Camilla knew she must be close to death. She gave a deep sigh as she felt herself pressed against his strong chest, his big hands stroking down her back.
These were her last moments on earth. She was strung up with a knife slicing through her neck. She knew it, and she didn’t care, because somehow she was in Nic’s arms at the end.
“Cami, come out of it. Come back to me. I’m here, baby,” his voice was desolate.
He cradled her close, his hold tightening. It began to hurt as he squeezed even more. She moaned.
“What is it? Where do you hurt?”
“Everywhere,” she whispered to the ghost of her past. “I hurt everywhere.”
“Raiden!” he shouted. The sound hurt her ears. He loosened his hold and brought up his knees so she could rest against them. He cupped her face. “Are you with me? Do you see me? Who am I?”
“You’re my Nic,” she whispered with a smile. “But you’re not really here.”
“Ah baby, you can take it to the bank that I’m here, and I’m not leaving. You’re staying in my arms, by my side for the rest of your damn life.”
Camilla felt herself begin to relax. Her muscles softened, her neck released and rolled to the side. It was as if all of the steel that had invaded her body since the kidnappers had boarded the bus suddenly vanished and now she was a marshmallow. She was floating on a cloud. It was a beautiful cloud because Nic Hale was with her.
“Cami, stay with me, honey.” He sounded anxious. Ahhh, he didn’t need to be worried when they were on the cloud.
“Raiden! Where the fuck are you, man?” Nic was yelling again.
She felt his breath on her face as he leaned in. His hazel eyes glittered; how could she have not recognized him, despite the paint on his face? Her heart should have felt his as soon as he was close.
She lifted her finger and traced the cleft in his chin. “You’re here, you’re really here.” She breathed out the words in wonder. Hope fluttered in her soul; how was it possible that at this moment in time her dearest dream was coming true?
“I’m here, Cami,” he agreed. “Just rest.”
Ignoring his words, she moved her finger higher, tracing his bottom lip, glorying in the beauty that was her Nic. “I dream about you.”
His eyes flared.
“Even though you didn’t want me, I dream about you.” She pushed her finger between his lips. She thought she heard some kind of sound in the distance but she pushed it away. She didn’t want anything to disturb this moment.
Nic’s eyes warmed. “After we fix you up, I want to hear about every one of your dreams. Every single detail.”
He stroked her hair, just like he used to. Camilla tried to lift her other arm so she could encircle his neck. As soon as she did, fire flared and she moaned with pain.
Nic pulled her finger out of his mouth. “Cami, you need to stop. You’re injured, baby. Let me take care of you. Don’t move.”
A wave of sound crashed down upon her. She blinked and saw she was surrounded by men in uniform and the other students. Her breath shuddered as she took in where she was, then she looked back up at Nic and clutched at his shirt.
“It’s okay Cami, I’m here. I’ve got you.”
“Don’t leave me,” she begged desperately. “Don’t leave me again, please.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
He turned his head and shouted. “Raiden, get your ass over here.”
A man knelt down beside them. “Raiden’s with the tour guide. You’re stuck with me.”
“Kane, she’s in bad shape. You’ve got to help her.”
Camilla kept staring at Nic, praying she could stay in his arms.
“Miss, you’re going to be just fine. Nic won’t let anything bad happen to you again.”
16
He wanted to be holding her in his arms, but right now other things needed to be done.
“The choppers should be here by nightfall,” Max said as he looked down at Kane’s tablet. “Thank God we don’t have any life-threatening injuries. Just the same, they’ll be ready to help with the injured.”
“I don’t like the look of Lisa’s arm,” Raiden said. “She definitely has a fever and infection.”
“I hear you,” Max said soothingly. “Also, Camilla Ross needs surgery. Her shoulder is barely holding together. But still, they’ll both be fine for the twenty-four hours it’ll take to get them to a hospital in the States.”
