Chapter Ten
H annah’s gloved hands were soaked in blood. Right now, she was the only thing standing between a young mother and imminent death. She tightened her grip, pinching the lacerated artery at the woman’s thigh while her infant screamed in a firefighter’s arms. Thank goodness the hospital nurse accompanying her on the flight today was nimble and confident. He deftly cranked the tourniquet tighter to halt the blood flow. Still, she wasn’t comfortable releasing her hold just yet.
There was a devastating pileup of ten cars on the major highway. The guardrail was a tangled mass of steel, shards of glass crunched beneath the feet of first responders, and the smell of smoke, chemicals, and worse hung in the air. There were screams and cries. Some begged for help, while others looked forward with sightless eyes, deep in shock. Several had already been pronounced dead. Those with lesser injuries were being transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital. The woman would be life-flighted, and then they’d return for another.
“That’ll do it,” said the flight nurse. She nodded and slowly released her hold, pulling her hand away from the wound and replacing it with gauze. Once the bleeding stopped, they wrapped the wound tightly and prepared her for transport. Hannah positioned the woman’s arms in an X over her chest. Then, with one hand on her shoulder and outer thigh, she rolled her to the side so Rick could position and secure the long spine board beneath her. The woman groaned as they quickly strapped her in.
“Hang in there, momma,” she said as she repositioned herself near the top of the board by the patient’s head. She squatted down, back straight. “Rick, are you ready to lift?”
“Yes. On three. One. Two. Three.” They lifted the board together, using their leg muscles to stand. Because of her height, others were sometimes skeptical about her abilities to lift an adult. She was petite, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t strong. She had to work at it, but she could competently perform every aspect of her job, including the physical part. They moved the patient to the stretcher, fastening a second set of straps.
“Ready to lift on three.” Once again, they lifted the patient, extending and locking the legs of the stretcher so they could wheel her to the helicopter. Once the patient was secure inside the small space, they fastened themselves into their seats. The one she sat in was by the patient’s head, while Rick sat by the patient’s legs. As she was prepping a unit of whole blood, the woman began to speak. “Please. My baby.”
“Your baby is beautiful and safe. We’re going to take good care of you so you can get back to caring for that baby.” Her heart clenched. The woman was in rough shape, but she’d seen worse survive.
“V-fib,” Rick called out. Dammit. The patient’s heart had gone into an irregular rhythm. The blood pressure monitor started chiming, registering a sudden drop. Without intervention, the woman would be dead in minutes. She grabbed the defibrillator and hoped her words to the young mother weren’t a lie.
*
No sooner had Branch sat on Ransom’s recliner than the clank of dog tags rang through the living room. The big mutt that Brynn had found loved nothing more than sleeping away the afternoon on someone’s lap. The dog’s bullish jowls swung with each heavy footstep. He jumped up on the chair, like a dog who knew he could do no wrong, and let out a long sigh as his full weight collapsed onto his lap. He shot a look at Ransom as his friend entered the room. “What are you feeding this thing?” Oscar’s coat was sleek and soft beneath his fingers, and his presence was calming, like a weighted blanket, albeit a giant one, pressing down on his lap. Every so often, the dog would look up with its stout nose and cast him an adoring gaze.
“Brynn’s baby gets whatever he wants.” Ransom laughed. He’d seen Ransom slip him food from the table more than once. His teammate had a soft soul beneath that exterior of ice he projected.
The home security system beeped, and Oscar lifted his head. “We’re here.” At the sound of Joker’s familiar voice, the dog returned to his slumber. Boots stomped into the foyer, then, after a few moments, Joker padded into the living room with sock-clad feet.
“Silver’s throwing the beer in the fridge,” he said, sitting in the oversized beanbag chair on the floor. He should’ve known his friends would gather at any sign of trouble. Not that he ever doubted them. His team had his back in more shit situations than his last. After getting in touch with Ransom last night, he called the team. In turn, they called in favors, including one to their lieutenant commander, who still lost sleep over Brynn’s situation when they were overseas.
Brynn had already gotten the boys off the bus and outside to the pool so their team could talk in privacy. He remembered the day they came to tour this house. Brynn was still new then, but he’d seen the change in his friend. Knew she was going to be everything to him. And Jacob. God, he had lit up all of them with one smile. People like Brynn and Jacob were the type of citizens they were proud to fight for. Die for if necessary. They’d been a team before, but Brynn and Jacob had officially made them a family. Each man sitting in this room knew soul-deep how precious that feeling was. Coming home to people who cared.
The clank of glass echoed in the hall, and Silver walked into the room holding four glass bottles. He’d already popped off the tops and handed one to each of them before taking up the other half of the couch with Ransom. The house was air-conditioned, but the ice-cold condensation felt good against his palm. He’d spent the day running last-minute errands for the trip. Hannah had asked him to do nothing, but he wanted to make sure they all had what they needed.
“Talked to my friend at the bureau last night,” Silver started. “He has a friend of a friend who happens to work in Southlake, Texas.”
