Chapter 1
Chapter One
Raven’s View Lodge
Present day
“C’mon, Rhett, enough screwing around. Just open your eyes.”
Chase leaned across the bed, looking for any hint Rhett was improving. Some small sign. A tremble in his fingers. A twitch of his mouth. Anything other than the same blank expression he’d had for the past year.
Instead, all he got was a telling silence broken only by an incessant beeping in the background. Proof Rhett hadn’t slipped away just yet. A glimmer of hope that slowly leached the life out of them.
Kash braced his hip against the end of the bed, shaking his head. “Anyone else wanna toss that damn heart monitor out the window? I swear that beeping lives on in my head for hours after we leave.”
Foster nodded. “Every time I walk through those doors, I expect to see him hooked up to a ventilator. How the hell are they sure he’s not just going to stop breathing?”
Chase sighed. “His brain stem wasn’t affected and so far, he can still regulate his breathing. That could change, though.”
He didn’t voice the obvious. That every day Rhett remained lost reduced his chances of ever making it back. Breaking through that veil. Not when they already knew.
Zain shook his head. “I thought he was responding to vocal commands? Isn’t that what the doctor said?”
“There’s been a bit of brain activity, and one of the nurses thought she saw him blink, but they haven’t been able to replicate it.” Chase squeezed Rhett’s shoulder. “I know you’re faking, Oliver. The jig’s up so open your damn eyes before I get Nyx up here to lick your ugly-ass face.”
Chase collapsed into the chair beside the bed, guilt clawing at his chest. He should have shielded the guy when Stein and Adams had opened fire.
Should have given him more blood. Something that would have kept Rhett in the game long enough he would have still been conscious when Foster had landed back at base.
Kash booted Chase’s foot. “Stop. It wasn’t your fault.”
Chase huffed. “You don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Yeah, I do, because it hasn’t changed in the past year. You think you should have somehow pulled a miraculous save out of your ass, when you were hurting as much as everyone else and spread so damn thin, I’m surprised you didn’t end up in a coma, too.”
“That’s not the point. I still owe him.”
Zain scoffed. “For what?”
“That time in Eastern Europe, when he dragged my ass back to the chopper.”
“You paid him back, brother. A few times over.”
Chase crossed his arms. “Not nearly enough.”
Foster coughed. “What about that time in Kandahar? Or that screwed up mission outside Caracas? Hell, that dive bar in Tennessee.” He whistled. “Now that was above and beyond.”
“They don’t count when I let him down the one time he really needed me.”
“Chase.” Kash leaned back, giving Nyx a scratch. “You did everything you could that night short of magically changing places. You saved the three of us and Nyx. Stop beating yourself up.”
Chase pushed back his chair as he raked a hand through his hair. “Remind me not to fall in love, because the three of you have gotten disturbingly Zen since you shacked up. It’s annoying.”
Foster laughed. “Too late, buddy.”
Chase arched a brow. “Are you smoking something? Because the last time I checked, I was the only one still sane.”
“Except where you’re already hopelessly in love with Greer.”
Chase groaned inwardly. He never should have steered the conversation in this direction.
Given his buddies ammunition to fuel the fire.
Obviously, the strain of walking that tightrope around Greer had finally gotten to him, and he’d snapped.
Had started blurting out the first words that popped into his head instead of weighing them out, first. Looking for any opening his asshole teammates would take to bring Greer up. “Can we not do this?”
Foster arched a brow in challenge. “What’s wrong? Afraid Rhett’s gonna open his eyes and agree? Because even he knows how far gone you are.”
Chase held up his hands in defense. “We’re friends. Until she decides she wants more than that, it’s a moot point.”
Zain scoffed. “Have you even tried asking her out? Or are you just making assumptions because she hasn’t shown up on your doorstep wearing only a smile.”
Chase chuckled. “We both know she’d never go anywhere without her service weapon and her badge but nice visual.”
Kash kicked Chase’s boot, again. “What Zain means is that maybe she’s not the problem.”
Chase groaned, allowed his head to tilt back. Damn, he was tired. Exhausted, and not just from the long shifts and physical work. Or walking into the lodge three times a week, hoping for some glimmer of hope only to leave dejected. Disillusioned. This thing with Greer…
It had drained him to the point he had trouble remembering his own name most days, all his energy spent on holding his emotions in check. Ensuring they didn’t spill out along with three words that looped endlessly through his head.
That somewhere over the past several months, he’d fallen hopelessly in love with her, just like Foster had claimed.
That insanity seemed like his only viable option.
“Chase.” Foster waited until Chase forced himself to meet his gaze. “All we’re suggesting is that maybe it’s time to tell her how you feel. It’s obvious she has feelings for you. Maybe you’re both just waiting for the other to make the first move.”
“She’d need to stand still long enough for me to get it out, which is damn near impossible.” Chase shook his head. “She’s running on empty and sooner or later, it’s gonna bite her in the ass. Which isn’t why we came here.” He turned back to Rhett. “Unless you have something you want to add, buddy?”
He blew out a rough breath. “That’s what I—”
A squeeze.
Not much. More of a flutter, really, than an actual grasp, but Chase snapped his gaze to the bed — leaned in close.
“Rhett?” Chase studied his face, searching for a hint of a reaction. “Brother, do that, again.”