Nic knew it was true. When they’d finally tried to move Cami, it had become clear just how much pain she’d been in. Kane had had to administer a shit-ton of painkillers to help her out, now she was resting in the back of the satellite truck along with Lisa, Jan, and Phyllis. It looked like it might rain, so they wanted to keep them covered.
“Raiden, how are the others looking?”
“You’re right Max, no other life-threatening injuries. They are all resting as comfortably as possible. I’m going to go join Kane and see to the villagers.” He turned and left at a run.
That just left Max and Nic.
“How are you doing?” Max asked.
“Worried as hell about Cami, but also like it’s the best day of my life,” he grinned at his lieutenant.
“I’m going to have you airlifted with the students. The rest of us are going to stick around and help the villagers. We’ll wait for the federales, then call in choppers.”
His relief was palpable. “Thanks, Max.”
“No problem.”
Logically, Nic knew Cami was going to be all right, but every minute she was in surgery was hell. They’d flown into Miami last night, and the surgery had started first thing this morning. He was surprised that Cami’s parents still hadn’t arrived—surprised but relieved.
A doctor came into the waiting room and he stood up. She looked around and saw a two groups of tired families, him and Paul Davis. “Who is here for Lisa Garcia?” she asked.
Nic stood up.
She looked at him warily. He could understand why. He’d borrowed a clean t-shirt from one of the guys on the helicopter, then he’d tried to clean up as best as he could in the hospital bathroom, but there was only so much you could do with hand soap and paper towels.
“Yes, I’m here for Lisa,” Nic answered automatically. “How is she?”
“She’s doing as well as can be expected. We have her on a high dose of intravenous antibiotics. Her fever is still pretty high. We’re going to keep her with us until we think it’s safe for her to travel. Her arm was badly infected.”
“Is there any word on Camilla Ross or Jan Hines?” he asked as he looked over at Paul.
“Were you one of the students on the bus?” she asked as she gave him another once over.
“No, ma’am.”
He could see the lightbulb go off over her head. “You were part of the rescue team, weren’t you?”
He nodded.
“I can’t tell you about anybody else. Lisa is my only patient.” She looked around the waiting room again. “Did y’all contact their relatives?”
“The authorities are getting in touch with them, yes, ma’am.”
“I hope they get here soon. Lisa could use some familiar faces around her. When they arrive, have them check in at the nurses’ station.”
Nic nodded and the doctor left.
Nic thought about what he had seen the other night when Lisa had been strung up and the guard had been mauling her. Damn straight she needed her family. He needed to make some calls to find out what was keeping them.
So many parents had descended like locusts on the hospital starting last night. The last students who still didn’t have family here were Jan Hines and Cami.
“I’m going to go ask about Jan again,” Paul said as he stood up and faced Nic.
“You’re just going to piss off the nurses,” Nic told the kid. “Why don’t you go to the hotel where your dad’s staying?”
“He was wrecked. He needs to sleep. He’d been up almost the entire time I was mi
ssing. I need to be here and see how Jan is doing,” the kid said emphatically. Nic couldn’t blame him. He looked down at his watch again. Cami had been in surgery for three hours now, what in the hell was taking so long?
“Nic Hale?” A tall blond man walked into the waiting room. Nic looked over at him. He didn’t know him, but he knew him. He’d bet his next paycheck that the man was Special Operations.
Nic nodded. “That’s me,” he said cautiously.
The man smiled easily. “The name’s Jack Preston. I flew over from my ranch in Texas to keep you company. Your lieutenant called my lieutenant.” He spoke with a Texas drawl and there was compassion in his voice.
Paul gave them both the side-eye. “I’m going to the nurses’ station,” he said before he left the room.
Nic nodded toward the chairs in the corner and Jack followed him. They sat down.
“So Max called who and why?” Nic asked.
“I’m pretty sure I’m here to babysit you.” Jack grinned. “Don’t take it bad, I’ve had members of my team sit on me like they planned to hatch an egg, so I know what this is like.”
