Chapter 2 #2
Neve glanced at Kane, noting his clammy skin, the way he drifted in and out of consciousness.
His thigh twitched, his left leg barely moving as he shifted on the seat.
“On second thought, we’ll treat this the way Coulter treats any dynamic entry.
We go in hot, worry about whose feelings we hurt later. ”
Kane’s hand landed on Neve’s shoulder. “Gus is a grouchy son of a bitch, but he’s no traitor.”
Neve placed her hand over Archer’s. “I don’t doubt that, but this is my team.” She tapped her chest. “My responsibility. The general can bust my ass if he’s pissed with my approach.”
“Pretty sure I’m the ranking officer, Monroe.”
“Technically, you were only on the exercise to observe and evaluate my leadership performance. Weren’t supposed to join in unless it was life or death, which means, it’s still my command.” She grinned. “Sir.”
“You’re as stubborn as Barrett, you know that? And he was a fool to let you leave his unit.”
“We had other priorities.”
Kane arched a brow, coughing until his face paled further. “How’s that working out for you?”
“Not nearly how I’d hoped, but I’m cautiously optimistic, assuming this isn’t another hit.” She opened the door and stepped out. “Scout and I will take point. Zadie, you’ve got our six. Wynn, just shout if you need help with Cap.”
Kane rambled on about how he wasn’t dead yet, the bite to his words noticeably absent. Wynn rounded the truck, opened his door, when he all but fell onto the gravel road.
Neve raced over, had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, his boots dragging across the ground as they muscled him up the driveway — climbed the three steps to the porch. No worrying about another ambush, Neve just kicked in the door before they barreled inside, landing in the foyer.
General Augustus Esposito stopped mid-step, mouth gaped open, eyes narrowed. “Kane?”
Another man lunged toward them, hair tousled about his head, his glasses tilted as he moved in close, ran his fingers along Kane’s spine. “Damn. Shepherd? Get the backboard from the med bay. And grab my bag and a fresh burner phone.”
Neve stared up at the man, reading the urgency in the way he pursed his mouth, the tightness around his eyes. “I thought the gunshot wound and obvious blood loss would be your first priority… to keep him breathing.”
He barely spared her a sideways glance, helping stabilize Kane as steps echoed from deeper inside the cabin.
“If the bullet was going to kill him, he’d be dead already.
And I’ll hook up an IV, get some fluids into his system, but that’s not what’s paramount.
” He leaned closer to Kane. “Is it just your left side that’s experiencing weakness or both? ”
Kane grunted, the sound more like a moan. “Mostly my left.”
“And by mostly you mean both.”
Wynn glared at Kane. “Seriously, Archer? I asked you about that leg, and you said you were cold.”
Kane sighed. “We didn’t have time to deal with another injury.”
“How about, next time, you leave the medical decisions to the damn medic.”
Kane nodded, wincing as another man burst into the foyer, backboard braced between his hands, a bag slung over his shoulder.
The guy — Shepherd, Neve thought — placed the board on the floor, held it still while they lowered Kane onto it. “Burner’s in your bag along with some supplies. We’ll need to make some significant upgrades if you’re all going to be staying.”
Neve frowned. “Staying? No one said anything about staying, and why the hell do you need a burner?” She stepped back, put his eyes in her crosshairs. “Who are you?”
The man glanced at her over his shoulder, unpacking IV bags and tubing.
“Darwin. Dr. Darwin Oswald. And I’m the guy who’s trying to save your captain.
” He opened the burner, tapped in a number.
“Prewit? Darwin… I know, just… I need a favor. I’ve got what looks like an unstable thoracolumbar fracture in the T12 to L1 region.
Patient also has a GSW to the upper shoulder, no exit wound.
Massive blood loss with weakness in the extremities.
I need your equipment, a bed, and for everything to be kept off-grid. ”
He waited, nodding along. “You can meet me in one of your ambulances at the forest service road junction north of town. Come alone. I’ll explain everything once I see you. And Prewit… Thanks. I owe you.”
Neve shook her head, stepping between the men and the door as they lifted the board, turned. “No one goes anywhere until you tell me where you’re taking him.”
Darwin glared at her. “The Elysium Neuro and Spinal Institute. The medical director’s an old friend. He’ll insure no one knows who Kane is, but your captain’s injuries are more than I can treat here.”
The general shouldered in beside her. “Easy, Monroe. Darwin specializes in these kinds of injuries, and Jeremiah Shepherd’s been my right-hand man for longer than I care to admit. I trust them with my life.”
