by Tawny Weber
The burly man enfolded her in her arms like a child would a teddy bear, wrapping her safe and tight. And held on so tightly that Mia lost her breath.
“You’re okay,” he decreed, the choked rumble in his voice telling her more than words how concerned he’d been. “I told your mother she was worrying for nothing.”
Her face buried in his chest, Mia gave a choked laugh.
He was in uniform, so she knew he’d been on duty. Which meant that he must have dropped everything, called in a million favors and pulled a dozen strings, and traveled alone in order to make it here so quickly.
Yet according to him, her mother was the one who’d worried.
Suddenly, despite the fears and worries fighting for prime real estate in her brain, Mia felt better. There was no way Spence wasn’t going to make it now, not with the admiral here to order him to get better.
After a long, reassuring hug, her father shifted his grip to her arms and set her back far enough to study her face. No green ensign, she’d had a lifetime facing that intense gaze, so Mia knew to keep her chin high and her own eyes steady as he peered into her soul.
Finally, satisfied that she really was okay and not about to crumble into girlie pieces, he gave a sharp nod. Then he glanced around the room. Those piercing dark eyes landed on the senator.
“Status?”
Her uncle repeated the same information he’d given Mia. Apparently just as unsatisfied with that as she’d been, her father gave her back an absent pat before turning her into Lucas’s arms.
“Take care of her,” he ordered before lumbering to the nurse’s station. They all watched as the admiral’s words got quieter and his gestures louder until three nurses scurried off. Within a minute, he was back with a full report on Spence’s injuries, his condition and his recovery prognosis.
Right after that, one trembling nurse led them to a private waiting room closer to Spence.
“Impressive,” Uncle Luis murmured, looking around the comfortable appointed room.
“Just goes to show you that the military gets a lot more done than politicians,” the admiral barked, his tone serious but his expression friendly enough that Mia knew he was kidding. Kind of.
“Speaking of politics, I should be going.” The senator glanced at his watch, then over his shoulder at his waiting cadre of men. “I’m due at a press conference soon.”
“Context?”
“After interviewing the arrested parties,” Bertram began, “it’s been determined that their motive was revenge. Thirty years ago, a United States Army mission led by Captain Penz resulted in the death of a human trafficker. Tonight at a charity benefit, that smuggler’s son tried to kill the senator in an elaborate act of revenge against Penz. Roberto Alcosta timed his revenge this way in order to humiliate his uncle, who despite having raised him, he blames for not avenging the family’s loss. Thanks to the security put in place by the event coordinator, the plot was foiled.”
“What other details will you share?”
At the senator’s gesture, Bertram swiped open his tablet and handed it over. Her father glanced through the notes, grunted out a couple of corrections and handed it back. Nobody was surprised to see the other man input those changes, hand it to the senator, who read it, then handed it back to the admiral for approval.
“Would you like any mention of Aegis’s involvement?” Bertram asked in a subdued tone, his gaze shifting between the admiral and Lucas.
“Like the Navy, Aegis’s presence was unofficial,” Lucas pointed out. “If asked, we’ll deny association to Alcosta International or this event.”
Mia cringed a little at that last part, thinking about the potential effect of this entire debacle on her business for the first time.
While the men continued to debate which details to share with the public, she dropped into one of the chairs and pressed one hand against the nausea rolling in her belly.
It was all on her.
She wished she could blame someone else. She’d love to point a finger at Alcosta’s grudge-holding nephew or her manipulative roommate, Jessica. But the boat had sailed on that option when she’d ignored Spence’s warning.
Now what?
Talk about PR nightmares.
She rubbed her fingers over her forehead, trying to soothe the throbbing so she could organize her thoughts. But she didn’t even know where to start getting everything that’d happened sorted enough that she could even find what was left of her business.
“You’re not to blame.”
Mia blinked at her father’s words, looking over to see him wedge himself into the chair next to her. Even though everyone else had left, the room still felt crowded. Probably because her guilty conscience was sucking up all the air.
“Do not take responsibility for what happened, Mia,” her father said again, scowling as if he could scare away any thoughts he hadn’t approved. “You did nothing wrong.”
“But it was my fault,” she insisted, forcing herself to look her father in the eye. “Spence warned me that there was something going on with Señor Alcosta. Maybe Santiago had nothing to do with it, but that doesn’t change that there was a threat against Uncle Luis and that someone was using my fund-raiser. A threat that I was warned about. But I didn’t listen.”
“You were used, Mia. That’s never comfortable. But it doesn’t put responsibility on your shoulders, either.”
“Doesn’t it? If I’d listened, tonight might not have happened. But I was so busy trying to prove you and Mom wrong that I refused to consider that the reasons you sent him might be right.”
“Might be?” When Mia wrinkled her nose, his dark eyes warmed and he gave her hand a sympathetic pat. “I’m glad you are taking responsibility for your choices, Mia. It’s a wise person who admits fault and understands their motivation.”