Nic shook his head. “Look, I’m running on too little sleep, the chicken references are confusing me. Can you be more specific?”
“Your woman is hurt and in surgery, right?” Jack asked kindly.
Nic nodded.
“Your lieutenant, Max Hogan, called my lieutenant, Mason Gault, and asked if he had anybody close by who could come sit with you, that’s all.”
Nic pressed his thumb and forefinger into the bridge of his nose, trying to comprehend everything. He looked up and Jack was just sitting there, looking comfortable in the visitors’ chair with an easygoing expression on his face, waiting for Nic to make up his mind about him. Nic felt some of the tension drain out of his body.
“No disrespect, but Texas isn’t exactly close by.”
“I have a plane, it wasn’t a problem. Never mind about me. Let’s focus on you and your lady.”
“You ever been in a situation like this before?” he asked Jack.
“I’ve been in a Texas hospital before, waiting to see if my woman would live or die.” Jack looked grim for a moment.
“And?”
“She’s my wife now. We’ve got two beautiful little girls.”
“That’s good. That’s real good.” Nic smiled. “This isn’t life or death; her shoulder is all sorts of fucked-up. Our medic said they were going to have to spend a lot of time repairing torn muscles and ligaments. He told me to expect a long surgery.” Nic shook his head, still trying to understand. “If you’re from Texas, why are you here in Florida?”
“Disney World. We’re here on a family vacation. So, when did the surgery start?” Jack asked.
“A little over three hours ago.”
“Have you eaten?”
Nic shook his head.
“Then I’ll go get you something to eat, and not something from the hospital cafeteria, either.”
Paul walked back into the waiting room, muttering to himself.
“Paul,” Nic said, getting the young man’s attention. “This is Jack. He’s offered to get us some food. You in?”
Paul looked up, his face brightening. “Absolutely I’m in.”
Jack stood up. “Anything else that you two need?” Jack asked.
“Yeah,” Nic said. “My computer guru is still in Mexico finishing some things up. From what I’m hearing the authorities are having a hard time locating any family members for Lisa Garcia; she’s the tour guide on the bus. She’s here in the hospital and will be for a couple of days. Do you have someone who could do a search?”
Jack grinned. “Consider it done,” he said as he took his phone out of his back pocket. “I’ll be back with food and hopefully some information in less than an hour.”
Hell, if it was going to be that easy, Nic thought, maybe I should have had him track down Cami’s parents. What in the hell is taking them so long to get here?
“Cami, can you hear me?”
Only Nic had ever called her Cami and she loved it. It made her feel safe. Cherished.
“Baby, can you wake up?”
She didn’t want to wake up, this was a good dream. She’d been having really bad dreams, but this was a good one. There was no pain, and instead of angry voices, she was hearing Nic’s kind voice. No how, no sir, she didn’t want to wake up.
A butterfly landed on her cheek. Its wings brushed softly against her skin, back and forth. Camilla was afraid to disturb the butterfly but she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into the touch. She sighed with pleasure as the caress deepened.
“That’s it, feel me. Come back to me. I love you so damn much, and I want to see those gorgeous baby blues.”
Camilla smiled and thought about lifting her eyelids. It would be such a pleasure if she could actually see Nic again. It would be one of her dearest fantasies come to life.
“Please, Cami,” he coaxed.
She opened her eyes and saw Nic’s smile. She smiled back and her eyes started to overflow with tears. He was so beautiful.
“Hi, Nic.” That didn’t sound like her voice.
She coughed once, and then again. Soon she was coughing repeatedly.
“Careful, honey.” He brought a cup with a straw to her lips and she took a sip.
“Better?” Nic asked.
She took another sip.
“Now I’m better.” Her voice was rough and husky. She tried to stretch, then she winced. Looking down she saw that her arms were immobilized. One was in a cast, the other had bandages on it. She felt bandages around her chest. Her face hurt.