“No shit.” Joker’s blond hair was shaggy around his face, lips pressed together in a thin line.
Branch took a long pull from the beer, letting the cold brew ease some of the tightness in his throat. Something about the wedding had him on edge. “That’s convenient.”
“Shit luck is what that is. Did Hannah ever say anything about an investigation into Collin’s father’s death?” A line had formed between Silver’s brows.
“No. The accident happened right after she found out she was pregnant. Her family disapproved of Russell because he was a caddie at their country club. Middle class. Not up to the Day family standards. Her parents were more concerned with people gossiping about Hannah’s unwed pregnancy than they were about her and the baby. They let her walk out.” He gritted his teeth. Tension tightened his chest. “Alone.”
Ransom’s face turned to stone. “They should be arrested for that in itself. Sending a teenager out into the world alone, scared, and pregnant. Beyond fucked.” This would hit close to home for his team leader because the scenario was the most like his own.
Silver lowered the bottle from his lips. “Well, after the accident, the kid’s uncle and only living relative came forward and claimed he suspected the Day family of staging the drowning. Said the kid had never been fishing in his life. In fact, he was a fucking vegan. That alone raises my suspicions,” Silver finished.
Joker shifted on the beanbag. “What vegan will go out on a boat to hook a fish?
“Exactly.” Silver set his empty bottle on the coffee table.
“Put that shit on a coaster, you animal.” Ransom leaned forward and placed a round disk resembling a slice of rock beneath the glass.
“You’re like Brynn’s personal Dobby.” Silver smiled and shook his head.
“The hell is that?” Ransom raised a brow and leaned back on the couch.
“House elf,” Joker said. “Bald creature. Huge ears and eyes. Wears a rag? Jacob literally has one on his shelf. From the Harry Potter books we’ve been reading him? Sometimes, I think you live under a rock.”
“The elf has a compulsion to keep the house tidy to please his master,” Silver said with a glint in his eye. “Like setting out coasters and lighting scented candles.”
A year ago, if someone said Ransom would turn into a homebody who owned items like candles and coasters, he would’ve laughed at the absurdity of it. The scent of something citrusy but not overpowering did indeed perfume the room, wafting from a trio of candles on the mantel, right below the long oak plank with the words Always Keep Fighting scrolled across the distressed wood.
“Wait until you find your woman, old man,” Ransom muttered. “I can’t wait to give you shit.”
“Never gonna happen,” Silver muttered and stretched his arms out on the back of the couch.
His jaw ticked. Usually, his friends’ banter amused him, but not now. Not when they could be walking into trouble instead of a wedding. “Can we get back to Hannah?”
They all quieted. He rarely got uptight. A low growl rumbled from Oscar.
“Easy, boy,” he soothed.
“Sorry, man,” Joker said. “We’re all taking this seriously. Hannah and Collin are important to us, too. What happened during the investigation, Silver?”
“The uncle dropped the charges and moved out of state abruptly. The following year, the state police department got a new fleet of patrol vehicles courtesy of a corporate real estate company that was bought up in a merger by Donald Day, Hannah’s father.”
“Jesus, if that doesn’t sound like a cover-up, I don’t know what does,” Joker said, voicing what they were all thinking.
“Do you think the family killed him?” He was two seconds from rescheduling the destination of the flights to some tropical island where he could keep Hannah and Collin safe.
“Or had someone do it.” Ransom’s voice was cold, as if he was remembering his own childhood. “Money makes people do stupid things.” Ransom would know, as he’d grown up in the same sort of echelon as Hannah did. He enlisted the moment he turned eighteen to escape.
“I don’t like this one bit. It was bad enough that they were inconsiderate assholes. Now they might be murderers, too?” And how the hell did he broach this topic with Hannah? He didn’t believe for a second that she was aware of the investigation, but maybe that was one more reason her family let her leave without an ounce of struggle. Hannah was the black sheep, the squeaky wheel of the family. He had a feeling if she’d known about the claims Russell’s uncle made, she wouldn’t rest until she knew the truth.
“You are going to need backup,” Silver said. “Especially with Collin in tow. There are too many unknowns. I’m going to reach out to Iron. That bastard needs a good adventure.”
“Don’t let Axe catch wind you’re going on a road trip.” Ransom stood and collected the empty bottles. “He’ll insist on driving, and you’ll crash before crossing state lines.”
“Dobby.” Joker coughed, earning him the middle finger as Ransom walked out of the room to dispose of the empties.
“No way is he gonna leave his new woman, but if he wanted to go, nothing would stop him.” He’d never met someone more stubborn than Axe.
“Either way, you’re not going in there alone.” They all had their place on the team, but of all of them, Silver was the father figure. Hunter was more of a mother hen if he was being truthful. “If Iron wants to go along, great, and if not, I’ll start driving tomorrow morning. That should put me there on Wednesday morning when you arrive. Joker and Ransom can keep an eye on things at home.”
