“You can’t see him anyway, they’ve got him somewhere in the back running a bunch of tests right now.” The other sniper stood shoulder to shoulder with Briar, barring Chloe’s way. They were both wearing street clothes. Chloe was still in her tactical outfit, having raced straight here from Tarasov’s.
She sucked in a deep breath and drew herself upright, knowing they were right, but hating it all the same. Every instinct she had was screaming at her that Heath was inside that building, and that he needed her. “How is he?” Obviously it was bad. “I mean, how bad?” She glanced between them anxiously. “No bullshit.”
“He was unconscious when we brought him in,” Briar said, her dark eyes full of empathy. “Head injury, and maybe internal ones too.”
The blood drained from her face, leaving her dizzy. “But he’s not… He’s not going to die, right?”
Briar hesitated an instant too long before answering. “We don’t know anything yet, but he’s in good hands and they’re doing everything they can.”
Not the answer she’d been hoping for.
“Shit.” She spun around, dragged her hands over her face and stood facing the parking lot, battling tears. The cars and lights all blurred, everything funneling out under the frantic thud of her pulse in her ears.
After a moment Briar came up and wound an arm around her shoulders. “We’re here for you, okay? Not going anywhere.”
Chloe nodded, lips clamped together, her throat tight and burning with unshed tears. “What happened?” she finally managed when she could speak past the restriction.
“He was protecting one of the female hostages. One of Tarasov’s men was behind the wheel of the car. I hit him, but he must have slumped forward instead of back, because the car suddenly veered at them and sped up. Heath dove at the hostage to knock her out of the way, and took the brunt of the impact.”
Chloe closed her eyes, pulling in a shuddering breath. “That others may live,” she whispered. Didn’t matter that Heath had been out of the Air Force for a while now, he was still a PJ to the core. The Pararescue motto was fundamentally part of who he was.
And also a big part of the reason she’d fallen in love with him.
Unable to stay still, she spun away and began pacing up and down the sidewalk, battling the fear and panic clawing at her insides. This shouldn’t be happening. Heath hadn’t liked the idea of the op from the outset, but he’d taken part because of her.
He’d spent his adult life putting himself in harm’s way to rescue and protect others. Now it was his life hanging in the balance.
“Chlo,” Briar said softly.
She shook her head and walked faster. Up and down the sidewalk, desperate to burn off some of the frantic energy building inside her. She wanted to see Heath. To hold his hand and talk to him, to be there for him. But Briar was right about one thing. She needed to calm the hell down first.
“What about Kiyomi and Marcus?” Georgia asked, pulling her from her distressed thoughts.
She drew in a shaky breath. “She found Tarasov. Marcus went after her. Then Megan and Ty got there to back them up, and I left. I couldn’t stay. Not when Heath was—” She choked up and had to stop, wiping at her eyes. This should never have happened to him. This was her fault, for getting him involved.
“Hey.” Briar walked up to take her hand, gripping it tight. “I know you’re scared. But you don’t have to go through this alone.”
Before she could answer, a car raced up and stopped in front of them at the curb. The front passenger door opened and Amber hopped out, revealing Jesse behind the wheel.
Amber looked at the two of them in concern as she shut the door and Jesse drove off. “How is he?”
“We don’t know,” Briar said, rubbing Chloe’s upper arm. “What about the others?”
She sighed. “Kiyomi’s hurt bad, and Marcus can’t walk. Ty and Megan are bringing her here now, should arrive any minute.”
“How bad is Kiyomi?” Briar asked sharply.
“Tarasov sliced her up and hit her brachial artery.”
Fuck.
“But she got him,” Amber said with grim satisfaction.
Thank god for that. “Dead?” Chloe asked.
“No, but sedated and contained along with the rest of his crew. The cops are on scene there now, and Trin’s already been in contact with Rycroft. Under the circumstances, we’re gonna need some help with cleaning all this up.”
Yeah, no doubt.
The sound of a racing engine made them all glance to the left. A sedan roared up and Megan jumped out of the front passenger side. “Gimme a hand,” she blurted, opening the back door. Marcus was inside, Kiyomi’s head in his lap, his hands clamped around her upper arm.
Chloe rushed forward but Briar beat her to the car, bending with Megan to help lift Kiyomi out of the back. She was limp and pale, the bandage and makeshift tourniquet saturated with blood, and more of it dripped in a thin ribbon as they moved her.
“Hold that bandage tight,” Marcus commanded.
“We’ve got her.” Megan took over applying pressure, one arm around Kiyomi’s shoulders while Briar scooped up her legs and raced for the entrance.
Marcus set his feet on the ground and struggled to stand, both his hands bloody as he shoved up against the doorframe for leverage. His face was drawn, lines of pain that were more than physical etched around his eyes and mouth.
His silent suffering tore at Chloe. She went to him, looped an arm around his waist and helped steady him. He laid his arm across her shoulders without protest, the breath hissing out of him as he tried to take a step. Georgia moved in to bolster him on the other side.
“Get me inside with her,” he grated out, and Chloe’s heart twisted. She knew exactly how he felt, and it sucked.
She and Georgia half-carried him to the automatic doors as fast as they could. They walked into a flurry of activity in the A&E department. Staff had already swooped in to whisk Kiyomi into the back.
A nurse came out from behind the admissions desk, her expression concerned as she eyed Marcus. “Sir, I’m going to need you to—”
“I’m not here for me,” he said curtly. “I’m here for her.” He nodded at the door they’d just taken Kiyomi through. “She’s my wife.” His voice cracked a bit on the last word.
Georgia looked up at him, frowning. “You should get looked at too.”
“No,” he said, his tone final. “I’m fine.” His body was rigid, tension pouring off him in palpable waves, magnifying Chloe’s.
“You can’t go back there,” the nurse told him, running a clinical gaze over the length of his body. “And I would strongly advise you be seen by a doctor.”
“I’m fine. I just want to know what’s happening with my wife.”
“She’ll be well taken care of. After you fill in some paperwork, you’ll have to stay out here, or in the waiting room down the hall,” the nurse said just as Briar and Megan came back out through the door.
“They kicked us out, but they’re on it. Kiyomi’s in good hands,” Megan said, hurrying over to take Georgia’s place on Marcus’s left side and looking up at him. “There’s nothing more we can do right now. Come on, let’s go wait with the others.”