Mia couldn’t help but smile. As much as she bitched about it over the years, she did love her father’s wise sayings. So often she’d hear them in her head, inspiring her to push harder, do better, be stronger. Her smile faded, because tonight was proof that she’d been none of those things.
Seeing her face fall, her father shook his head.
“Yours wasn’t the only error in judgment,” he said quietly. Puffing out his cheeks with consideration, he slowly blew out air and admitted, “I didn’t listen, either. After his initial recon, Lloyd had reservations about the mission plan.”
At Mia’s questioning frown, he translated, “He didn’t like deceiving you.”
Mia bit her lip, remembering the look on Spence’s face when she’d accused him of lying to her.
“As he’d been trained to do, rather than accepting my assessment and the intel provided, Lloyd evaluated the situation and, dissatisfied with the information we provided on Alcosta, tapped his own resources.”
The admiral stopped talking when the door opened. Mia jerked her head around, but it was just Lucas bringing her father a cup of coffee. After a nod of thanks and a jerk of his head that apparently indicated the other man could stick around, her father continued his explanation.
“Lloyd convened a stronger, more comprehensive accounting than I’d been able to, with all my resources. He identified the actual threat, positioned himself not only to protect you as ordered, but to take any necessary action against the target.”
As he paused, Mia realized this was the first time her father had actually discussed his work with her. She knew he wasn’t revealing military secrets, but she still held her breath, not wanting to do anything to silence the moment.
“When Lloyd reported his findings, he wanted to inform you. Not only to ensure your safety, but because he strongly objected to the deception. So strongly that he was willing to throw away his incentive. I couldn’t permit that, so to appease him, I called in Aegis.”
“Incentive?” Mia interrupted. She knew how the rest turned out.
Now she wanted to know why.
“Lloyd is being processed out of the Navy on a medical discharge. I used his lack of enthusiasm for the work available and his reluctance to waste his skills as leverage. In exchange for completing this mission, I said I’d use my influence to secure him a position with Aegis Security. That position would enable him to continue the work he’d trained for, to maintain his sense of self and to make his living in a way he’d enjoy.”
In his corner, Lucas shifted as if to comment. Mia and her father ignored him.
“You blackmailed him into lying to me?” Mia summarized, her shock fighting with shame. Her callous dismissal of his warning had landed Spence in the hospital, but it turns out that her entire family had treated the man horribly. “How could you do that, Dad?”
The admiral seemed to sag in his chair and suddenly looked old. Old and frail. Mia was horrified to see her father shrink that way. But wasn’t surprised at all to see him puff right back up with the next breath. That was the admiral. Always rallying.
“I’d prefer to refer to it as offering an incentive that’d mean as much to him as the job of protecting my daughter meant to me.”
And that was the bottom line. Her father—her entire family—wanted the best for her. To make sure she was safe, to see her happy, to help her succeed.
Just like she’d wanted for her clients. She finagled, finessed and downright manipulated feelings, perceptions and heartstrings to solicit as much support for causes important to her clients. Sure, she always believed in the cause, but that just made her work harder. And her family believed in her.
Spence believed in her.
Uncle Luis was right.
Mia wanted to cry but she’d shed so many tears already that she was empty.
* * *
She jumped at the knock on the door, all of them turning when Uncle Luis walked through.
“The lieutenant is out of surgery. He came through better than expected and his prognosis is excellent,” her uncle told her before turning his gaze to the rest of the room. “The doctor agreed to discuss the specifics of his procedure and injuries, but will only allow one person in to see the patient at this time.”
“I’ll speak with the doctor, then with the patient.”
“No,” Mia told her father. “You can talk with the surgeon. I’m sure he’ll tell you more than he’d tell me. But I’m going to see Spence.”
“You don’t want to see him like this, Mia. More to the point, he wouldn’t want you to see him in such a fragile state.”
“He was on the table for quite a while and will appear very frail,” the nurse agreed after a look from the admiral. “And as he’s still sedated, he won’t be aware of anything. If you don’t mind waiting, he’ll be moved to a regular room soon. Then you could stay with him as long as you like.”
She didn’t care.
Mia was determined to see Spence, to touch him, to assure herself that he really was okay. Nobody was going to stop her.
“I’ll see him,” she said again. She stood to follow the nurse, but paused to take her father’s hand.
“I appreciate that you care enough to want to protect me,” she told him quietly. “I honestly do. And I am almost resigned to the fact that you, and the rest of the family, will always try to do what’s best for me.”
“You mean interfere.”
Mia laughed.
“I suppose it’s all perspective. And here’s mine.” She paused to gather her nerve, then forced herself to continue. “It’s okay to worry and to want to help. I’ll even accept that you’re going to help, whether I want you to or not. But you should have told me what was going on. You should have trusted me. If you had, instead of insisting on hiding it for my protection, Spence wouldn’t be hurt.”
Not waiting for a response, Mia gestured to the nurse to follow and walked through the door. Forty minutes later, she was admitted to Spence’s room.
