29. Friends Don’t Bill Friends
”ELIAS, I WANT an SUV here. Now.” I hold Julieanne close, cradling her battered body against me as silenced shots ring out behind me.
They beat the fucking shit out of her, and it”s taking everything I have not to go back in there and take the rage bubbling under my skin out on what”s left of Amos. But to do that, I would have to leave her, and she’ll be lucky if I ever let her out of my sight again.
I carry her out into the snowy parking lot, carefully angling her body as I rest my ass on the crumbling base of a light post. My hand shakes as I smooth the mat of dark hair away from her face, fingers skimming over a lump forming just above her temple. Her eyes are closed and it’s killing me. I want her to look at me again. To smile so I know she’s going to be okay.
So I know I’m going to be okay.
Pierce strides out of the building, coming straight to where I sit, trying not to lose it as I continue stroking Julieanne’s bruised and bloody face. He stops at the cement ledge, but doesn”t sit down beside me. ”I have our team physician, Eli, ready. He”ll take good care of her.”
I manage a nod, but don”t take my eyes off Julieanne. ”Thank you.”
Pierce lingers, watching me long enough I know he”s going to say more. ”I talked to Heidi. She and the rest of Intel are going to start looking into everyone who works for you. Make sure there”s no one else who might be a problem.”
I”m not surprised Pierce already knows what I”m thinking. That he would realize I don”t want to take Julieanne to my own staff physician because I don”t know who in the hell I can trust.
I slide one hand down Julieanne’s arm, checking for broken bones. ”Send me a bill.”
”There won”t be a bill.”
This finally lifts my eyes to where Pierce stands.
He studies me, the seconds dragging out between us. ”You could”ve just fucking told me you needed to pick a fight so you could pretend she didn”t exist. I would”ve set something up.”
I stare back at him, shocked at his accurate assessment.
And Pierce just fucking laughs in my face. ”Don”t look so surprised.” He smirks. ”I’ve picked more than a few fights because of my wife.” He glances over one shoulder as the head of Shadow, the Alaskan Security team I used to work with regularly, approaches. ”Ask Zeke. He was usually who I fought with.” Pierce”s gaze cools a little bit. ”Especially when he started spending time alone with her.”
Zeke blows out a long breath. ”How many fucking times do I have to say it? I don”t want your wife. I never wanted your wife.” He slides one of his weapons into its holster. ”She scares the fucking shit out of me.”
Pierce laughs, but I don”t miss the pride in his expression. ”That”s good, because I”d hate to have to kill you.” Pierce slaps Zeke on the shoulder before walking away, entering the back of the building through the door we breached.
This op was handled very differently than I would have ordered on my own. Instead of taking the place by storm, we parked a few blocks away and approached from the back, using the cover of the treeline to hide our arrival until the last possible second. It likely kept Julieanne safer, but now I’m helplessly holding her injured body, waiting for a vehicle to arrive, trying to keep it together as I count each shallow breath.
Zeke lingers, his giant frame blocking most of my view as the combined teams execute my orders inside. ”How’s she doing?”
My throat tightens because I don”t know how to answer. I don”t want to answer. ”I”m waiting on a car to take us to Alaskan Security headquarters so your physician can check her out.” I gently trace each of Julieanne’s fingers with mine, the blood crusted on her soft skin sending the burn of bile climbing up my throat. ”I think she”s got a head injury. She was awake and talking when I found her, but hasn’t opened her eyes since we came outside.”
The terror in my gut intensifies with each passing second. I know taking her to Eli will be faster than going to a hospital, but the seconds keep dragging out, and I’m starting to unravel.
Zeke nods, his gaze filled with concern as he looks Julieanne over. ”She’ll be okay. I”ll come check in when I get back to headquarters.” He slaps my shoulder. ”Good to have you back, old man.”
I wasn”t hoping to repair my relationship with Alaskan Security when I called Pierce. I just didn”t know who else to turn to. Who else to trust. That I knew I could trust Pierce, even after everything I’ve done, is telling. Both of me and of him.
”Boss?” Elias’s voice is soft in my ear. “Your SUV’s pulling in.”
”Okay.” I pause, before adding on, ”Thank you.”
I”ve been an ass to my employees for a long fucking time. I”m not saying I deserved what happened today—Julieanne certainly didn”t—but while I might not have earned Amos’s betrayal, I also haven”t earned how nice Elias has been to me.
”Sure thing, Boss. Keep me posted on how she”s doing.”
I carefully get to my feet, straightening as Pierce reappears from the building.
”We”re collecting all the computers from inside now. I”m sure Heidi’s going to want to comb through them. Try to figure out if there”s anything else we need to be concerned about.”
Once again, I’m filled with appreciation. ”Thank you.”
Pierce slaps me on the shoulder. ”I”m not just doing it for you. This is in my best interest too. We need to know where this program came from and who’s in possession of it.”
I start to walk away, but then reconsider. I turn to him. ”Have your team look into Elias first. If he comes back clear, he can help them go through everyone else.” I”m sure he won”t mind the effort when I let him know he”s been promoted.
Pierce nods before jerking his chin toward the black Jeep as it pulls up. ”Let me know what Eli says once he checks her out.”
My throat tightens. “I will.”
I don”t miss everyone”s concern for Julieanne. I”m sure Heidi has been singing her praises, but other than that, they don”t really know her. Which means their concern for her is tied to me.
I”m not sure how I feel about that yet, but I think I might fucking like it. And I’m not sure how I feel about that either.
The driver gets us to Alaskan Security in record time, and in under ten minutes, he’s opening the door and helping me out. I haven’t set Julieanne down since I picked her up from that filthy floor, and my eyes lock on the gurney waiting at the back of the building. It takes everything I have to set her down, but I know I can’t fix her. I need their help. And to get it, I have to let them near her.
Eli, Alaskan Security”s staff physician, listens as I explain what I know, looking Julieanne over as I carefully lay her across the waiting stretcher, keeping her hand in mine as they roll her into the building.
We go straight into a room that’s probably better stocked than most hospitals, and I breathe a little easier over my decision to come here instead of calling an ambulance. It”s been barely twenty minutes since I kicked in that door to find Julieanne bleeding on the floor, and I don’t think taking her to a hospital would”ve been any faster. I know it wouldn”t have been any safer.
I stay close, refusing to step away from her side as the team around me starts an IV and evaluates her condition. I don’t know what all Julieanne went through in the hours it took me to find her, but it’s clear she didn’t back down no matter what they did to her.
It pisses me off as much as it makes me proud.