Chapter 10
Aaron stared at his watch, leaning against the wall just outside her room as he listened for any hint of trouble. Five minutes in and all he’d gotten was a cold sweat and silence.
How could he ever hope for her forgiveness if she’d been violated?
The thought of what she could have went through made him want to puke. What would he do? Would she even look at him? How could he expect her to?
He scrubbed a hand over his face and dropped his chin to his chest in silent defeat. He couldn’t expect anything out of her. All he could do was prey she’d survive this ordeal and go on to have a normal, happy life…with him.
But how could she? He’d held her petite body in his arms and knew she was fragile. Experienced operatives sometimes didn’t come out of ordeals like this intact, and he expected her to.
God, he’d been a fool. A blind, idiotic fool terrified of his past.
“Sir?”
Aaron straightened from the wall, his spine stiff. Sister Mary Catherine stepped from the room and tucked her hands beneath her gown, her weathered face a mask that for the life of him he couldn’t read. She waited for the other Sister to leave in silence.
Aaron waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Mary Catherine. “Was she?” He managed to croak out, his chest so tight it might crush his lungs.
Her expression didn’t shift at all. “No, it doesn’t appear there is any recent evidence of internal trauma.”
He collapsed, barely managing to hold back a rush of tears. “Thank God.”
“Recent doesn’t mean never. If she’s been held for a long time, we won’t know for sure until she regains consciousness.
” The sister shifted closer to him and once more place a wrinkled hand on him.
“She’s going to be out for a little while longer, I think.
If you want a shower, please, feel free to use anything we have. I will personally stay with her.”
Aaron shook his head. “No. I’m not leaving her.”
He’d never leave her again. Not until she made him.
His phone chirped at his belt, signaling a call from command. Aaron glanced at it then at Celine’s door.
“She’s resting. Take your call and then go in, but be quiet. Don’t wake her until she’s ready.” Sister Mary Catherine gave him a reassuring squeeze and then left, giving him the privacy to take his call.
Aaron answered the phone. “Speirs.”
“Speirs, this is command. Report.” Col. Grey’s calm voice filled the phone.
“She’s been examined and is stable for now. She hasn’t woken yet.”
“When will she be ready for transport?”
“I don’t know yet. They just examined her for…
life threatening injuries. I don’t think I’ll know for sure until she wakes.
” Please let her be okay. Knees shaking at the thought, Aaron glanced at Celine’s door and then strode down the hallway, pacing in an attempt to get blood circulating back to his legs.
“You’re flying out tomorrow if Celine is stabilized by then. Got the helicopter ride to Uzbekistan, and then a hop to Germany where I'll have a private jet waiting to fly you both back to D.C. Right now, this is a classified mission. No one can know we've got her.”
Aaron kept walking, keeping Celine’s door within eyesight. “What about the Russian? Did he survive the fight?”
“No, looks like he caught more than one bullet. But we had enough to ID him. Sven Panchenko, works for a wealthy Russian aristocrat named Dmitri Stanislov. Sven is his buyer. Seems like Dmitri goes through slaves often. If Celine had ended up with him, well… Let’s just say, I'm glad she didn't.”
Aaron concentrated on not crushing the phone. “Too bad we can't pay him a little visit.”
“Sent his information to my contacts in the human trafficking task force, and I pressed upon them how important it is to national security that Dmitri be silenced.”
“What about Mr. J? And Caroline?”
Grey sighed long and hard through the phone.
“He was gone, wasn't he?”
“You’ve got to give it to that sneaky bastard.
He's outrun death more times than a black cat with nine lives.
The compound we raided had been deserted, except for a few servants who'd been hired by a go-between.
No record of Mr. J ever having being there.
As of right now we've got nothing to go on, but I'll keep you updated as I get new intel.”
“If you want, I can have someone meet you at the next hop and take her back to the states. I can get you back to the Team straight from there.”
An opportunity for revenge against J - he could kill the bastard himself. But that meant he'd have to abandon Celine. Again. “I don’t know yet. I need to wait until she wakes up; see if she’s stable.”
“Roger. Contact me as soon as she wakes up.”
“Roger.” Aaron hung up the phone and tried to work the stiffness from his shoulders as he made his way back to her door.
When he reached it, he grabbed the handle and paused, working up the courage to go in. The sister’s reassurance had been more than he’d hoped, but hadn’t been conclusive. What if she woke up and was scared of him?
Aaron lifted his head and stared at the rusty patch on the metal door in his line of sight.
If she was scared, he’d deal with it and be there for her however he needed.
With newfound resolve, he quietly opened the door and moved to her side.
The nurse had dimmed the lights, leaving only a small bed lamp on, but that faint glow clearly highlighted the I.V.
running from her arm, along with the bruise on her cheek.
He’d thought her fragile before, but laying there in the bed, hooked up to monitors she looked…broken.
Agony ripping through his chest, Aaron collapsed into the metal chair beside the bed and carefully gathered her tiny hand into his. The rush of fresh tears caught him off guard. He let them fall to the mattress.
“I’m so sorry.” He could barely choke out the words.
Celine’s hand hung limp and cold in his. “Please be okay. I swear, I’ll never leave you again. I was wrong. So wrong.”
His only answer was the slow, steady beep of her monitors. Aaron dropped his head to her hand, wishing he could crawl into bed and take her in his arms. He needed to hold her and feel her heart beat against his chest.
But he may never get that chance again. She should despise him after how he treated her. “Please forgive me,” he whispered.
He sat there, holding her hand in the darkness, until his eye lids drooped. He didn’t want to risk hurting her by accidentally falling asleep on her, so he silently moved his chair back into the corner, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He’d be at her side when she woke.