Chapter 29
Leo lay in the back of the plane. Doc started an IV as Amena reported his injuries when he first arrived.
Saint knelt beside him and clasped his shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, boss.”
Leo swallowed and said, “You took forever.”
“Sorry, boss,” Shadow said, kneeling beside Saint. “We found a little something you left behind. You might not want to return home without it,” he said, pressing Gracie’s rattle in Leo’s hand.
Leo nodded, and he grabbed Saint’s hand. No words needed to be spoken. Shadow stacked his on top. Taco joined them. Whiskey smiled and silently laid his on top. Ragu slid in and pressed his alongside them. Doc stopped speaking and took out his phone to capture the moment.
“Get in here, Doc. None of us would be here without you and Kassie,” Saint ordered.
“Where’s Team asshole?” Leo asked, his voice getting weaker.
“We’re right here, boss,” Knight called. “We’re letting you have this with your team.”
Leo struggled to sit up, and Saint supported him. He glared at Knight and then scanned the seats for Cole, Hollywood, and Sparky. “You’re all my team. You’re my family.”
Rocker climbed the stairs and entered the plane. “Victoria and Ivan dropped off the package. When do you want to spin up?” Seeing his leader, he smiled and shook his hand. “Glad to see you, Leo.”
Saint peered at Leo. “Are you ready to get home? We’ll stop in Germany for you to recover. We’ll call Kassie and have her tell Catherine.”
Leo held his hand in the air and shook his head. “Home.”
Doc frowned. “You need medical care. Don’t you want to see your baby born?”
“Home,” Leo insisted, pointing to Doc. “You can fix me there. If you tell Catherine, she might go into labor.”
“What about Rayven?” Shadow asked as Amena administered some pain medication to make her more comfortable.
“She can stay at the hospital,” Doc said.
“We’ll keep her on bed rest. We’ll need some room to work on these two.
Some of us will have to fly home with Victoria.
Patch, we can move Rayven over to their plane and have more room to work.
You can keep her stable. Give her about ten minutes for the medication to kick in. ”
“It figures,” Patch grumbled. “I swear if she makes me say girls rule and boys drool, it’s the last time I’m flying with her.”
“I’ll ride with them,” Rocker said. “We’re all headed to the same place.”
Hollywood rose and tapped Sparky. “Hey, do you want to ride home with me and tell me how awesome my dog is?”
“Sure,” she said, getting up out of her seat.
“I’ll go with you,” Cole volunteered. “I want to see your face when she tells you how she killed a bad-ass snake.”
“I think I’ll ride with them. Patch will provide inflight entertainment with Victoria.” Knight chuckled.
Patch and Knight moved Rayven to the other plane. When they shut the door, Shadow turned to his team.
“We’re ready to go,” he announced.
“Then, let’s get the hell out of here and go home,” Saint ordered.
The team took turns showering and cleaning up before they returned home. The planes landed long enough to refuel and take off again.
When things grew quiet, Leo turned his head to find Doc watching him.
“How long?” he asked.
“A little over four months,” he answered quietly.
“How’s Catherine? The kids?” he asked, touching his throat.
“You need to know a few things. Saint can go into the mission, but they found a lot of blood where you got shot. Too much to survive,” he said slowly.
“Wasn’t all mine,” Leo said raspily.
“We didn’t know. Catherine believes you’re dead. The team searched, and it seemed like you disappeared.
“Rayven. Tunnels,” Leo explained.
Doc handed him some ice chips. “This will help. The lawyer you hired visited the hospital and spoke with Whiskey, Kassie, and Catherine. Melody took it hard. They decided to hold a funeral for you to give her some closure. Catherine didn’t take the news well either.
She’s lost weight, and Kassie stayed with her every night until a month ago. They honored your letters.”
“Whiskey?” Leo called to his friend as he came out of the bathroom.
“You never gave up on me. I wasn’t about to give up on you,” Whiskey said softly. “When you’re feeling better, we’ll discuss the facility. I’ve made a few changes, and we have a new team.”
“How are you?” Leo asked, concerned for his friend.
“I’m better. Now, I’ll get to ride your ass. You look like shit.”
Leo grunted. “I need to see Catherine. Don’t call.”
“They’re having your funeral today. Saint texted and said the plane got delayed. How do you want to handle it?” Doc asked.
“Take me home. I need to see her,” Leo demanded. “Please.”
“We’ll take you home and then straight to the hospital. I’ll set you up in the suite, and you can have them stay there when you want,” Doc bargained.
“Clean me up?” Leo asked, getting weaker.
“Rest. I’ll find something to fit you. When we get close, I’ll help you dress,” he promised.
“Amena. She’s a good doctor. You need her at the hospital,” Leo said as he lay back.
Glancing at Whiskey, Doc rose, giving the two men some time alone.
“You came for me,” Leo said.
“We never leave a man behind, especially our friends,” Whiskey said, winking at him.
“When you see Catherine, it’ll come as a shock.
She will think you’re the same man who left.
You’ll never be him again. Don’t do as I did and push her away.
Let her help you heal and listen to Claire.
She’ll get your head screwed on straight.
Whatever you do, don’t let your friends baby you.
You’ll start to believe you can’t do things.
It’s not true. You’re capable of doing whatever you want. ”
Leo knew Whiskey wrestled with his demons when he got rescued. He was offering him advice from his own experience.
“I need to make things right,” Leo said, and then took a spoonful of ice chips. “We have to change things.”
“Why don’t you wait to see what we accomplished? Then, we’ll decide what to do. You need to rest,” his friend reminded him.
“Thanks, brother,” Leo whispered before falling asleep.