Chapter 32
32
Hawk’s situational awareness spiked. This was a hospital. Nothing could happen here. Scratch that. Nothing would happen here. John had a security detail protecting him. Cole wasn’t going to show up here to finish him off or to try again to get his hands on Remi.
He and Remi stepped into John’s hospital room, ushered there by a bodyguard.
Hawk’s heart pounded. He thought he’d prepared himself to see his friend again. Tubes were hooked up to him and monitors beeped away, and the sight slammed Hawk in the gut. He kept his composure. Made sure Remi was close by his side. Close enough to protect.
The wounded man’s eyes were closed. Was he sleeping after sending his bodyguard to get them? He suddenly opened his lids and looked around the room, his gaze finally settling on Hawk.
“John.” Hawk stepped closer and forced a smile. “You’re looking better than expected.”
“I’m feeling better than I thought I would too. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead. You got there just in time.”
His thoughts racing, Hawk said nothing. John nodded at his bodyguard, and the man stepped out of the room and shut the door.
“Who is that guy, John?”
“You don’t think I need a security detail after being shot by an assassin?”
An assassin who had missed the mark. “I didn’t say that. But I get the feeling you already had a security detail ready.” Except they hadn’t been present at his home to protect him then.
“What’s going on? Who do you really work for?” Hawk tried to keep accusation out of his voice.
“How long have we known each other?” John hadn’t missed Hawk’s less-than-trusting tone.
“Long enough,” Hawk said. “That’s why I don’t understand why you’ve kept all this from me.”
“Intelligence work, Hawk, means secrets. It’s a balancing act of loyalties to my country, my job, and those who trust me. So please, trust me to keep you safe.”
“So, you’re not going to tell me.”
“I might have said too much when I was injured.” Lines deepened around his mouth and eyes.
“You didn’t say enough. What’s this operation about? Why is Cole after Remi?” Might as well play ignorant.
The door promptly opened, and the security dude stepped inside.
“It’s okay, Banks,” John said. “I’m good.”
The man stepped back out into the hall.
“I can’t tell you,” John said. “Knowing more will put you in that much more danger.”
If only you understood. “How much more danger can Remi be in? She’s a target, man. Cole snatched her right out of your home.”
“I get it. You don’t know what to do next. I’ll help you with that, but I need to know, Remi...” John shifted his gaze to her. “What have you remembered?”
She shared a look with Hawk, and he nodded, trusting her to share what she felt comfortable with.
“I fell out of a helicopter. There was an explosion and I think the helicopter crashed.”
“Do you remember why you were on the helicopter?”
“While I don’t remember much, I feel uncomfortable talking about this.”
John fisted his hands and pounded the sheet. “Your life is in danger, girl. If you remember something, I need to know.”
“Hawk seems to think you can help us connect with ... um...”
“Connect with who?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “That’s why we’re here.”
Girl? Hawk had enough. “ John, you know she’s right. You seem to know something about what’s going on. What Remi and I need is to know who was in charge of Operation Blackout. Remi will talk to that person only.”
John closed his eyes and leaned against his pillow. Were they overtaxing him? Or was it just an act? He put on a strong front despite the fact that he was still recovering from a gunshot wound that almost took his life.
He opened his eyes. “I’m in communication with the high-ranking official you need. I’ll make the necessary arrangements for you to meet. I’m sure he’ll be anxious to learn what you’ve remembered. I have a feeling there’s more, but you’re not telling me, and that’s understandable. You’re doing the right thing.” John leveled his gaze on Remi. He’d been trained in how to read people.
Hawk was torn between his fierce loyalty to John and trusting his instincts about this situation. He stepped forward. “John, I—”
Cutting him off, John held up his hand, his expression one of understanding. “Please, Hawk. She is to be commended for her diligence in insisting on only speaking to those authorized to hear what she has to say.”
A nurse entered, and the bodyguard stepped inside and held the door open as if he had some read on John’s desire for them to leave now. They were of no use to him if Remi wasn’t going to share.
“I’ll be in touch, Hawk. Until then, keep her safe.”
“And you trust me to do that? Why aren’t you insisting that Remi go to a safe house, a secure location, if you believe she is holding on to highly sensitive information?”
“Remi trusts you to do it. You have the necessary skills and training. You haven’t failed her yet. You won’t fail me either.”
Way to put the pressure on while also making Hawk feel a little guilty for doubting his friend.
“I know that because Cole is in custody,” John said.
Feeling the sucker punch to his core, Hawk released a surprised exhale. “What? When did this happen?” Myriad emotions charged through his heart and mind and clamped down on his chest, squeezing. Hawk had to work to remain composed, but John had to know how much this news affected him.
“I was informed right before you arrived. I don’t have details yet. But he won’t threaten her anymore.” To Remi, he said, “Take your time. Give yourself the space to fully recall the facts and the incident in question. Once I’ve secured a meeting, I’ll contact you.”
“What about whoever hired Cole? Was it the man you mentioned, Charles Whitman? He could send someone else for Remi.”
“We’ll find out what we need to know and cut that snake off at the head.” John sounded confident, determined. The former chief warrant officer Hawk remembered. “I can arrange a security detail for Remi, to assist you in protecting her, if you need it.”
“I would appreciate that. I’ll let you know once I have her situated.”
Remi was giving them both looks. They were talking about her like she wasn’t there, but she said nothing.
“Sounds like a plan,” John said.
“Will do. Just get better and make it quick.” Hawk’s words elicited a familiar smile from John, then he and Remi exited the room.
Hawk felt better about the meeting and more than ashamed of his initial confrontational attitude. But he and Remi had accomplished something. Arrangements were being made to meet with the powers that be. That’s what they had hoped to accomplish.
And the news that Cole had been caught left him reeling inside. A fist squeezed his heart. He needed to process what this meant for his brother on every level, but much later.
Making their way down the corridor, he walked close to Remi, his hand hovering at her back as they moved down the quiet but busy hallway. Nurses sat at their stations, staring at computer screens. A few aides entered or exited patient rooms. All the normal hospital stuff he would expect. So why was he feeling that keen sense of impending danger, especially now that he had learned that Cole was in custody? Even if he wasn’t, Cole wanted Remi alive. He hadn’t killed her before. Instead, he’d shot John. He could have killed him with one shot, but he hadn’t.
My brother isn’t much of an assassin. Oddly, that should have comforted him, except Cole was in custody for serious crimes. Hawk had hoped to confront him under different circumstances and help him turn away from this path. He would be turned away all right. And Hawk would face him and try to reconcile their relationship.
Finally they stepped onto the elevator, and he was surprised they were alone. He would take that moment to breathe before they stepped off. Then he had to get Remi somewhere safe until she handed off this burden to the right person, whose name John had never actually given them.
Hawk wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure where to start so he remained silent.
“I hate to say this out loud,” she said, “but I’m scared, Hawk. I’m terrified. Sergei told me everything in case something happened to him, and maybe I should tell you in case something happens to me . The closer we get to this finally being over, the more terrified I am.” Unshed tears brimmed in her eyes, but she lifted her chin and shoulders and shifted to stare forward.
She might have been terrified, but she had fortitude. Hawk was equally tormented, and he would be right beside her through this. He wouldn’t forgive himself if anything happened to her.
“You’re going to be okay.” If only he could believe that, feel it to his core.
“You don’t know that, so I’m going to tell you where to find the Tempest device.”