“Muscle,” Nate said in a whisper. One corner of his mouth lifted in a sad attempt at a smile. “Not bad.”
“Little Mama,” Tyrell said. “Find me a clean towel or rag.”
She ran around Holly, who appeared to be in shock. Kay grabbed a dishtowel from the counter, and hurried back to Tyrell.
“I hope that’s clean.” Nate’s wisecrack was replaced with a groan when Tyrell pressed the towel hard against the wound.
Kay clamped her hand around Nate’s and squeezed. The ache in her heart almost doubled her over. She plastered a fake smile on her face, trying to be strong for him.
“Marcus has gone back up the road to lead the locals and feds in.” Tyrell spoke as if administering aid to a wounded friend happened every day. “I’m hoping they brought an EMT, because you’re bleeding all over the fucking place.”
Nate blinked slowly. His eyes fluttered closed.
“Stay awake,” Kay patted his cheek, her heart lodged in her throat. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said with a ghost of a smile. Then he went limp.
“No!” Kay screamed.
Chapter 26
Nate opened his eyes to narrow slits, tried to unscramble his brain. What the hell was going on? His arm hurt like a son of a bitch. Shifting his shoulders sent excruciating pain to every nerve ending. Damn, he’d been shot and was in the hospital.
Voices came from every direction and in surround sound. The room had turned into Grand Central Station. A couple of men talked about him as if he weren’t there. His favorite female voice gave him a reason to wake. Kaycie’s soft tone always stirred him and made waking worthwhile.
He rolled over. Sharp pain brought his memory better into focus. That asshole Hank got off a lucky shot, and a bullet wound up in Nate’s shoulder. Which probably explained why he’d reached into the recesses of his memory and dredged up the worst day of his life.
Hell, last thing he remembered was Kaycie’s frightened face before she’d faded from his vision. At least he’d made it to her before he blacked out.
A cool hand brushed his hair off his forehead. He expected soft lips to follow. Then he’d open his eyes and surprise her.
“Let him rest. Come on, we’ll buy you lunch.”
Why were Wayne and Tomas in Oklahoma?
“I’m not leaving until he wakes,” she protested.
Good girl. Nate kept his eyes closed and remained still. Listening.
“It’s important that we talk with you.” Wayne sounded official. “And you need to eat.”
“He’s right, Kay. Finish up with DPD. I’ll stay here with the patient.”
Nate’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Dalton Murphy’s voice. What the hell was the FBI doing in the room?
“Welcome back.” Kaycie’s face loomed over Nate. Damn, his heart lurched. The dark circles under her eyes meant she hadn’t rested in a while. Her refusal to leave his side gave him hope.
His throat was dry, but he had to try to speak to her. “It’s good to be back.”
“You scared us.” Tears rimmed her eyes.
“She’s right.” Tomas stepped up beside her. “I was afraid you’d die and leave this mess on Kay’s shoulders.”
Shit. Nate had no doubt there was a lot to explain, but why had the Dallas detectives come to Oklahoma? What else was going on?
Nate had asked Dalton to call Dallas PD at the last minute. What Nate hadn’t expected was the two detectives and the agent himself to show.
“Hello, Tomas,” Nate growled. “Happy not to have disappointed you.”
Tomas’s lips curved into a sneer. “After the Oklahoma authorities are finished, I’ll be talking to the Dallas DA about an obstructing justice arrest warrant for you and your men.”
Nate opened his mouth to argue, but Dalton stepped forward. He dropped a hand on the bedrail. Nate got the subtle message and shut up.
“Kay,” Dalton said, his tone that of authority. “You guys go to lunch. I need to speak with Nate in private.”
Wayne crossed the room and shook Dalton’s hand. “Next time DPD would appreciate a heads up you’re running an operation in our backyard.”
“Sure thing.” Dalton delivered a grin that made Nate bite back a laugh. The agent turned toward Kaycie, and this time his smile appeared to be genuine.
Before Nate could speak, Kaycie was whisked from the hospital room and out of his sight. He tried to sit up, causing shards of fire to shoot across his chest and shoulder. Dalton lifted an eyebrow, picked up the control, and raised the head of the bed.
“Thanks,” Nate grunted. He waited for the pain to subside while sweat soaked through the thin hospital gown
“Nobody ever said getting shot was fun.” Dalton passed Nate a glass of water, which he gratefully drained and then handed back.
“No shit.” A couple of deep breaths and the discomfort eased.
It wasn’t just his shoulder that ached, his head was spinning like a top. How upset was the Dallas Police Department? How much trouble would they cause? The last thing Nate wanted was to cause Kaycie trouble.
He nodded toward the empty doorway. “Is he bluffing?”
“Yeah. Big talk in front of the pretty lady. You’ve had a couple of lucky breaks over the past few days. Biggest one was me coming down.”
“I’m glad you did. What are you doing here? Rumor has it you never leave Atlanta.”
“I travel occasionally. Besides I was getting tired of that desk.” Dalton, easily as big as Tyrell, dressed in the typical dark suit and white shirt, moved a pile of newspaper from a chair and sat. “Don’t thank me yet. I want something.”
“I figured.” Nate squinted to read the headline on the paper. “Is that Sunday’s? Last thing I remember it was Friday. I’ve been out for two days?”
“Yeah. Doctor said the slug wasn’t hard to remove, but you had lost a lot of blood. Luckily, there’s no permanent damage.” Dalton tossed the front section of the paper on the bed. “And it was damn tough keeping your picture off the front page. If your face, name, and background had leaked, you’d be useless to the FBI.”
“And I appreciate you handling things.”
“DPD wanted you for a number of charges. You and your lady friend lied more than once to Wayne and his partner.”