“Five minutes,” the nurse said before shutting the door.
It was like stepping into a spaceship. White tile and chrome gleamed. Tubes dripped and monitors beeped. One entire wall was a digital screen, flashing multicolored numbers with every heartbeat.
Despite the multitude of distractions, all Mia saw was the narrow bed in the center of the room, rails high and back lowered.
Spence.
She slowly approached the bed.
Her stomach lurched.
He looked so frail.
Chalky and gaunt and fragile.
The overhead lights reflected a russet glow in his hair, but left his skin tinged green. No hospital gown was in sight, probably because his chest was so covered with bandages that it’d be superfluous. Tubes ran to both arms, dripping comfort and life into his veins.
She pressed her fingers to her lips to keep from crying. She wasn’t going to stand over him, sniveling like a baby. She was going to be grateful.
Because he was breathing. For a long, long moment, Mia stared at the rise and fall of his chest, taking comfort from the steady rhythm.
He was alive.
And suddenly her heart was sure that he would be fine.
Lucas was right. Men like Spence, they were too well trained to give in to this type of injury. Like the rest of him, his body was hardwired to follow orders. That training, those years as a SEAL, they’d save his life. Since she couldn’t resent that, she had to be grateful for it.
Gently, oh so gently, she slid his hand into hers.
He didn’t feel fragile.
He felt right. Strong and whole.
But as her gaze traced his features, she still held on. Then, because this might be her only chance, Mia leaned down to brush her lips over his cool cheek and whispered, “I love you.”
Her eyes locked on his face, she released his hand and carefully smoothed the blankets over the bandages covering his chest. She was dimly aware of the door opening behind her, but ignored it until the nurse spoke.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Cade, but the five minutes are up.” Despite her sympathetic expression, the nurse waved a determined hand to the exit. “You’ll have to leave. You can visit again when he’s in his room.”
Mia nodded, but knew she wouldn’t come back.
Not today.
Not until she’d sorted out her feelings, her beliefs and maybe even her life.
And then there was the shame to deal with.
So as much as she’d like to stay here by his hospital bed, holding his hand, and as desperate as she was to be the first face he saw when he opened his eyes, that wasn’t fair to him. Too many of his choices had been manipulated or taken away from him. Whatever happened, she didn’t want him to feel the same about their relationship.
* * *
“You’re sure you want to do this?”
Spence looked up the flight of stairs leading to the landing outside of Mia’s apartment, calculating how much pain he’d experience if she pushed him right over that railing and down the stairs.
About as much as he’d have if she told him to get the hell out of her life.
He was willing to risk both.
“I’m sure,” he finally said, giving Adrian a nod. He ignored the question he could clearly see in the other man’s eyes.
As grateful as he was to the guy for springing him early from that hospital prison and giving him a ride, he wasn’t interested in an emotional confession.
“Then let’s get it done,” Adrian said, gesturing for Spence to go first.
Climbing those stairs took longer than he liked, each one a painful challenge. By the time he reached the top, he was actually glad that Adrian had insisted on escorting him to the door.
When he reached Mia’s door, he had to take a minute to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. Then, prepared to battle for his future, he knocked.
It only took a few second
s for the door to open.
Mia.
He’d slept through her hospital visit, so it’d been a week since he’d seen her. It felt like forever, he realized as his eyes drank her in.
The ruffles of her flowing white shirt tucked into jeans and her feet bare but for the garnet-red toenail polish, she wore a black leather band around one wrist and earrings as big as Hula-Hoops.
Spence’s barely recovered body started to hum.
She did look gorgeous.
She didn’t look surprised to see him.
“Hello, gentlemen.” Her greeting was for both of them, but those dark eyes searched Spence’s face as if she could read every detail of his recovery there. “What can I do for you?”
“Can we talk?”
Her lips twitching, Mia arched one brow, looking from one man to the other.
“All three of us?”
“Adrian drove me here.” And had insisted on following him up the stairs in case he collapsed, but there was no point in mentioning that.
“Ahh.” Studying his face again, Mia gave a slow nod and pulled the door open wider. “Please, come in.”
“I’ll head out,” Adrian said as Spence started his slow trek across the threshold. “Give me a call when you’re ready to go.”
“I can take him wherever he needs to go,” Mia offered as she walked Adrian to the door, surprising Spence so much that he almost missed his step.
Forcing himself to focus on keeping his balance instead of their conversation, he slowly made his way into the living room. A quick look assured him that nobody else was here, and a glance at emptiness through the open door of what had been Jessica’s room assured him that she’d moved.
Or Mia had tossed all of her stuff out the door.
Grateful for the privacy, Spence gritted his teeth, steeled his muscles and slowly lowered himself onto the couch. It took him long enough that, by the time he was settled and swiping at the sweat on his forehead, he wondered what the hell Mia and Adrian were doing out there.
“Thanks, Lucas,” he heard her murmur before the door closed.