Soldier's Christmas Secrets

by Laura Scott

  “No ambulance.” The words were a bit slurred and that was enough to scare her almost as much as being held at gunpoint.

  Maybe more. Hawk had been so strong, so invincible since the moment he’d saved her from the masked gunmen at her house, that it hurt to see him like this.

  “Matt, I need your help.” She tried to help Hawk stagger to his feet, but he was far too heavy.

  Thankfully, Ryker and Mike stepped up to help. With a man on either side of Hawk, they hauled him to his feet. Jillian went over to the sofa to get Lizzy.

  “No! Don’t wanna ride in the car!” Lizzy kicked out her feet. “I’m hungry!”

  “I know.” Jillian felt bad she’d forgotten about providing food for her daughter. So much had happened in what seemed like such a short time. “We’ll take some crackers with us in the car. We need to take Daddy to the hospital, okay?”

  “Will these work?” Matt pulled a box of saltine crackers from the cupboard.

  “Yes, thanks.” She wrestled Lizzy back into her coat. “We’ll ride with Duchess. Won’t that be fun?”

  Bringing up the dog worked. Lizzy took the proffered cracker and began to eat as Jillian carried her out to the car. She was horrified at how weak Hawk was in his efforts to get into the vehicle.

  “Should I call an ambulance?” She glanced at Matt, indecision crowding her eyes.

  “By the time they get here, you could be more than halfway to the hospital.” Matt opened the back of the SUV for Duchess. “I say we just go. I’ll drive.”

  She didn’t argue, knowing it was best to have her hands free to keep Lizzy happy with crackers. Besides, she was worried about Hawk. They’d put him in the back next to Lizzy.

  Matt didn’t waste any time in barreling out of the long, winding driveway to the highway. Traffic was light, but since it this late in December, dusk was already beginning to fall although it was barely three thirty in the afternoon.

  Twisting in her seat, Jillian looked back at Hawk. He was slumped in the corner, with his eyes closed. Lizzy was munching another cracker, seemingly in a better mood.

  “Hurry, Matt,” she whispered. “I’m worried about him.”

  “I know.” Matt pressed his foot harder on the accelerator.

  The ride seemed to take forever, but it was surprisingly only fifteen minutes before Matt gestured to the blue H sign, indicating the hospital was up ahead. “We’re close now.”

  “Good.” Jillian handed Lizzy another cracker, then leaned back to pat Hawk’s knee. “Hawk? Can you hear me? We’re almost at the hospital.”

  Hawk’s eyelashes fluttered but he didn’t respond. A cold fist of fear clutched her heart.

  What if they were too late? What if the infection in Hawk’s bloodstream was too far gone?

  She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Hawk. She needed him. Lizzy needed him.

  When Matt pulled up to the front of the entrance marked Emergency, she jumped out and ran inside. “Help! We need help!”

  Two staff members wearing scrubs followed her outside. Matt had opened the back door and was trying to support Hawk’s weight.

  “Get a gurney!”

  One of the staff members spun around to head back inside. Jillian hovered near the nurse.

  “He suffered a gunshot wound in his left shoulder a few days ago. I’m afraid it’s infected.”

  The nurse barely glanced at her. “He’s going into septic shock. We need to get him inside, stat!”

  Septic shock? Jillian couldn’t believe how Hawk had gotten so sick, so fast. She moved out of the way to make room for the stretcher. With Matt’s help, the two hospital staff members were able to get Hawk on the gurney. After securing the straps around his torso, they quickly ran with him inside the emergency department.

  Jillian watched them go, then slumped against the SUV and buried her face in her hands.

  Dear Lord, please heal Hawk’s infection. Don’t take him from me to bring him home to You. Not yet. Please? Amen.

  SEVENTEEN

  The bright overhead lights hurt his eyes and the muted sounds of voices were unintelligible. For a moment he wondered if he were being held prisoner in Afghanistan, because he couldn’t understand what the people around him were saying. But then slowly, fragments of conversation began to make sense.

