14. Lincoln
Lincoln
Ain’t life a bitch! I watched Zane console a sobbing Jasmin and I wanted to break my brother’s neck.
Just the sight of Jasmin in another man’s arms had me ready to commit murder.
Fuck, she made her decision. I knew I was taking a chance coming here.
I should have stayed gone. When I was gone, I missed her and my heart ached every day we were apart.
But I held out some sort of stupid ass fairytale hope that when I came home I could finally have her.
I was wrong, so fucking wrong. I should’ve fucking known better.
Zane warned me. I should’ve listened. At least I had both balls intact.
“Why can’t I remember that? How did Leo and Eric get there?” Jasmin’s eyes pleaded with mine. I had to look away .
I had looked into those same eyes so many nights when I held her through her nightmares, nursed her back from the torture she endured.
I lay beside her for hours talking to her while she was recovering from skin grafts and surgery.
She knew every part of me; I didn’t think it would rip my heart out the way it did her not remembering.
I knew that was a possibility, one that I used to take comfort in, because that meant she would never remember the torture she went through, even if it meant I was erased, too.
Zane looked at me, demanding I tell her the story of how she lost her memory.
I did not want her to have these memories.
In some perverse way, her not knowing allowed me to pretend she did not go through the torture she did.
It was the lie I had told myself for two years.
I lived in this made up world where she was living her life without the knowledge that she almost died in a Russian prison. I was a selfish prick.
I pushed all my shit back into the box it belonged in. The same way I do with every other fucked up thing I had done or seen and talked to her like I would any other operative. After all, that was all she was.
“I’ll start with Eric. I got the go ahead to infiltrate The Black Dolphin; we already had my cover in place.
I was just moving up the timeframe. Eric had already been taken to the vault and was being interrogated.
My objective was to aid in his escape. A rescue team had already been called in from Z Corps once it was confirmed Zane had been taken.
You and Zane were already at the prison and in holding.
Day five, I had my opportunity to get Eric out.
It was my turn to interrogate him; so far Eric had not given any information.
He was useless and needed to be disposed of.
I convinced the guards to give me one last go with him to see if I could break him and if he didn’t give me any information, I was to kill him.
During my interrogation, I injected him with Tetrodotoxin and within 30 minutes he was dead and taken to the morgue.
Leo was already there when Eric’s body was delivered and instructed to incinerate the body.
The team transported Eric to a secured location off the prison grounds.
Tetrodotoxin is short acting; he was recovered from his temporary death within 24 hours.
” Needing a moment to gather my thoughts, I stopped speaking. This was going to be the hard part.
Eric and Tom were both pacing the floor like caged animals.
Zane, that mother fucker, still had his hands wrapped around Jasmin.
Damn her, she made herself perfectly clear.
I meant nothing to her; I was a warm dick when she needed some comfort.
I would find a hundred other willing pieces of ass by next week.
Only problem was, that thought made my gut twist .
“I am sure this is hard for you, but, Laura, you’ll need to watch one more video clip after I tell you the rest.” Before I could continue, she jumped out of Zane’s arms and was ready for a fight.
“Don’t you fucking call me Laura. She is dead.” Her fierce attitude was back in full force, making it easier for me to remember this woman did not need to be coddled. And she certainly didn’t want me to protect her.
“Well, that was your name when I rescued your ass, sweetheart.” My temper was getting the better of me. I could not control the need to hurt her back.
“Listen, I’m just gonna lay it out for you.
There is no need to sugar coat the facts.
When the team got back to rescue you and Zane, you had been held for seven days.
You saw the video of the rescue. All your interrogations as well as Zane’s had been recorded.
Those have been destroyed, by the way. We moved you both to the safe house.
We used it to stabilize you before transport.
You had taken the brunt of the torture. The Russians used you to try and get Zane to talk.
You had contusions and lacerations over most of your body and your arm had been branded with the Black Dolphin.
