It was the fourth soldier. Not dead. Possibly wishing that he were, though, as he walked slowly, holding his hands high above his head. Behind him, wild-eyed and beat all to hell, was a young man wielding an AK-47 from his hip.
The boy’s expression stalled somewhere between fierce determination and stark terror.
And Manny knew—bone deep, blood thick—that for the first time in his life, he was standing face-to-face with his son.
“Drop the gun,” Adam ordered shakily, his gaze tracking wildly from the surrendered soldier to Manny, whom he clearly regarded as hostile.
“Whoa, Adam,” Manny said, as calmly as he could manage, around the lump that had lodged in his throat. “Easy on the trigger there, bud. It’s okay. I’m one of the good guys. We’ve come to take you home.”
“I said drop it!” Adam shouted jerkily as a young woman, her eyes as wild and as determined as Adam’s, joined him, a knife in her hand and blood in her eyes.
“Minrada?” Manny ventured, keeping his tone calm. “Are your mother and father with you?”
“Drop the fucking gun!” Adam roared, and jerked the rifle to his cheek. “I swear to God I’ll shoot you.”
Lily came out of nowhere, rushed past Manny and into the line of fire. “Adam. Oh God. Adam.”
“M…Mom?”
Tears of joy and relief and days of terror filled her voice as Adam lowered the rifle and Lily ran toward him.
Too late for Manny to stop her.
The Hindi soldier grabbed her. He jerked her up against him and turned so she was directly in the line of fire. Before Manny could act, the soldier pulled a knife and held it to her throat.
“Mom!” Adam cried, and wilted with panic.
“Okay. Easy. Easy now,” Manny said in his best impression of a man in total control. Then he repeated the words in Hindi.
“Let her go,” he ordered softly. “You are one against many.”
The guard drew Lily closer against him and pressed the knife to her throat.
Manny sensed more than heard Dallas ease up behind him. He wasn’t sure what Dallas had in mind, but he was ready. When he heard a rock whiz past his ear, he understood.
The rock hit the ceiling of the cave, startling the sleeping bats. They screamed and screeched, and wings flapping against rock and one another, thousands of the flying rats rushed out of the cave in a great swooping swarm.
The guard, startled, ducked.
It was the opening Manny needed.
“Go!” He moved in high and grabbed the guard’s knife hand while Dallas dropped, rolled, and kicked both Lily’s and the guard’s feet out from beneath them.
The soldier screamed, then dropped to his knees, doubled over in pain when Manny snapped his wrist. Manny caught Lily against him for a brief second. Long enough to make certain she was okay. Long enough to let his hammering heart adjust. Long enough to know she needed to hold her son.
With a soft cry she ran to Adam, wrapped him in her arms, and, oblivious to the frenzied bats evacuating the cave, whispered his name over and over again.
Peradeniya General Hospital, Kandy, 3:00 A.M.
Lily couldn’t stop touching Adam. Couldn’t stop smiling. Couldn’t stop fussing. Couldn’t stop—didn’t want to stop—the flood of joy and relief. A consuming sense of wonder filled her to bursting as she watched this lean, bruised, and brave young man sleep on the pristine white sheets of the hospital bed.
“Don’t you think you ought to try to get a little rest?”
Lily glanced over her shoulder at Darcy, who’d met them at the airport two hours ago after Ethan had called her. With the assistance of the local city leaders, Darcy had arranged to have an ambulance waiting for the Cobra when it landed.
“I’m not letting him out of my sight.”
“And I can’t seem to get that man of mine cornered long enough to get him in my sights,” Darcy sputtered, but there was a smile in her voice, so Lily knew she wasn’t as angry as she let on.
“They were amazing,” Lily said softly, and with the slightest of touches ran her fingertip over the back of Adam’s hand. He’d needed stitches over his eye. He had a cracked rib. A bone in his elbow was chipped, and his arm was now in a cast. He was dehydrated, half-starved.
He was alive.
She wouldn’t think about what they’d done to him now. She couldn’t or she’d break down.