His buddies gathered close, breath held.
Gazes focused on Rhett’s face. Silence filled the room, just that numbing beep in the background, endlessly marking out time.
Making Chase’s left eye twitch until Rhett inhaled.
Not all soft and slow like he’d been doing.
This was raspy. Forceful, as if he needed more air to get everything working.
He blinked a few times, his fingers closing around Chase’s before he slivered open his eyes — stared up at them.
“Zain. Get the doctor.” Chase inched closer, holding Rhett’s gaze. “Easy, brother. You’ve had a hard go of it.”
Rhett blinked, looking as if he’d passed out before he pried his eyelids open, again, shifting his gaze to Foster and Kash before sliding it back to Chase. Giving him a hint of a smile. “Hooyah.”
Chase whooped. “Hell, yeah. I knew you were faking.”
He moved so Kash could sneak in closer, put his palm over Rhett’s dog tags. Kash’s way of telling Rhett they were there — hadn’t given up on him.
Chase squeezed Rhett’s hand again. “Hold tight. The doctor’s on his way.”
Zain appeared a moment later, Dr. Tremblay in tow. The man stepped to the opposite side, flashing a small beam in Rhett’s eyes as he studied the monitors.
He nodded. “Can you hear us, Mr. Oliver?”
Rhett grunted, fading for a few seconds before nodding. Mumbling a raw, “Yeah.”
“Good.” Tremblay grabbed his hand. “Can you squeeze my fingers?”
Rhett responded, then faded, eyes once again drifting shut.
Tremblay did a few more tests before straightening.
“I’ll be damned. Guess those bits of activity we saw weren’t erroneous, after all.
Though…” He pinned all of them with a firm stare.
“This is just the first step, albeit a great one. But no one should be celebrating, just yet. Your teammate has a long way to go before he’s out of the woods.
However, I’m cautiously optimistic he might just beat the odds. ”
Foster grinned. “Oh, he’ll beat them. Bastard never did know when to quit.”
Tremblay laughed. “Well, he’s going to need his rest. I realize you probably want to camp out and wait for another moment of consciousness, but he really needs to save his strength.
” The doctor walked to the door. “Go home. Get some rest and come back tomorrow. I’m betting you can rouse him, again.
We’ll call if anything changes or he comes fully out of it. You have my word.”
Foster waited until the man left. “Does he seriously expect us to leave when we’ve been waiting a year for a sign Rhett’s coming back?”
Chase sighed. “I know, but he’s right. I can only imagine the toll it takes trying to shake all this loose. We should let him rest — grill the shit out of him tomorrow.”
“It’s your compassion that makes you such a great medic, buddy.”
“I know.”
Zain patted Rhett’s thigh, then followed the others out, leaving Chase alone with the man.
Chase leaned over Rhett, glancing toward the door when a flash of movement caught his eye.
A shadow played along the hallway, the silhouette of a man lingering across from the door for a few moments before he walked in front, hoodie covering most of his face, black boots peeking out from beneath a pair of tan cargo pants.
Chase caught a glimpse of skin — what could be scars or burns — before the guy moved out of view, his footsteps tapping down the hallway. Steady. Confident.
Chase focused back on Rhett. “I knew you could hear me. So, all that shit I confessed about Greer over the past few weeks is top secret. No spilling to the guys, you hear?”
Rhett managed to drag himself back for a moment — give Chase what looked like a wink. “Whiskey.”
“You sly bastard. Still blackmailing us with Glenfiddich, huh? Fine. I’ll bring you a bottle, but you’d better keep your end of the bargain.”
Chase turned when Rhett’s hand closed over his, drawing his focus back to his face.
Rhett slivered his eyes open — managed a sloppy smile. “We’re… even.”
“Tell me that again tomorrow, and maybe I’ll believe it.” He squeezed Rhett’s hand one last time. “Damn, we’ve missed you, brother. It’s great to have you back, so, no more laying on your ass. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”
He waited until Rhett drifted off, then headed for the door, staring down the hallway where that guy had disappeared.
While he couldn’t place it, something felt off.
The way the man had lingered just out of sight, then rushed past with his face hidden as if he didn’t want anyone to notice him.
The echo of his footsteps along the corridor, the weight and pace seemed vaguely familiar.
Nothing Chase could really pinpoint, but it had Chase’s protective instincts on high alert.
He sighed and pushed the odd thoughts aside. Rhett was back. That’s all that mattered, and Chase would ensure he didn’t let his buddy down, again. He’d erase any red still hiding in his ledger, whether Rhett thought they were even or not.
Chase smiled to himself, the pressure on his chest finally lifting as he jogged to catch up to Foster and the others as they talked to the staff at the nursing station.
If this wasn’t a damn cosmic sign, then nothing was.
Which meant, Chase was done waiting. Time to man up and make a move.
Have that chat with Greer he’d been avoiding for the past month.
How things had changed since she’d helped out Saylor a few weeks back.
He just wasn’t sure if the events had forced her to make a decision — one that might not go in his favor — or if she was drowning like him.
Either way, he’d take the leap of faith, tonight. See which side of the line he landed. Rhett wasn’t the only one who needed to jump back into the land of the living. And it was high time Chase took his own advice.