Chosen

by Denise Grover Swank

  He was about to implode from guilt. “No, don’t say you’re sorry. It’s not your fault.” He sucked in a ragged breath as he rubbed the back of his arm across his forehead, trying to regain control. He began to wonder if he could actually do this. What were his options? Leave the fabric in there and ensure without a doubt that she got an infection or try to get it out and hope she didn’t. It had to be done.

  “Okay, we’re going to try this again,” he said, trying not to sound so grim. “I know you can’t help screaming so you have a couple of options. First is you can cover your face with a pillow and you can scream into it. I’d rather try that first.”

  “Okay.”

  “Maybe we should wait to do this,” he said, although he knew he was putting off the inevitable.

  “No… just get it over with.” She grabbed the pillow and dragged it over her face. Will flipped on the television, turning the volume up to help drown out her cries, then washed his hands again. This time he pushed on, ignoring her cries and trying to see through the blur of tears in his eyes, until he was finally satisfied that he did the best he could with two bottles of saline and a pair of tweezers.

  He pulled the pillow off her face.

  She looked up at him, her face red and wet, her eyes swollen and glazed. “Thank you.”

  Will’s tenuous grip on control snapped. After what he just put her through, she thanked him. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he choked out. “I’ve got to get something out of the car.” He swiped the room key off the dresser and shot out the door, shutting it tight behind him. He leaned against the brick wall and covered his face with his hands, still covered in her blood. He slid down, ignoring the pain of his skin scraping against the brick, and for the first time in years he cried. It began as a trickle but once unleashed, it turned into gut-wrenching sobs. Of all the people he had hurt, and there were more than he could ever count, she was the one he regretted the most.

  It shocked him that he cared. After so many years caring about only himself, he finally found someone he cared about more. But that wasn’t accurate either. He stopped caring about himself the day his father turned him away. Will had lived without a purpose for the last three years, wandering through his life, living for the moment, but not really living at all. Before his court-martial, his life had been one endless con, trying to live up to who his father wanted him to be. But that ended in disappointment on both their parts. His father blamed him for a multitude of sins, most justifiable, yet here was Emma, who had every right to blame him, and she didn’t. He hurt her because of his own negligence and she thanked him for it. How fucked up was that?

  He had been waiting for her. He didn’t know it before, but it was true. His whole life he had searched for some type of meaning and purpose. It wasn’t the life his father groomed him for since he was a boy. It was her. Between the mark that Jake burned into his flesh and the glimmer of belonging she offered, he found it. Emma gave him a reason to live. The irony, of course, being that he discovered this as she might die. And it would be his own fault.

  He sat with his legs extended, back to the wall, and watched the sunset over the graffiti-covered strip mall across the street. Only five days ago, he met her in a parking lot at sunset, yet it seemed so much longer ago. It all came full circle.

  A car pulled into the lot, the pulsating bass of rap music blasting out the open windows. The two men inside glanced at him as they pulled into a parking space several units down. Will realized he had been out here longer than he intended. He should be inside watching over her, especially after what he just put her through. He wiped his face, stood up and took a deep breath before entering the room.

  “Will?” Emma whispered.

  He knelt down and stroked her hair. “Shh… I’m sorry I disturbed you.”

  Her mouth lifted into a tiny smile, her eyes full of tenderness. “It’s not your fault.”

  He closed his eyes as he sucked his breath in.

  “Will.”

  He looked at her only because she wanted him to.

  “I don’t blame you. Please don’t blame yourself.”

  “Emma…”

  “No, wait. There’s something else. If something happens to me…”

  “No, Emma, stop...”

  “Will,” she said firmly, in spite of her weakness. She stopped to catch her breath before continuing. “If something happens to me, promise you'll find Jake.”

  “Emma,” he didn’t care that his voice broke. He still didn’t believe Jake was alive, but now wasn’t time for a debate. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it.”

  She smiled again. “I know.” The trust in her eyes shattered his already cracked resolve. “But in case you’re not around and something does happen, please promise me you’ll find him.”

  “I promise,” he finally choked out. At that moment, he would give her anything.

  “Thank you.” She closed her eyes.

  For the rest of the night, he sat in a chair by the bed, keeping watch as her wound turned red and hot, and red streaks branched out from the opening. She became feverish. Two more doses of antibiotic and ibuprofen didn’t help and he knew things were desperate. Even after mulling over his options during several sleepless hours, he weighed them one more time before accepting it was his only choice. Just before sunrise, he dug out the cell phone buried in his pocket and checked his contacts, thankful the number he needed was still on the list. His thumb hovered over the send button. Once he hit send, it couldn’t be undone. After all the years of brash decisions, he had to be sure of this one. He sighed and pressed the button, hoping he hadn’t just signed their death sentences.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  They told him to meet them at Centennial Airport in an hour and they would be waiting with a helicopter.

