12. Walt
TWELVE
Walt
Red and blue lights strobe across my vision as my cheek presses against the cold asphalt. Each heartbeat sends another wave of warmth spreading beneath me, my blood painting abstract patterns on the pavement.
They took Malia.
The thought pounds through me with each pulse of pain. I try to push myself up, but my arms refuse to cooperate. The world tilts and spins as shock sets in.
Images flash through my mind—the terror in her eyes, the way she fought as they dragged her away.
Her scream echoing my name.
I should have seen it coming.
All evening, Malikai dodged questions about his research. Changed the subject whenever quantum mechanics came up. His hands shaking. The mysterious phone calls. Every sign was there, and I missed them all because I was too focused on playing games with Malia under the table.
Now, she’s paying the price for my distraction.
“Sir, don’t move!” A voice cuts through the haze. Hands press down on my shoulders, trying to keep me still. “GSW to the chest and shoulder. Significant blood loss. BP dropping…”
The EMT’s voice fades in and out as they work. I focus on breathing through the burning in my chest. Each inhale sends daggers of pain through me, but I welcome it.
Pain means I’m alive.
And I need to stay alive to find her.
Professional hit team.
Military training, but not American forces.
Their movements were too rigid, too formal. Eastern European, maybe, or former Soviet bloc. The kind of men who do wet work for the highest bidder.
But why Malikai? What’s a quantum physicist working on that’s worth sending a tactical team to grab him?
And Malia… My sweet, innocent Malia, caught up in whatever game her brother’s playing. A quantum physicist who won’t talk about his work, who jumps at phone calls, who brought his sister to dinner knowing trouble was coming.
The questions pile up with each throb of pain. What kind of research attracts a professional hit team? Why was Malikai so afraid to discuss his work? And most importantly—why bring Malia anywhere near this if he knew he was being hunted?
“Sir, can you tell me your name?” A penlight flashes across my eyes, making me wince.
“Walt,” I grit out. “Need to contact my team…” The words come automatically, years of training kicking in.
“Stay with us, Walt. We’re going to get you stabilized.” The EMT’s face swims into focus—young, competent, already moving as he cuts away my blood-soaked shirt. “Multiple entry wounds. No exit wounds visible. We need to move fast.”
I grab his wrist, ignoring how the movement sends fresh agony ripping through me. “Phone. Need my phone.”
The rage builds with each throb of pain. Malikai knew they were coming. The way he kept checking his phone, his nervous glances. He knew, and he still brought his sister to dinner. Put her in harm’s way.
His own sister.
What kind of man does that?
“BP 90 over 60 and dropping. Give another bolus of LR.” The voices above me blur together as they work. “Ready for transport in three…”
My vision grays at the edges as they lift me onto the gurney. The movement sends fresh waves of agony through my chest, but I welcome it. Pain keeps me focused.
Keeps me present.
Keeps me remembering every detail I’ll need to hunt these bastards down.
“Malia,” I mumble through numb lips. “Have to find…”
Her face floats in my mind—not the terror of tonight, but earlier in the storage room. The way she trembled under my touch. Her confession about being a virgin. Trusting me to be her first. To show her pleasure and submission and everything in between.
Now, she’s in the hands of men who view her as nothing but leverage against her brother.
The ambulance doors slam shut. Sirens scream to life above me. The vehicle lurches into motion, each bump in the road sending fresh spikes of agony through my body.
I stare up at the ambulance’s ceiling, forcing myself to focus through the pain and blood loss. To remember every detail that might help track them.
The SUV reinforced bumper. The way they moved with military precision but didn’t use standard US tactical formations. The leader’s slight accent.
But most of all, Malia’s scream as they dragged her away. The terror in her eyes. The way her brother wouldn’t even look at her.
Whatever Malikai’s involved in, it’s big. The kind of big that gets people killed. And he dragged his sister into it without a second thought.
“BP still dropping,” one EMT calls out.
That sounds bad.
The cold rush of fluids enters my veins, but it does nothing to quell the fire building inside me. They thought shooting me would stop me from coming after them.
They have no idea what I’m capable of.
What I’ll do to anyone who hurts her.
“Almost there,” someone says above me. “Hang on.”
I bare my teeth in what might be a smile. Oh, I’ll hang on. I’ll survive these wounds. I’ll heal. And then I’ll hunt down every single person involved in taking her.
Starting with her brother. He’s got answers I need, and once I find him, he’s going to talk.
The ambulance screams to a stop. Doors burst open. More hands grab the gurney, rushing me into fluorescent-lit halls that blur past overhead.
“Multiple GSWs, significant blood loss, BP unstable…”
I tune out their voices, focusing instead on burning every detail of the attack into my memory. The way they moved. Their tactics. Every piece of intel I can use to track them down.
“Sir, we need to prep you for surgery.” A doctor’s face appears above me, all business. “The bullets need to come out.”
I grab his sleeve, ignoring how the movement sends fresh fire through my shoulder. “Phone,” I rasp. “Need to make a call first.”
“After surg?—”
“Now.” I pour every ounce of command presence I have into the word.
Something in my eyes must convince him. He nods to a nurse, who pulls my phone from the bag of personal effects.
I dial with shaking fingers, leaving bloody prints on the screen. It rings once before Ethan’s voice answers.
“What’s up?” he barks.
“Code Black.” I grit out. “Malia’s been taken. Her brother too.”
“Details. Now.”
“Professional team. Six men. Military training, possible Eastern European. Black SUV, tactical package.” The words come in short bursts between waves of pain.
“Weapons?”
“Soviet-bloc standard issue. Suppressed.”
“Targets?”
“Primary target was Malikai. Took Malia as…” My voice breaks. “As leverage.”
“What’s the brother involved in?”
“Quantum research. Fusion. Something big enough to send a wet team.”
“We’ll dig into his work. Find out who wants it bad enough to grab him.” Ethan’s voice turns hard. “How bad are you hit?”
“Shoulder. One in the chest. Still breathing.”
“We’re mobilizing everything we have.” Ethan’s voice cuts through the growing fog. “I’m contacting Doc Summers. We’ll get you the best care.”
I don’t tell him I’m seconds away from going under the knife. I don’t have enough breath in me.
“If they hurt her…” The phone slips from my numb fingers as consciousness fades. The surgical team moves in, masks and gloves ready.
Whatever it takes, I’m coming for you, Malia.
I’m going to find you.
And God help anyone who stands in my way.
Darkness takes me, but I hold onto that vow like an anchor. They think shooting me will stop me from coming after them?
They have no idea what they’ve awakened.
Because they didn’t take a woman I want.
They took the woman I love.
And I’m going to tear the world apart to get her back.