“They are amazing,” Darcy agreed.
And she should know, Lily thought. The three of them had stormed a terrorist stronghold in a remote jungle in the Philippines and brought Darcy home.
“Who are those guys?”
Lily snapped her gaze to Adam, just then realizing he was awake and watching her.
Tears filled her eyes. She stood, leaned over him and brushed the hair back from his forehead.
“Friends,” she said in a hushed voice. “Very good friends. Sleep now, baby. We’ll talk about it when you’re stronger.”
“Minrada?” Adam’s voice was dry and brittle as his eyes drifted closed again. Lily heard the concern…and maybe something else in that one raspy word.
“She’s fine, sweetie. So are Amithnal and Sathi. Everyone’s fine. Everyone’s safe.”
“He’s a brave kid,” Darcy said quietly when it was apparent that Adam had fallen asleep again.
Lily wiped a tear from her eye. “Yeah. But God, I wish…I wish he’d never had to be.”
It caught up with her then. The grief boiled up like a storm that had been building for a season. She started shaking; the tears brimmed and burned her eyes. After days of containing them she could no longer hold them back.
She spun away from the bed, shoving her fist to her mouth to quell the sound of her grief—and was caught up by two strong arms.
“Let it go. It’s okay. Let it go.”
She didn’t know when Manny had come into the room. Didn’t care. Knew only that she needed him. Every bit as much as she needed Adam to be safe, she needed Manny to make her feel safe. To let her be weak. To tell her that everything really was okay.
“I’ll stay with Adam.” Darcy touched a hand to her shoulder as Lily let Manny walk her out the door. “You rest now. I’ll take care of him.”
When Lily woke up, she was stretched out on a cot in a sparsely furnished waiting area. She closed her eyes again, rolled to her back, and stifled a groan when her stiff muscles complained. Blinking sleep from her heavy lids, she forced herself awake—and smelled coffee.
She must have sniffed and moaned again, because someone chuckled.
“Yes,” Darcy said, “it’s really coffee.”
Lily sat up, worked out the kinks, and reached out blindly.
Darcy laughed again and placed the cup in Lily’s outstretched hands. “Savor it. It came at a premium and it’s the only cup you get. Now tea—I could have gotten you all kinds of tea.”
Lily sipped, savored as ordered, and let go of an appreciative, “Ahhh. You’re my new best friend.”
“I could work with that.”
The warmth in Darcy’s voice brought Lily’s head up. Darcy was smiling at her. A friend, smiling at a friend.
“Thanks,” Lily said. “Thanks for that.
“And the same goes for me,” she added after a moment, not sure exactly why she felt a little self-conscious about admitting she considered Darcy a friend.
Old habits, Lily decided. She wasn’t used to unqualified acceptance. Hadn’t gotten it from her parents, that’s for certain. Had always felt she’d had to work to prove her worth.
But not with Darcy. And that fact felt special and new and real.
“Who’s with Adam?”
“Relax, Mom. Manny’s got it covered.”
Whether it was the caffeine or the nerves that started tap dancing through her abdomen, Lily was suddenly wide awake.
She shot off the cot.
“It’s okay,” Darcy said gently. “He hasn’t told him.”
Relief—or maybe it was disappointment—partnered
up with the nerves and sped up the pace of Lily’s pulse again.
On one hand, it was probably best if Lily broke the news to Adam about Manny. On the other, well, if Manny had taken care of it, she wouldn’t have to.
“I’d better go in there.” She wiped damp palms on her pants—only then realized she was wearing a set of green hospital scrubs.
“So it wasn’t a dream. I did take a shower and wash my hair.”
“And you were almost awake when you did it.” Darcy handed her a hairbrush. “Better do something with that.”
Lily touched a hand to her hair. Felt the snarls.
“You were out before we had a chance to get a brush through it.”
“We?” Lily asked with a heart-tripping trepidation.
“Me and your Latin bodyguard,” Darcy said with a grin. “He’s a little protective of you.”
