The Darkest Hour k-1

by Maya Banks

  “Not everyone does something for what’s in it for them,” Marlene said gently. “Besides, seeing you graduate and go on to college and make something of yourself will be what I get out of it.”

  “So I can stay?” she asked hopefully.

  “You can stay.”

  Marlene picked up her purse again and fished for her car keys. She walked toward the garage door and then turned and pinned Rusty with a stare.

  “Well, don’t just sit there, come on.”

  Rusty scrambled off the stool and rubbed her hands nervously down her pant legs. “Where we going?”

  “To buy you some clothes and shoes. Maybe do something with that hair while we’re at it.”

  Rusty frowned and ran her hand defensively over the long strands. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  “Nothing if you don’t mind looking like a pink rooster,” Marlene said dryly. “I know kids these days get strange ideas about fashion, but trust me, that look is never a good idea.”

  IT was dark when they pulled back into the drive. Frank met them at the door and took the bags they carried. He did a double take when he caught sight of Rusty.

  Marlene beamed and turned to Rusty. “Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t recognize you?”

  Rusty ducked her head self-consciously and looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her up. Her confidence was in the gutter, but if Marlene had her way, she’d build it back up.

  “You look nice,” Frank said gruffly. “Like a young lady instead of some punk.”

  Rusty actually grinned at the backhanded compliment.

  “There’s more bags in the trunk,” Marlene said as they walked on into the kitchen.

  “You buy the store out?” Frank huffed.

  “Almost. I haven’t had that much fun shopping since Rachel and I used to go.”

  Her mouth trembled as the words slipped past her before she thought better. Frank squeezed her arm on his way out the door.

  “What happened to Rachel?” Rusty asked. “You mentioned her before.”

  Marlene sighed. “She was married to my son Ethan.”

  “They get a divorce?”

  “No. She died a year ago,” she returned softly.

  Rusty shifted uncomfortably. “Sorry.”

  Marlene smiled. “Don’t be. I tell Ethan all the time that it’s time to go on with life and then I don’t heed my own advice.”

  “You loved her a lot.”

  It wasn’t a question, but a matter-of-fact statement.

  “Yes, I did.”

  Frank bustled back in with the rest of the bags, and Marlene turned to Rusty.

  “Well young lady, you’ve got a lot of unpacking to do. Better get on upstairs and get all your things settled. The bathroom on the end will serve as yours. With all the makeup and hair stuff we bought, you’ll be arranging clothes and cosmetics until bedtime.”

  For a moment Rusty didn’t move. She fidgeted uncomfortably, shifting from one foot to the other. Then she glanced at Frank and finally Marlene.

  “Thanks. Uh, I mean . . . well thanks.”

  Marlene patted her on the arm. “You’re quite welcome.”

  CHAPTER 9

  AS Donovan set the helicopter down on the bare patch of soil next to the nondescript stone building, a woman in a white lab coat hurried out, shielding her face with her hand.

  Ethan gathered Rachel closer as Sam hopped out and ran ducking toward the woman. Dr. Maren Scofield. He’d heard of her from his brothers. KGI had rescued her during an intense hostage crisis. She’d been the only survivor. Afterward she’d left Africa and set up her clinic in a poor, rural area of Costa Rica.

  Sam returned with Dr. Scofield a moment later, and she poked her head inside the helicopter to survey the injured. She pointed to Cole.

  “Get him in first. Front exam room.” Her gaze glanced over Rachel and then Dolphin and on to Steele. She pointed first at Steele. “Second exam room.” Then she gestured to Dolphin. “Take him into the back. I have a portable X-ray. I’ll see if he’s broken any ribs.”

  Cole grunted and shook his head. Dolphin also remained still.

  “See to Rachel first,” Steele said in a firm voice.

  Dr. Scofield looked at Rachel in surprise then back at the men as if gauging their determination. “I really think that gunshot wounds should be looked at first.”

  Cole held up his hand, pain evident in the crease of his brow. “Rachel comes first.”

  Dr. Scofield shrugged and looked at Ethan. “Bring her in.” She turned to Sam. “Get your men in the exam rooms or they’re not going to have any limbs left. If they rot off, it’s not my fault. The rest of you can shower in the back while you wait.”

  Sam grinned and motioned for Ethan to get out. “We’ll get them inside, Maren. Don’t get your panties in a knot.”

  Dr. Scofield scowled at Sam, but Ethan could see the affection twinkling in her eyes.

  Ethan stepped down, holding Rachel tightly. Dr. Scofield leaned over as they walked toward the clinic and then looked up at Ethan. “How long has she been unconscious?”

  “We gave her a sedative,” Ethan said. “It was easier that way.”

  Dr. Scofield led the way into one of the tiny rooms then motioned for Ethan to lay Rachel down on the exam table. As she brought the stethoscope up, the doctor peered at Ethan over her glasses.

  “I need you to give me a rundown of her situation. Then you can go shower with the others while I finish up.”

  Ethan hesitated. He didn’t want to leave Rachel here alone. What if she woke up and panicked?