  “Give another liter fluid bolus. Has the antibiotic run in yet?”

  “Yes, it’s in. Second fluid bolus is infusing now. Check out his labs, looks as if he’s still a bit acidotic.”

  “Repeat his basic chem and have it run stat.”

  “Okay. Should I call upstairs for a bed?”

  “No, we need to arrange a transfer to Trinity Medical Center. That bullet wound in his shoulder will need surgical intervention.”

  “I’ll get the Access Center on the phone.”

  Some of it was gibberish, but Hawk began to realize that he was in the hospital getting treatment for his infected shoulder. And that they were planning to transfer him back to Milwaukee’s Trinity Medical Center.

  Except he wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he knew where his family was.

  “Jillian.” The word was little more than a dry croak.

  “Just relax, Mr. Jacobson, you’re doing fine.” A hand rested lightly on his right shoulder.

  “Jillian.” He repeated her name with more force, determined to get an answer. Where were Jillian and Lizzy? He didn’t like being separated from them. As much as he trusted Ryker and the Callahans, he couldn’t relax until he knew where Jillian and Lizzy were.

  Bits and pieces of the most recent events were coming back to him. Primarily Senator Barton taking off in his helicopter, and Yonkers holding Jillian at gunpoint. They way they’d managed to get away from him.

  Logically he knew the danger was over.

  But he sensed there was more. He kept coming back to the way Barton believed someone higher up was pulling the strings. Who had hired the Blake-Moore group? Someone within the government? Was that higher up? He wondered about General McCann and Major Todd Hayes.

  One of them or someone else, but likely the same man who’d sabotaged the plane that killed his teammates.

  The nurse moved away and he quickly reached out with his strong hand, grabbing onto her forearm with a firm grip. Whatever they’d given him so far, it seemed to have done the trick. He could feel his strength returning by the minute. “Where’s Jillian?”

  “Easy now, you’re going to dislodge the IV we placed.” Her voice was soothing while she tried to wrestle her wrist from his grasp. “Maybe we need to give you something to help the pain and reduce your anxiety.”

  He instantly let her go. “No. I don’t want narcotics or any sedatives. I’ll be fine once you tell me exactly where my wife and daughter are.”

  “I think they’re in the waiting room,” someone spoke up.

  Hawk squinted against the harsh lights, trying to put a face with the voice. “I need to see them. I’m not leaving until I see them.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” the voice promised.

  Hawk relaxed and tried to take stock of his situation. His left shoulder still throbbed, but not nearly as badly as before. He didn’t feel feverish, either, and assumed the antibiotic they’d spoken about had already begun to fight against the infection. He felt stronger and thought that he could likely get out of there under his own power, if needed.

  He didn’t remember much of the trip to the hospital. Last thing he remembered, he’d been freezing cold and shivering, his brain feeling as if it were muffled by cotton. Then suddenly he’d awoken here under the bright lights, surrounded by medical personnel.

  “Hawk?” Jillian’s voice was full of trepidation. He turned his head and tried to see her more clearly. If only they’d shut that stupid light off. It was making his head hurt.

  “I’m fine.” He managed
to drum up a weak smile. He held out his hand, grateful when she clasped it tightly. “Lizzy?”

  “She’s okay. I left her with Ryker because I wasn’t sure how bad you’d look.” Jillian stepped closer and he took note of the worried furrows in her brow. “You scared me. I’ve never seen you so sick.”

  “No reason to be afraid, Jilly. I’ve suffered far worse than this.” Although he had to admit modern medicine did wonders for helping a guy get over a raging infection. “They want to transfer me to Trinity, but I need to get out of here.”

  “That’s not a good idea,” Jillian protested. “You seem better, but you don’t realize how bad you were just a couple of short hours ago. Now that we’re all safe, I’d rather you get the treatment you need.”