  He drove up to the service entrance and entered in the security code they gave him. The metal gate slid open and he drove through, his chest tightening. A hundred feet in front of him sat a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on the tarmac. He had spent enough time in them to recognize one. The blades spun, ready for takeoff and two men in military uniforms stood next to the open doors. A civilian helicopter he expected; a fucking Black Hawk he did not. This whole situation had government ties. He wondered again how it involved Emma. If the government wanted her, he didn’t see how he could get her out of it. He steeled himself and drove the SUV around so the back doors faced the side of the aircraft. He got out, rifle in hand. He wasn’t pointing it at them, just letting them know he had it.

  They seemed unfazed by the gun. A quick glance of their stripes told him they were Army.

  “You boys waiting for a delivery?” Will shouted over the whir of the blades.

  “So we’re told,” one said.

  “Any of you Kramer?” Will asked, but he already knew the answer.

  “No.”

  “Before I make this transfer, you need to know I deliver her to Kramer himself. He’s the one who hired me and after what we’ve been through, I trust no one. She transfers directly from me to him.”

  “We have orders to deliver you both. We hear she needs medical attention.”

  “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “Where is she?”

  Will walked to the back of the SUV and opened the doors. Emma lay on the floor in the back, unconscious and covered with a blanket. “You boys got a stretcher? She sure as hell ain’t walking.”

  The men pulled a stretcher from the helicopter. The one who looked like a medic peered inside the back of the vehicle.

  Will stood to the side. “She got shot in the left thigh, a Glock by the looks of the gun. About thirty-foot range.”

  The medic climbed in and pulled back the blanket and bandages to examine her wound. “This looks more than a few hours old. When did she get shot?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Looks like it’s been cleaned, though.”

  “I did the best I could with what I had. I’m sure I didn’t get it all.”r />
  The medic accepted his answer with a nod. “You did a decent job, but she’s got an infection.”

  “She dragged it through mildewy dirt. I’m sure there’s all kinds of nasty shit out there.”

  The medic motioned for the other guy to help him move her to the stretcher. Will tried not to tense when they touched her, but he held his finger on the trigger of his gun. It was pretense. He’d never get away with shooting an Army helicopter crew, but it made him feel better, nevertheless. She cried out as they picked her up. He pretended not to care and watched as they began to move into the helicopter, trailing behind them.

  “You gonna take care of that?” the other guy asked Will, pointing to the SUV.

  “I don’t give a shit what happens to it. It’s not mine.” He entered the aircraft and sat next to Emma as the medic started to work. The medic glanced up and pointed to the front. “You can sit up there.”

  “Let’s get something straight here. I go where she goes. I stay where she stays. If she goes up front, then I go with her, but she looks like she’s staying back here. So this is where I sit.” He laid the rifle across his lap. “You’re going to tell me everything you do before you do it. Is that clear?” Will shifted the gun slightly to reinforce his point.

  The medic spoke in a hushed voice into the microphone on his headset, casting a glance toward Will. He waited for a response, then grimaced.

  “You would make my job a lot easier if you let me just do it,” the medic said.

  “I don’t give a shit what you want. My job is to deliver her alive. Her condition is already compromised and I don’t get paid to deliver her dead. So forgive me if I try to insure my investment.”

  He shook his head in disgust. “I’m going to start an IV. Is that okay with you?”

  “I want to see everything before it touches her and that includes a goddamned Kleenex. Got it?”

  The medic’s face turned red while his jaw clenched. “I’ve been ordered to humor you. So, fine. I’m tying this around her arm so I can find a vein. Then I’m going to stick a needle in her arm to start an IV. Do you want to see the needle?”

  “Did I fucking stutter? I said I want to see everything.”

  He grunted in irritation and showed Will the needle, still in the package, and searched for veins in her right arm and hand. “I think she’s dehydrated. I’m having trouble finding a vein.”

  Will tried to push water on her, but he knew the alcohol hadn’t helped. The medic found a vein and inserted the needle. He showed Will a saline IV bag before he started an IV. “I’d give pain medication, but her blood pressure is low and she doesn’t seem to need it at the moment.”

  The rest of the ride was silent. Will worried about what would happen when they landed. At some point he had to relinquish control of her and it agonized him to even consider it. But he had to pretend she meant nothing to him otherwise they would both be at risk. He just had to figure out how to convince them to keep him around.

  They landed sooner than he would have liked. Several men ran up and opened the door. The medic helped them move the stretcher out. Will followed behind with his gun, stepping onto a concrete airstrip. It was a small airport, a private one from the looks of it, just one runway and a metal hangar at the opposite end. Several men dressed in civilian clothes stood by two dark sedans and a van. The sun rose low over the horizon and Will suddenly felt exhausted from lack of sleep and worry. But he knew this ordeal was just beginning. The van waited a short distance away, its back doors open and waiting. They slid the stretcher inside. Will began to climb in behind her but one of the men stopped him. Will held his gun up and turned around to face them. “Which one of you is Kramer?”

  “He’s back at the compound.”

  Will tried to contain his temper. “I seriously don’t get you people. Are you fucking deaf? I told you I stay with her until I personally hand her to Kramer. So either I get in this van or she leaves with me.”

  They relented and he climbed into the back. He tried to look impartial, but his heart pounded against his chest wall. He was close to losing contact with her. He told himself this was all part of the plan yet it didn’t make him feel better. The only thing saving his ass right now was years of training in the art of remaining calm.