  Dr. Scofield’s expression softened. “I won’t be long, and then you can come back in. She probably won’t even wake up.”

  Reluctantly, Ethan told her everything he knew about Rachel’s condition. Which wasn’t much. When he was done, Dr. Scofield nodded and motioned for him to go.

  He left the room and found Sam in the hallway talking to his other team leader, Rio.

  “Ethan,” Rio said with a nod when Ethan approached. “Good to see you.”

  Ethan shook his hand. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I was just asking the same thing,” Sam said dryly.

  Rio flashed a grin. “Brought you fellows a present. A new helicopter. That one out there is going to get you attention you don’t want with all the bullet holes. Not to mention the fact that the Colombian government has issued a statement saying such a helicopter is an item of interest in national security.”

  Sam swore. “I was afraid this would happen. Our departure was too messy.”

  Rio shrugged. “Bound to happen when you only have three days to plan a mission and you’re low on manpower. You should have waited for me and my team to get in. It would have only meant one more day.”

  “We couldn’t wait one more day,” Ethan broke in. “They had my wife.”

  Rio stared at Ethan for a moment and then nodded. “I understand. Still, we need to ditch the helicopter. No way someone won’t notice even in this shithole little village in the Costa Rican jungle. I’ll take care of it.”

  Without another word, he turned and strode away, disappearing as quickly as he’d appeared.

  Sam shook his head then turned to Ethan. “Rachel settled?”

  “Dr. Scofield is looking her over.”

  “Let’s go grab a shower then. We both smell like goats.”

  They went to the back of the clinic where the small room housed two open showers. There wasn’t much in the way of hot water, but even the lukewarm felt good to Ethan. He washed away the dried blood and felt along his scalp for the wound. He was damn lucky he wasn’t dead.

  “Rio’s men go with him?” Ethan asked after they’d showered and dried off.

  “Yeah. Where Rio goes, so does his team. They’re a cagey, antisocial bunch to the core. They probably resented like hell having to come out of their caves even briefly.”

  “Sounds like my kind of crowd,” Ethan said with a brief smile.

  Sa
m looked at him in astonishment. “Well I’ll be god-damned. You cracked a joke. What on earth is the world coming to?”

  Ethan popped him with a towel. “Cut the smart-ass attitude, big brother. I can still kick your scrawny ass.”

  Sam actually smiled. Then without warning he grabbed Ethan in a big bear hug and pounded him on the back. “It’s damn good to have you back, little brother.”

  “Cut the mushy shit out,” Ethan grumbled as he pulled away.

  “You girls having a love fest back here?” Donovan asked.

  Ethan and Sam turned to see Donovan and Garrett standing in the doorway, amused grins plastered on their faces.

  Sam flipped them both off. “Get cleaned up before Maren tosses your smelly carcasses out of her clinic. Ethan and I will check in on the others while we’re waiting for Maren to finish with Rachel.”

  Ethan stepped into Cole’s room to find his teammate lying awkwardly on the too-small table, his eyes closed and forehead creased with tension.

  “Hey man,” Ethan said quietly.

  Cole opened his eyes and stared back at him. “Rachel?”

  “Nothing yet. Dr. Scofield is examining her. Wanted to see how you were feeling.”

  “I’ve been better. I’ve been worse. Nothing I won’t get over with the help of some good drugs,” he offered wryly.

  Ethan hesitated and swallowed uncomfortably.

  “Something wrong?” Cole asked.

  “I just wanted to say thanks. You risked your life to save Rachel. I can’t ever repay that. Having her back . . . Just thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Cole made a rude noise. “Just don’t holler that Semper Fi shit and we’ll call it even.”

  Ethan gave him a mock look of horror. “Hooyah, baby. Hooyah.”

  Cole grinned. “Right on, brother. Right on.”

  Then he lay back and groaned. “If those fuckheads had better aim, this would have been a clean through-and-through.”

  “Yeah, well, if they had better aim, your brains would be splattered over the Colombian jungle,” Ethan said dryly.

  Cole closed his eyes wearily. “There is that.”

  “I’m going to get out of here. I’ll go look in on Dolphin and Steele.”

  Cole opened his eyes again and lifted his head. “Save your breath with Steele, man. And for God’s sake don’t thank him. It’ll just piss him off.”

  Ethan chuckled. “I’ll remember that. Try and get some rest. Doc’ll be in shortly.”

  “You take care of that girl of yours. You’re a damn lucky man. Not everyone gets a second chance.”

  “Yeah,” Ethan said soberly. “I am lucky.”

  He turned and walked out, his shoulders tight, his chest even tighter. A door down, he poked his head into Dolphin’s room, only to see Baker and Renshaw crowded in. He nodded at Dolphin and continued on.

  Steele sat up on the exam table, his expression brooding. He connected glances with Ethan and gave a quick, dismissive nod. Ethan took the hint and walked on to the small reception area where Sam sat. He slouched into one of the tiny, uncomfortable chairs and closed his eyes.

  The next thing he knew, Sam nudged him awake. He blinked rapidly as Dr. Scofield’s face came into view.

  “Ethan,” she said softly. “Can you come with me?”