You had severe head trauma that needed immediate attention.
We transported out by helicopter to a Russian air base six kilometers northeast, then transported to Germany to a private hospital.
” Once again, I stopped speaking to see if Jasmin was paying attention.
The next part was going to be the hardest. There she stood, tall and proud, my warrior princess ready to battle.
God damn, I had to lock that shit away. She was not my anything.
“Once we got to the hospital, you underwent a thorough examination to assess the damage to your body. No bones had been broken, no sexual assault. Infection had set in around the branding site as well as in the lacerations on your inner thigh. You had a concussion and brain bleed.” I blew out a breath, not wanting to remember how badly Jasmin had been beaten.
She was almost unrecognizable. “The doctors wanted you to rest and heal before surgery. During that time, you developed migraines and night terrors that caused you to have seizures.”
Jasmin whimpered and sat down, curling her knees up into her chest. Zane cut his eyes at me like I should do something to comfort her. Not a fucking chance. I gave her the option to rethink was she was saying and she stuck to her shit like a security blanket.
“You got something to add, brother?” I smirked. Yeah, I’m an asshole.
Zane shook his head in a nonverbal answer.
Fuck if I am going to bow down to the ice queen just because her panties are in a twist. She spewed out shit and wanted to be treated like the rest of the team.
That was all I was doing. I wouldn’t cuddle and hold one of my men when they got hard information.
Eric sent me a scathing look that confirmed I was being a dick; screw him, too.
I was not on this op alone, yet I was taking the blame.
“Once the infections had cleared up, you were given several skin grafts to remove the branding on your arm. Your head trauma was being closely monitored. After eight weeks, surgery was the only option to stop the bleed and your seizures.”
“Eight… eight weeks?” Jasmin stammered out, obviously in disbelief.
“Yes, eight weeks. That was your first surgery. The seizures and night terrors continued for another twelve weeks. You were told about an experimental procedure to stop the night terrors and seizures; the possible side effect was memory loss.”
“Five months, I was at the hospital five months?” Jasmin stopped me to ask.
“No, you spent three weeks in the hospital. After that, you were released to a safe house,” I informed her.
I was trying to leave out any more information. She could read it all in the medical reports and after action briefs if she was so inclined. I was not, however, inclined to rehash her recovery.
“Who was at the safe house with me?” Fuck me, she had to ask.
“The procedure was a combination of Benzodiazepines and Propranolol. A recording was made of the doctor explaining the procedure as well as your consent of treatment. You may watch that recording as well at your leisure.”
I would not be around when she watched that video. My happy ass was getting on the waiting helicopter and leaving this fucking place. I had a mission to start.
“Who in the fuck was I with for five damn months?” Jasmin demanded.
Question and answer time was over.
“You will find everything you need to answer any further questions in your medical records, the video, as well as the AAR’s.
I believe the president has brought all that information for you to review.
I hope you understand that, due to the nature of the operation, all evidence of Laura Bennett will be destroyed after you review it.
” With that final statement, I was ready to grab the rest of my team and leave.
“Who the fuck was I with, God damn it?” she screamed .
“Lincoln,” Zane answered in a small voice. “You lived with Lincoln for a little over seven months. I came back to get you when you were done with your treatment and were ready to leave.”
Well, fuck me, so much for me leaving before that last bomb was dropped. Seven of the worst and best months of my life. Seven months I was not going to sit here and reminisce about. I was out.
“I think that is all; any further questions you can speak to Zane, Eric, or Leo.” I took one more look at Jasmin; she was in shock. It would take her months to process this. I faced Zane. “I believe I am done here. I am going to meet with the team to go over the details of the mission.”
With that, I walked out, not bothering to look back at her or my brother. I had already said goodbye to her in the bedroom. Done and done.
The door crashed open behind me before I could even light my smoke. If Zane wanted to do this now, I was going to beat his ass. I did not have time to hear him bitch me out.