It would have been easy to smile at that thought. And Lily might have if she weren’t so anxious to get back to Adam.
She hurriedly dragged the brush through her hair. “Better? I don’t want to scare him.”
“Scare? Sweetie, if I didn’t like you so much, it’d be real easy to get bitchy. You should look like death warmed over after all you’ve been through, but look at you—you look amazing. When the guys dragged me off Jolo, I couldn’t bear to look at myself in a mirror for a week. Not fair,” she singsonged with a grin.
Lily felt herself choke up, and before she knew it, she pulled Darcy against her for a hard hug. “Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely. “Thank you for being so…wonderful.”
And then she rushed away to see her son before she got all watery.
Heart in her throat, Lily paused outside Adam’s hospital room door. Manny’s voice, deep and low and more animated than she had ever heard it, spilled into the hall. The amazing, miraculous, beautiful sound of her son’s laughter was like a song.
And tears—God, would the tears ever stop?—threatened again. The joy she felt at having Adam back was consuming. The idea of the two—father and son—laughing together after all these years was as huge and whole as the Sri Lankan sun. It washed over her in radiant waves as Manny’s soft chuckle joined with Adam’s. In joy’s wake, regret drifted like flotsam. They’d all lost so much. So much time. So many memories.
For a moment, she considered leaving them alone. Didn’t want to intrude on what was a special moment between them. More special for Manny than Adam could possibly know.
A nurse walked by just then and gave Lily a curious look, so she pasted on her best mom smile and entered the room.
“So, here they come,” Manny was saying, oblivious to Lily behind him, “Rajah trumpeting like a corps of buglers, Kavith spouting Bruce Willis lines. The coconuts are flying, men are flying, and Dallas and Ethan and I are bug-eyed with shock.”
“Mom,” Adam’s grin broadened when he saw her, “Manny was just telling me about the big rescue.”
“So I hear.” She smiled from Adam to Manny, who looked gorgeous and a little nervous suddenly. He stood when he realized she’d entered the room.
“Got to admit,” Manny said, looking a little hesitant, “they made a helluvan entrance.”
Lily saw all kinds of emotions in Manny’s eyes. Happiness. Hesitation. Questions.
Was it okay? Is it okay for me to spend time with him?
“Yeah,” she agreed, letting Manny know it was more than okay. “It was something else, all right.”
She walked to Adam’s side, aware of Manny’s gaze on her. “How you doing today, sweetie?” She leaned down and kissed his brow.
Embarrassing him, she realized, in front of this warrior who had saved his life.
“I’m fine, Mom. You can quit fussing.”
She pushed out a snort. “Yeah, that’s going to happen.”
Adam rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as she smoothed the hair back from his forehead, relieved to find it cool.
“Well, I’ll be leaving you two alone.”
Lily turned to see Manny backing toward the door, looking uncomfortable—like he felt he was intruding.
And for that she felt more regret over all the years he’d lost with Adam.
“Just…just give us a few minutes,” she said with a meaningful look. “Don’t go far, okay?”
He swallowed hard and when his eyes met hers she could see he understood. She was going to tell Adam. With a clipped nod and a long look, Manny turned and walked out of the room.
Lily pulled a chair up by the bed. Took Adam’s hand. Squeezed. “Sweetie…there’s something I need to tell you.”
CHAPTER 24
Manny scrubbed a palm over his jaw. He should have shaved. Should have—hell, he didn’t know. Should have done something. Something to make himself look like a man a boy would want to have for a father.
Would it come to that? Would it come down to Adam deciding if, after sixteen years on his own, he’d want Manny in his life? As a father? Hell, after meeting the kid, he’d settle for being a friend.
Or not.
Not.
He wanted it all, he realized as he paced outside the door. After meeting this amazing young man who had every reason to be traumatized and cowering after what he’d been through but was, instead, strong and adjusted and…and damn, he was something.
And he was his.
Or might be.
Shit. Manny felt like he was waiting for Lily to give birth. Worried. Happy.
