control the rise of anger. Where the fuck was Grace? How could she leave her sister when Shea needed her the most? How could she just fall out of contact when the two sisters were so deeply connected?
He knew his anger was unreasonable. There could be any number of reasons why Grace wasn’t communicating with Shea. But right now Shea needed to be surrounded with people who loved her. She needed her sister.
“Resnick feels like they’ve been unable to locate Grace and were focusing for now on Shea,” Sam continued.
“Who is they?” Joe demanded. “Do we even know who the hell is behind this? It’s pretty damn hard to fight a nameless, faceless enemy. Those bunch of damn science nerds aren’t the masterminds of this. They’re following orders. Even the security was lame. Someone is fronting the money and the manpower. The question is who and why?”
“That’s just it,” Sam said. “Everyone is denying involvement. We have to face the possibility that we’ll never know. I don’t fully trust Resnick. His ass is on the line. He won’t be completely honest with us unless it suits his purposes.”
“Do you believe that shit about why he took Shea?” Nathan asked. “Do we have any proof that he didn’t make everything up so I didn’t kill him?”
“How would we ever know differently?” Garrett asked.
“Let’s put nerd boy on it,” Joe said. “There isn’t info Van can’t find when he wants it.”
Garrett chuckled. “I wouldn’t let him hear you say that. He’ll kick your scrawny little ass. He’s got moves that I don’t think there are names for.”
“What about those two Russian scientists Resnick mentioned?” Swanny spoke up.
Sam frowned. “Resnick said they were back in Russia.”
“What if he’s lying? What if he doesn’t want them to be found? Or maybe that’s what he was told. Maybe he thinks he’s telling us the truth. Either way, it bears looking into because they’d know a lot of answers to our questions,” Swanny said.
Garrett suddenly grinned. “With Resnick so busy doing cleanup in New Mexico, he certainly won’t be at his office. Van and I could take a little trip so Van can do some hacking. Van would cream himself over getting into Resnick’s secure files. Can you imagine the shit that man has buried in his computer?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Sam said slowly. “As soon as we land, you and Van take the jet and head for D.C. I want whatever information you can find and then we’ll know exactly how straight Resnick is being with us.”