The jungle.
El Jefe.
Her eyes went wide. “You saved me, Nic. You’re a rescuer.”
He tenderly brushed the hair back from her face. “Something like that,” he agreed. “Are you remembering what happened?”
“We were kidnapped when we were on the bus.” She bit her lip, then let out a little cry at the sting. “Liz died. So did Haley.” Her tears started in earnest.
“It’s going to be all right,” he whispered.
“Michael and Larry died too.” Her tears were falling even faster.
“I so wish I could hold you, but if I did, I’d hurt you.” He cupped her cheeks and brushed kisses along her temple, her cheek, her jaw.
When her weeping seemed to have run its course, Nic found some tissues, wiped up her tears, and then pressed the tissue against her nose.
“Blow, honey.”
She did and she could breathe again. She relaxed her head back against the pillows and stared up at Nic. “I don’t understand, Nic. How is it possible that you were there to get us?”
Nic sat down in the chair next to her bed and moved it even closer. He kept one hand resting against her jaw.
“I’m a Navy SEAL, baby. Our mission was to go into the jungle and bring all of you out alive.”
“Oh yeah, you wanted to be a Navy SEAL like your dad was. So you did it.”
“Yeah, I did it,” he nodded.
She closed her eyes, so many memories came flooding back to her at the mention of the Navy. She remembered flying into Chicago and going to the Navy Training Center, only to be sent away. She remembered calling and calling and sending letter after letter, only to have them come back return to sender.
He’d cut her out of his life like some kind of cancer.
“Hey, don’t go there,” Nic pleaded.
“Don’t go where?” Camilla asked bitterly. “Don’t remember your utter and total rejection of me? You threw me away. I was eighteen and I loved you desperately. I wanted to make a life with you. I wanted to marry you. I would have followed you anywhere, done anything to stay with you, but you abandoned me.”
“Cami, be fair, I always said we weren’t going to get married until you finished college.”
It was a hit. It was a hit and she wouldn’t acknowledge it. She’d planned for every contingency. She’d arranged everything. She’d had
every school lined up, why couldn’t he have just gone along with it? She was back in her eighteen year old body, wrapped up in her young tender emotions and it killed.
“You abandoned me.” Her voice sounded so young.
“I was always going to come back to you. Always.”
She blinked, her eyes cleared and she saw the man in front of her. “But you didn’t come back to me.”
She saw the panic on his face and it made no sense.
“Cami, I tried to explain in my letters. Why didn’t you at least open them?”
She laughed, and regretted it, as pain shot through her chest. “There were no letters Nic. And if there were, shouldn’t I have just sent them back return to sender, wasn’t that how it was done?” She heard the pain in her voice, and it wasn’t from her injuries.
She was watching him closely, and the metamorphosis was profound, he went from panicked to resolute.
“There were letters, there were ten of them. You’d just finished your junior year. I know because that was when I got my trident. And you did send them all back to me, return to sender. I explained everything to you. Why I made the choice I did, and how I hoped we could make a future together. I laid my heart bare.”
She stared at him confused. She knew Nic, he’d never been a liar. Not ever.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. They needed to talk this out, it was important. She rolled to her side so she could sit up.
“Ahhhh,” the pain hit like lightening she pressed down on her right side.
Nic crouched down beside her in an instant, helping her roll to her back.
“Jesus Cami, what were you thinking?”
She couldn’t think, she could only feel. And whimper.
“Honey, I’ll be right back with a nurse.” Suddenly the room was empty. Her eyes were wet as she tried to think through everything he had been saying through the mist of pain. Ten letters?
The door opened, she didn’t recognize the nurse who came in before Nic but it didn’t matter, Camilla knew she would do something for her pain. The entire time she fiddled with her IV tube Nic watched on in solemn silence.
Her Faithful Protector: A Navy SEAL Romance (Night Storm Book 6) Page 12