“So now you’ve lectured me and I’m appropriately contrite, bottom line it. What’s coming?”
“Nothing. I convinced them you were working on contract for me. Which, if they figure out I lied, I’m on the DPD shit list forever.”
“Is your lie going to backfire on you?”
“No. But there’s a price for my help. When you’re on your feet, I need you on the Colombian assignment we talked about.”
Nate sank deeper into the pillows.
Was this where he and Kaycie ended? Wasn’t his job for her over? Time to move on to the next one. She’d been upfront with him. Told him the sex was going to be a temporary thing.
“Hey.” Dalton snapped his fingers in front of Nate’s face. “Did you hear anything I said?”
“Sorry. I heard.” Nate shoved his emotions down deep where they belonged. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, especially for Tyrell and Marcus. They were just helping me. I owe you one.”
“Damn right.” Dawson laughed. It eased the stern scowl he always wore. “And as soon as you’re strong enough to travel, I’ll send you the intel, and we’ll get started laying the groundwork.”
“On what?” Damn, Nate’s mind kept drifting. He really hadn’t been listening.
“Colombia? The drug cartel? I know you’re still groggy, but I need to know you’re in.”
“That’s a tough one, Dalton. Things are still unsettled here. The guy who killed Hank? He’s not who he says he is.” Nate paused when Dalton held his hands in the timeout position.
“I heard all about it from Tyrell and Marcus. Donovan’s fingerprints confirmed their claim. Johnny Darling doesn’t exist. However, Jake Donovan has been missing from the neurosurgical ward at Walter Reed for over a year. He’s got a piece of shrapnel embedded in his brain, right above the amygdala.”
“His what?”
“I’d never heard of it before either. The amygdala controls your emotions. The file I read said Donovan might be the worst case of traumatic brain injury to come out of the war.”
“Can they fix him?” Nate’s troubles shifted to the background. Nothing going on in his life could compare with what Jake must’ve gone through.
“I don’t know. The shrapnel has to come out. If not, it will eventually kill him. The file was full of medical mumbo-jumbo.” He set his briefcase on the foot of the bed, removed a folder and read from it. “The amygdala sits in the brain’s medial temporal lobe, right above your ears. Only surgery, therapy, and time will tell how badly the nerves were damaged.”
“And if they remove it?”
“Operation might kill him. Leave it alone, and he dies for sure. Take it out and he has a chance.”
“Not much of a choice. What about his memory?”
“Report says the odds are not in his favor. Maybe some of his past life will surface. Who knows?” Dalton tossed the file back inside the briefcase and locked it. “One way or the other, we don’t have long to get him to talk. We need to know everything about Hank and his organization.”
“Get me in to see Jake. He might talk to me.”
“Not sure I can make that happen. You’re pretty much persona non grata with the Dallas Police Department.”
“They may be pissed, but at least we interrupted the operations of the human-trafficking ring. We shouldn’t stop trying to end this group.” Nate dragged his fingers through tangled hair. Damn, he was stopping at the first barbershop and getting a haircut. “Seriously, I need you to flex your muscles. Jake used to be one of the good guys. I want to see him.”
Dalton audibly sighed. “Your friend’s in good hands. Confused as hell. But no harm will come to him. After the police question him, the military will pick him up in Dallas and transport him to the hospital. They take care of their own.”
Nate hit the call button.
“What do you need, Mr. Wolfe?” a female voice asked.
“I’m checking myself out. Send someone in to remove this IV.” He ignored the rockets exploding in his shoulder, pushed himself to an upright position and waited for the burn to cool.
The expected answer came back. “That’s not a good idea, Mr. Wolfe.”
“Good idea or not, I’m leaving.” Only way to test his strength was to put some weight on his feet. A couple of seconds standing, and the room spun off its axis. Darkness engulfed his vision. His legs turned to rubber.
Dalton grabbed him and helped him lay back down. Nate hated feeling helpless.
“Remember the loss of blood thing?” Dalton loomed over the bed, staring at Nate as if he were a complete fool. “Give it another day. If you like to get up, I’m happy to help.”
“Gonna help me when I need to take a leak?” Nate grumbled, pissed royally at needing help.
“I’ll help you to the door, after that my friend, you’re on your own.”
Nate waved off the nurse when she bustled into the room. He’d have sworn he heard her snicker.
“So tell me about this drug cartel. If I’m stuck in this bed, the least I can do is use my brain.”
“I have a file full of information on Colombia, the major players and your contacts. These are nasty bastards, and they’re copying the Mexicans and killing off the competition. While that’s not totally bad, a lot of innocent people are getting caught in the middle. Too many have died. Which needs to stop.”
“I have approval to do what it takes to stay alive?”
Dalton’s head moved forward slightly. “Of course. We’ll disrupt their production, then the Colombian government will take control.
****
The sound of Nate’s voice sent waves of relief through Kay. She’d paused outside his hospital room and let his baritone warm her soul.
She’d almost lost her mind when he’d collapsed in the cabin. The long ride through the dusty, barren countryside to the hospital had been agony. She’d worried that she’d never get to tell him how much she loved him.
Even with the doctor’s assurance Nate would be fine, hearing him have a coherent conversation was better than opening presents Christmas morning.
An icy hand slid inside her chest when she heard the topic of their conversation. They were discussing the job opportunity in Colombia. Her skin crawled. He and the FBI agent chatted about people dying as easily as if they’d been discussing Sunday’s football game.
She stepped backward and sagged against the wall. After all she and Nate had been through, she’d hoped he would turn down the assignment. She hadn’t expected him to be this quick to run. Their time together had meant nothing to him.