Mostly worried.
He kept moving. Tried his damnedest not to overhear any of the conversation. Was half-scared that he’d hear Adam’s response and it wouldn’t be good.
How had this happened? How had it happened that Manny had been drifting along through life, content alone, and now the thought of losing Adam damn near ripped his heart out?
Hell. He’d been fine. Alone. On his own. No one to answer to. No one but himself to be responsible for.
He’d been just fine.
Hadn’t missed the hassles of parenthood. Hadn’t missed the headaches. Hadn’t wanted any of it.
And now he wanted it all. And he wanted Lily, too. But that was another issue. One he’d tackle when the time was right.
He let out a breath through puffed cheeks. Paced some more.
Forever passed.
Then an eternity.
What was taking so damn long?
His back was to the door when he heard Lily call his name.
And he suddenly wished he had more time. Time to prepare for the worst. Time to prepare for the best.
He made himself turn around…couldn’t make himself look at her. Couldn’t bear to see sorrow or, worse, pity or regret.
He tucked his hands in the hip pockets of his pants. Slowly entered the room.
And on a heavy breath, sought his son’s eyes.
Oh God.
Adam’s eyes were red—like he’d been crying.
Oh God. Oh God.
Manny hated knowing that he was the cause for the boy’s tears.
Manny didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t aware of anything going on around him. Saw only his son on the bed. Saw only Adam’s tentative and hesitant gaze searching his own.
“So,” Adam finally said, his voice rough, his chin a little wobbly. He was trying his damnedest to be cool, but Manny could see the kid was every bit as wired as he was.
“So,” Manny said, and damn, all he could do was wait.
“You’re…you’re my dad, huh?”
Manny compressed his lips.
Nodded.
Watched.
Waited.
Adam’s eyes filled up and Manny realized his own were burning, too.
“Cool,” Adam said after another eternity had passed.
A lump the size of Ramanathan’s stolen howitzer lodged in Manny’s throat. Along with a relief so huge it crammed his chest to bursting.
“Yeah,” he managed, and smiled at his son. “Very cool.”
Two days later
“Come on, Mom. Don’t go al
l taz on me.”
Lily swallowed back the urge to scream. She was not supposed to go all taz?
“But why, Adam? Why, after all that’s happened, would you want to stay here?”
Adam had been released from the hospital yesterday. Lily had booked them a room at Mahaweli Reach on the banks of the Mahaweli River, just outside Kandy.
It seemed like the perfect place to rest and regroup after Adam’s ordeal and before they caught their flight home tomorrow. They were sitting under the shade of a colorful poolside umbrella—Lily and Adam, Manny, the Garretts, and Darcy—surrounded by trailing vines and flowers, sipping sweet fruit drinks and rehashing some of the events of the past few days, filling in the blanks for Adam.
What he’d been through—what the Muhandiramalas had endured—made Lily’s stomach clench with horror. And now Adam was telling her he wanted to stay here.
She turned to Manny, looking in support in what was sizing up to be a major argument. He and the Garretts had also decided to stay an extra day while they tied up a seaman’s chest full of loose ends concerning their role in both Adam’s rescue and the successful joint assault on the larger force of insurgents at Wahala-purha.
Their conclusions about the SASL had been right on the money. Had Manny and Lily not found the howitzer, had Dallas not risked his life seeking out Ramanathan, and had Darcy and Ethan not found the information on the militant group online and pieced it all together, there would have been a full-fledged war raging between the Tamils and the Sinhalese that would have been devastating.
There had been mention of national recognition for the part they had all played not only in the Muhandiramalas’ rescue, but also in uncovering the intended coup. Even Kavith was to be honored. And the joint Tamil/Sinhalese military op was being hailed as the most encouraging sign of putting the civil war to bed in the history of Sri Lanka.
“Did you know about this?” Lily asked when Manny didn’t join her in her argument. “Did you know he intends to stay?”
Cindy Gerard - [Bodyguards 05] Page 24