  The immediate danger was over, but Hawk knew that he wouldn’t rest until he’d spoken personally with the FBI about what he knew and what he’d theorized.

  “Did Barton show up?”

  “I don’t know, but Ryker took Matt back to the cabin and just returned a few minutes ago.” Jillian glanced around as if she were uncomfortable talking to Hawk in the middle of the emergency department. “They told me I could only stay a few minutes. And I need to get back to Lizzy. Please listen to the doctor.”

  He didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t like having her and Lizzy out of his sight. But he nodded. “Stay in the waiting room for a little while yet, okay?”

  “We will.” She surprised him by leaning down to press a kiss on his cheek. “I’m glad you’re better, Hawk.”

  “Me, too.” He ached to kiss her properly, but she was already moving away. A glance up at the IV pole confirmed the fluid the nurse had hung was only a fourth of the way infused.

  He decided to wait until the full liter was finished, before getting out of there. The cops would be there soon as gunshot wounds were an automatic report to the police. Even though it had happened days ago, Hawk didn’t want to deal with the local law enforcement agencies.

  He’d need Barton and his FBI buddy to avoid ending up in jail.

  His condition must have stabilized because the bevy of hospital staff around his bedside dwindled and the bright lights were dimmed to a tolerable level. The doctor returned and informed him that Trinity Medical Center was willing to accept him as a transfer and that an ambulance would be there shortly.

  It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse the transfer, but then he realized this was his ticket out of there. “I can’t afford an ambulance ride. My wife will drive me.”

  The physician frowned, not liking that answer. “You can’t go in a personal vehicle with an IV running.”

  “Take it out.” Hawk kept his tone reasonable. “I’m not riding in an ambulance all the way to Milwaukee. That’s a ridiculous waste of money when I have access to a vehicle and someone to drive me.”

  The doctor reluctantly nodded as if the financial aspect of Hawk’s argument made sense. “Fine. But I think someone from the sheriff’s department will be here to talk to you first.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t happening. Hawk waited for the doctor to move away, then yanked out the IV, pressing the edge of the sheet over the bleeding wound until it stopped. He swung upright and managed to get off the gurney. Thankfully, they hadn’t taken off all his clothes, but his warm leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. Hoping Jillian had it, he moved into the hallway and looked for the waiting room.

  “Hey, where are you going?” a nurse asked in a sharp tone.

  “Doc said I was accepted at Trinity. My wife is driving me.” He didn’t wait for her to respond but followed his instincts and managed to find the waiting area.

  Jillian had his leather jacket and was sitting with Ryker. Lizzy was between them. He grabbed the jacket and gestured toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  Ryker didn’t hesitate. Jillian helped Lizzy with her coat, then scooped her into his arms. “I’m not happy about this,” she muttered.

  He ignored her. It wasn’t until they were outside and back in the SUV that he relaxed.

  “Where to?” Ryker asked as he started the engine.

  Good question. “I need to talk to Barton. Where are the Callahans?”

  “They’re at the cabin motel, working with Barton’s men.” Ryker glanced at him. “You sure you want to go back there?”

  “I think that’s the only way we’ll put this issue to rest once and for all.” He was frustrated that his weakness had sent him to the hospital.

  “Ryker, the doctor thinks it’s important we get him to Trinity Medical Center as quickly as possible,” Jillian said from the back seat.

  “Later. Once I’ve spoken to Barton. I have no doubt I can call him and convince him to return to the cabin motel.” Hawk didn’t like disappointing Jillian, but she didn’t understand what was at stake. Although Yonkers was dead, it didn’t mean others weren’t involved or weren’t already working out a plan to continue selling guns to the insurgents.

  “It won’t take long to talk to Barton, then we’ll head to Milwaukee.” Ryker turned onto the highway and glanced back at Jillian. “Trust me, I’ll make him go in.”

  Hawk didn’t respond. He respected Ryker enough to know the guy wasn’t kidding. He’d hoped to be home with Jillian and Lizzy for Christmas—their first holiday as a family, and maybe that was still a possibility.