“After all we’ve been through, trust is in short supply, General.
” She clenched her jaw, stepped aside. “Wynn’s going with you.
That’s non-negotiable. And if she thinks, for one second, you’re part of whatever this is, that you’re walking Kane into another ambush, she’ll put a bullet through both your heads. ”
Darwin nodded. “Deal. Now move. We don’t have much time.”
They rushed out in a blur of fatigues and denim, the lights on the truck cutting through the night a moment later. The tires slipped on the mud as Shepherd spun the vehicle, vanished in a wash of rain and fog, the glow of taillights fading into black.
Neve stood on the porch, chest heaving, everything spinning, the gun strangely heavy in her hand.
She took a step, tripped onto one knee, every cut and bruise burning to life.
She leaned against the doorframe, ribs grinding, that graze on her arm a constant throb until Scout moved in beside her — nudged her hip.
She sighed. “You need to sit down before you fall down.”
Neve inhaled, hissed out a breath as her chest squeezed a bit too tight, then inched back inside, looking at the general as he closed the door behind them. He didn’t talk, just motioned down the hallway, then struck off.
Scout stayed at Neve’s side, Zadie covering their six as they walked down the hallway, through a sliding panel door and down a couple flights of stairs, finally stopping at the entrance to a massive bunker. The walls opened, hallways and doors branching off the main area.
Gus waved them inside. “I realize you have a thousand questions, and I promise, we’ll answer everything once the others return.
In the meantime, shower, eat, get some rest. The sleeping wing’s off to the right.
Each room has its own bathroom. Shepherd placed clean sweats on the beds to tide you over.
And there’s food in the kitchen. Just do me a favor and don’t break ranks until you hear us out. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
Neve watched the man leave, the aftermath of the nonstop adrenaline finally catching up with her. She leaned against the wall, studying the room, fully expecting Fraser to step out of the shadows.
Zadie had her tablet out, her fingers flying over the screen. “My algorithm isn’t picking up on any unusual frequencies that suggests it’s been bugged. The place seems secure.”
Neve huffed. “And I thought Fraser was one of us, so…”
Scout crossed her arms. “He had us all fooled, Neve, Kane included, so cut yourself some slack.”
Neve let her head fall back. “Remind me about that once we know Kane’s gonna be okay. But the general’s right. We should take advantage of the down time. Wash off the night’s stench. Rest. I’ll take first watch.”
“We’ll all stand guard.” Scout gestured to the hallway. “That wasn’t a request.”
“Someone’s bossy.”
“Someone has to be, or you’d never stand down.”
Neve squeezed Scout’s shoulder, followed her along the hallway.
The bedrooms were like the rest of the place.
Neat. Well appointed, with soft lighting that made the windowless interior seem more cozy than claustrophobic.
They each picked a room, showered, regrouped in the kitchen, nursing endless cups of coffee as they waited, the uneasy silence an annoying whine inside Neve’s head.
She stared down at her cell, Coulter’s number glaring up at her.
She’d been fighting the urge to call him since she’d hopped out of the shower, if for no other reason than to hear his voice.
Have him tell her everything would be okay.
That he’d be on the next flight out. Which she knew was crazy.
The guy was in charge of one of the military’s top tier special operations unit — was in the middle of some black ops mission.
He couldn’t simply jet off because the voice inside her head wouldn’t shut up.
Because she feared it might be the last time she talked to him.
Scout slid in beside her. “Have you called Coulter yet?”
Neve laughed. Scout knew her in a way few did, and her friend never backed down.
Neve held out the phone. “I’ve had my thumb over the call button for hours, but…”
Scout nodded. “I won’t tell.”
Neve grinned, still staring at his number, quickly reaching the breaking point when footsteps sounded along the stairs, Wynn and the others rounding the corner before crossing the floor.
Neve turned off her phone as she shot to her feet, her left hand hovering over her Sig, gaze locked on the three men standing on the other side of the room. They looked equally exhausted, Darwin’s hair spiked up in every direction. “Kane?”
Wynn all but fell onto one of the stools, thanking Scout when she handed her a mug. “Stable. But…”
Neve snapped her gaze to Wynn. “But what?”
Darwin stepped forward, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes wary. “As suspected, your captain sustained a thoracolumbar fracture.”
Neve frowned. “A broken vertebrae? But he was walking right up until he got into the truck.”