  The van took off, flanked front and back by the cars. He was surprised they let him keep his gun, especially since he used it as a threat, but they presumed he was on their side and protected what they so vehemently wanted.

  A two-lane asphalt road stretched before them with no signs of any other traffic. They soon arrived at a compound of buildings behind a large chain link fence and guard station. They stopped at the station and the wooden gate lifted open for them to pass through. The motorcade drove down a long road that circled the perimeter of the compound with a row of buildings at the end opposite the guard station.

  The van stopped in the front of a smaller building, the first structure in the row. The back doors opened and two men reached in to pull her out, Will right behind with his gun. “Just so it’s clear, and since everyone conveniently keeps forgetting, where she goes, I go. We stay together until I personally hand her over to Kramer.”

  “Mr. Davenport?”

  Will turned to see a tall, dark haired man in a suit approaching.

  “And you would be?” Will asked, eyebrows raised.

  “Scott Kramer.” He held out his hand and Will’s chest tightened as took his hand and shook it.

  “We appreciate your diligence, but we’ll take over from here.”

  Will watched them carry her into the building. Just like that, she was gone. He felt like someone had sucked the air out of him, but his face remained stoic.

  “If you’ll come with us, we can get you debriefed. First, it looks like you could use a hot shower.” Kramer held his arm out prompting Will to walk with him. “Hope you don’t mind a little walk. I’m in need of some fresh air.”

  Will followed. “What is this place?”

  “This is one of our retreats. Our members rarely stay here, but it’s here if needed, particularly in emergent situations such as this.”

  “You have a medical facility?” Emma’s care was foremost in his mind.

  “Yes, and a surprisingly good one considering the size of our compound. I hear you provided excellent care for our guest and it’s most appreciated. She is extremely valuable to us.”

  “Really? Could have fooled me. You sent one man to get her and someone else sent scores. Not very good odds for something so valuable.”

  Kramer lifted an eyebrow. “Ah, but you are here, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, at what cost to Emma? If she’s so valuable, why risk her safety?”

  Kramer laughed. “All very good questions, and I assure you they will be answered, but not now. However, I will tell you it was a test, which you passed.”

  “A test?” Will’s voice rose to match his escalating anger.

  Kramer stopped in front of what looked like a small office building. “All of your questions will be answered, Mr. Davenport.” He opened a glass door and held it open. “But first, you appear in need of a shower, fresh clothes, and a good meal.”

  Will stared at Kramer with a narrow gaze. If it weren’t for Emma, he’d leave and never look back. Instead, he entered through the door. Kramer followed and then walked beside him. “We have small apartments on the premises. I'll take you to one to decompress or do whatever you see fit.” They stopped in front of an elevator. Kramer pushed the up button and the doors immediately opened. The elevator was encased in mahogany. No expenses spared here.

  “Who exactly owns this place?” Will asked as they entered.

  “Impatient.” Kramer laughed again. “I like that about you. You’re told to wait, but don’t follow the rules. Some see it as a detriment. I see that you know what you want and you don’t let anything get in your way.” Kramer turned to face him and his gaze bore into Will’s eyes. “Would you say that is a fair assessment of your character, M
r. Davenport?”

  Will cocked his head and lifted an eyebrow. “If a man knows what he wants, why would he let someone stop him?”

  The elevator chimed and the doors opened. “Exactly.” Kramer led the way out and down the dimly lit hall. The floor was carpeted in a rich, ornately patterned carpet. Mahogany panels lined the walls. Art lights hung over oil paintings lining the walls, the only source of light in the hall other than a window at the end. Will suspected the paintings weren’t the starving-artist sofa-size paintings he saw advertized on TV.

  Kramer stopped in front of a wood-paneled door. “Yes, it is an admirable trait. But a wise man knows what’s truly out of his grasp and lets it go.”

  The hair on the back of Will’s neck stood on end.

  Kramer’s smile disappeared. “Some see it as a negative trait. I prefer to see it as the characteristic of a man who thinks outside the box. But it’s a risk nonetheless.” He opened the door and Will entered into an apartment nicer than any place he had ever stayed. “You have full access to everything here. But I ask you stay in the apartment until someone comes for you. Security measures and all.”

  “Of course.” Will didn’t hide his sarcasm.

  “I will send for you in two hours, unless you need longer.”

  “Two hours should be long enough. I can usually do my makeup in less than ten minutes, fifteen if it’s a formal affair.”

  Kramer smiled. “I had heard about your wit. I find it refreshing. The kitchen is fully stocked, but there is also a kitchen that provides room service if you need it. Just press zero.”

  “A real five star hotel you have here.”

  “Our members are used to such amenities. There’s clothing in the bedroom for your disposal and toiletries in the bathroom. I’ll leave you for now and see you in a few hours.” He left Will alone in the empty apartment.

  Will’s thoughts immediately shifted to Emma. He realized he hadn’t prepared her enough. He hadn’t warned her that she probably wouldn’t see him for a while. How would she react when she found out why he really helped her? Would she hate him?