  A sudden crack echoed through the air. A metallic ping made the SUV jerk as Ryker fought to keep the vehicle on the road. Hawk braced himself with a hand on the dashboard as the scent of gas filled the interior, the fumes adding to his nagging headache.

  “What’s happening?” Jillian asked in horror.

  All Hawk knew was that it wasn’t good. Ryker steered the SUV toward the side of the road not far from a densely wooded area, then threw the gearshift into Park.

  “Let’s go.”

  Hawk scrambled from the car, then opened the back passenger door for Lizzy, fumbling with the straps to free her from the car seat. Jillian quickly joined him.

  They’d barely taken three steps when a spotlight suddenly lit them up brighter than a Christmas tree. Hawk froze, holding Lizzy to his chest and raising a hand against the glare.

  “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, James?”

  He couldn’t see but he tried to place the voice. It wasn’t familiar, despite the way this guy had addressed him. “Not long enough, obviously,” he responded. “Who are you?”

  “You don’t remember me? I’m crushed.” The man stepped forward, but it wasn’t until he’d gotten closer that Hawk recognized him.

  Former major of the Special Forces unit and current secretary of defense, Todd Hayes.

  The man who’d no doubt hired the Blake-Moore group and had been in on the arms deal with Yonkers all along.

  * * *

  Jillian couldn’t believe it was happening all over again. She had thought they were safe! That after Yonkers had died, their lives would go back to normal.

  But as the man wearing a long winter coat and holding a gun approached casually, she began to realize that they’d never been safe. Not since the moment James had witnessed the gun deal in the Afghan mountains.

  “It was you all the time, wasn’t it? You were the one Yonkers reported to back in Afghanistan. You knew all about how he was selling guns to the insurgents. In fact, you gave him the order to do so, didn’t you?” Hawk subtly shifted Lizzy in his arms. Jillian reached up to take their daughter, who had once again begun to cry in a way that wrenched her heart.

  Lizzy had been exposed to far too much danger in the past few days and Jillian wondered how the little girl would manage to cope.

  “You should have died in that plane crash.” Hayes’s voice was laced with annoyance. “If you had, your family would have been safe.”

  Considering the way her house had been breached by two thugs and her classroom ransacked, Jillian didn’t believe him. S
he was fairly certain that the men with ski masks could have made her death and Lizzy’s look like a burglary gone bad, once they had gotten the photos they’d come for.

  She wished she’d never made that fateful call to Fort Bragg about the envelope from James.

  “Yeah, right.” Hawk’s sarcastic tone reflected her feelings. “So now what? You’re going to kill us all right here at the side of the road?”

  “It would have helped if you’d crashed,” Hayes drawled. “But we can work with it.”

  We? She shivered, imagining there were more men dressed in black, moving through the woods right now. Was it possible that Hayes had brought more members of the Blake-Moore group with him? That this time, they wouldn’t have a chance to escape?

  “This close to the hospital? Better think again,” Hawk shot back.

  She realized Hawk was right. Ryker hadn’t gotten far from the hospital when the shot had rung out, striking their gas tank. And who’d fired the shot anyway? Not Hayes but one of his minions.

  Turning slightly to the right, she verified the lights from the hospital were within view.

  So close, yet so far. If anyone at the hospital had heard the gunshot, there was no indication that they’d noticed. Or bothered to do anything about it.

  She could feel Ryker coming up on her right side, as if planning to jump in front of her if Hayes started shooting. Sensing his presence didn’t make her feel better. She wished he’d found a way to hide in the woods. Unfortunately, the spotlight had made that impossible.

  Also, the goons were likely hiding in the woods, waiting for their chance to shoot.

  And suddenly she was fed up with everything. “You won’t get away with this,” she shouted loud enough to startle Lizzy. “Senator Barton knows all about you.”

  Hayes threw back his head and laughed. Jillian felt her cheeks flush with fury. What was so funny?