Ransom had walked back into the room but didn’t sit. “Branch, I know when I say this, it won’t resonate, but are you up to this? I can count on my hands how many days ago you got released from the hospital. You got shot off a helicopter. Only that thick skull broke your fall.”
“Shot off a rope,” he corrected.
“That’s a technicality. It was a long-ass fall that you shouldn’t have survived.” Ransom crossed to the couch.
“Hannah and Collin are mine.” The sliding glass door to the deck flew open.
Collin poked his head through the door. He could’ve been standing there for a long time, listening, but he didn’t think so. “Me, Mom, and Hunter are all in the same blue circle.” Collin had a towel around his shoulders, his red curls dark and damp against his head, like he’d just jumped out of the water. Collin shook his dripping-wet hair, misting them, and smiled. “Hunter likes kissing Mom.” With a shriek, he flew down the hall toward the bathroom. Oscar leaped off his lap with surprising agility and followed him.
“That was a devious smile. He see something he shouldn’t?” Silver leaned back, a smirk on his face.
Branch leaned forward, making sure Collin wasn’t lingering in the hall. “He came into the living room. Caught me and Hannah making out. No permanent damage done.” But there could’ve been. He’d have to be more mindful going forward because when he kissed Hannah, there was no time or place. The surroundings melted away, and it was only them. When she had been wrapped around him on the couch, with her scent in his nose and warm skin beneath his palms, he’d lost himself. Or maybe lost wasn’t the right word, because what he’d discovered was precious. When he kissed her, he’d found something priceless. Peace and comfort in her touch, even as fire burned through him with an intensity that left him dizzy. Every nerve ending stirred and sparked. So, to say he found something that left him with a sense of wonder, like the first time he stared up at the wild desert sky washed in stars, was an understatement. Something so beautiful amid days of blood-soaked sand, fighting, and a cavernous ache in his chest, a tear had leaked out of the corner of his eye when he’d lain back and witnessed the vast night sky.
“Earth to Branch.” Joker snapped his fingers, grabbing his attention.
“Shit. He’s in deep,” Ransom muttered.
“What? I’m listening.” His tone was just a bit too defensive to be believed.
“Silver was asking you a question,” Ransom said. “But you weren’t even in the same room with us for a minute there.”
“He’s being nice,” Joker said without looking up from his phone. “You were in another galaxy.”
The toilet flushed on the other side of the house and the sink was turned on. “I’m listening now. What was the question?”
“What’s the blue circle?” Silver asked.
“Family,” Ransom answered for him with a knowing look.
“Yeah. Family.” The bathroom door opened and closed followed by footsteps and the click of canine nails over the floor. “You could’ve answered for me sooner,” he told Ransom.
“Wanted to know if you knew.”
Silver let out a long whistle. Collin came pounding down the hallway and into the room, going straight to the sliding glass doors and back out to the pool. Oscar came into the living room and jumped back on his lap, resuming his nap-time position.
“Shit.” Joker glanced up from his cell phone. “I just looked up the uncle. This was the address of his first house.” Joker stood up, walking the phone around to each of them. What was reflected on the screen made his spine tingle and the fine hairs rise on the back of his neck. The listing was for a tiny two-bedroom, one-bath Texan shack. Even the realty pictures couldn’t conceal the chipping paint and warped roof. He pulled out his phone. A quick search of Google Maps confirmed the surrounding property was just as small. None of this looked good, but his stomach plummeted when Joker turned the phone in his direction a second time. “Now, this is the new house. Ocean-view property in Naples, Florida.”
“Not a house. A mansion.” Shit. This was not good. Joker handed the phone to Silver.
“Idiot clearly wasn’t concerned about accepting bribe money.” Silver was right; the uncle was flaunting his wealth outright. Nearly every picture was some grand bash at his house. One with multiple pools, hot tubs, and a private beach. Had the man struck gold, or was all that hush money from Hannah’s family?
“Where’d you find the pictures?” Silver grunted.
“A thing called social media. Sometimes I forget you’re a dinosaur.”
Silver punched Joker in the arm. “Someday, you’ll get gray in those blond locks, pretty boy. Won’t look half as good on you as it does on me.”
“Goddamn, would you look at that!” Ransom said from one end of the couch. Branch followed his friend’s gaze to the television, where a newscaster was giving a breaking news report.
“First responders are working tirelessly to transport victims of today’s deadly multicar crash to hospitals by land and air. Three have been confirmed dead, while dozens of others remain in critical condition.” As the reporter droned on, standing in front of the catastrophic crash, his stomach hardened.
“Hannah’s on shift.” He knew her job could be dangerous, but imagining her amid the wreckage made his heart skip. People reacted to pain differently—some could become upset or lash out. Not to mention the inherent risk that came from flying in a helicopter day in and day out. He lifted both arms above the beast of a dog and pulled up their recent text message thread.
Just saw the accident on I-90. Stay safe, baby.
He wouldn’t get a minute of sleep tonight while Hannah was out there saving lives. She’d be dead on her feet in the morning, but he’d be there to catch her. His hero needed a hero, too.