  He scrambled up, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes as he followed the doctor toward the exam room. Anxiety made him jumpy, and he rubbed damp palms down his fatigues. When they bypassed Rachel’s room, he shot an inquiring look at the doctor.

  “I thought we’d talk in my office,” she said as she opened the door and stepped inside. “Such as it is.” Her arm swept over the room that more resembled a closet.

  Papers were piled on every exposed surface and boxes lined the walls on either side of her desk.

  She shoved a pile of envelopes off the chair in front and extended a hand for him to sit. Then she walked around to the other side and sat down.

  No longer able to stand the suspense, he blurted, “How is she?”

  “She’s okay physically. There is some bruising around her shoulder, but it wasn’t dislocated. It’ll be sore and stiff for a few days, but she should regain full use of it.”

  She took off her glasses and ran a hand through her shoulder-length blond hair. “There’s a lot you’re going to have to deal with. I won’t candy-coat that for you. She’s undernourished and fighting off infection. In short, she’s run down and is going to need a while to recover properly.”

  “Did they hurt her?” Ethan asked quietly. “I mean physically?”

  Her face twisted in sympathy. “I didn’t find any recent evidence of sexual trauma. She was in captivity a long time, so it’s impossible to say what she may have endured early on. I drew blood, and I’ll test for STDs.”

  Ethan swallowed and then swallowed again. He wanted to vomit at the thought of what those dirty bastards could have done to her. She’d been their prisoner, helpless, while he’d been a world away.

  “It won’t do any good to torture yourself,” Dr. Scofield said gently. “And as I said, there isn’t any recent evidence of sexual assault. My gravest concern is the evidence of drug abuse.”

  “They forced those on her,” Ethan said fiercely.

  “I know. My concern is in not knowing what they gave her. The educated guess would obviously be cocaine given its accessibility in the geographic region where she was held captive. And indeed some of her withdrawal symptoms match those of cocaine withdrawal. However, as odd as it may sound, there’s evidence that she was injected routinely with heroin.”

  Ethan closed his eyes against the sudden rush of rage and pain.

  “Many of the symptoms she’s exhibited are indicative of heroin withdrawal. On a positive note, heroin withdrawal isn’t as long or as far-reaching as cocaine withdrawal. It’s nasty while it lasts, but is thankfully over in days as opposed to the extended cravings cocaine addicts have for months, and sometimes even longer.”

  “And her memory? Is her memory damaged irreparably?” Ethan asked.

  “I can’t say with medical certainty. The human brain is such a fascinating thing. Unpredictable. The drugs could have done damage to her brain. Whether it’s permanent, I can’t say. It could simply be a matter of the cobwebs not having time to clear yet. The longer she’s off the drugs, the better chance she has of the past coming back to her.”

  “So what do I do?”

  Dr. Scofield offered him an encouraging smile. “You take her home and get her feeling better. She has some weight to gain. But most important is her mental health. This isn’t going to be easy, Ethan. I’d suggest you contact a therapist as soon as you get home, as well as have her health monitored by a physician. You’re going to have to be patient and understanding even when you’re at your limit. She could very well shatter.”

  He blew out his breath, startled at the sheen of tears that blurred his vision.

  “And remember that you’ll need help too,” she said softly. “Don’t be afraid to lean on your family. I’d suggest you consult with a therapist as well. You can’t do it all.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to make her better.”

  Dr. Scofield nodded. “She’s sleeping right now. She came around briefly, and once I assured her that she was safe and that you were nearby, she slipped back under. She’s visibly in withdrawal. Even in sleep she shakes and has muscle tremors.”

  Ethan shifted in his chair and then leaned forward. “When can I take her home?”

  She tapped the desk with her pen for a moment. “She can’t go home as she is. Withdrawal isn’t something you can wave a magic wand at or give her a few days of IV fluids, good nutrition, and she’ll feel better. Normally I’d recommend she stay in a rehab clinic until the worst of her withdrawal is over, but I recognize that this situation is different and you don’t want to draw attention to yourselves in a foreign country. The next best thing is for her to remain here where I can monitor her withdrawal and make sure she regains some of
her strength. Going home will be traumatic for her, so she shouldn’t be pushed into going too soon.”

  Ethan shook his head in confusion. “Traumatic?”

  “Well, yes. Overwhelming is a better word, I suppose. I think your brothers should go ahead and smooth things out for her homecoming. Keep it as low-key as possible. She’s in a very delicate state right now and you don’t want to push her too hard.”

  “So we stay here,” Ethan said slowly. “Is that a good idea? I mean for you?”

  “Talk it over with Sam. I’m sure once he understands the situation he’ll agree. As for me, I’ll be fine. After the shit in Africa, not much scares me anymore. The government putzes around here leave me alone to treat the villagers. I’m not seen as a threat.”

  “That could change with our arrival,” Ethan pointed out. He liked the doctor. She had a no-nonsense air about her that was appealing. Or maybe it was because she hadn’t sugarcoated things when it came to Rachel. He needed honesty and bluntness because he was at a complete loss for the first time in his life. Even when he’d been wrong in the past, he’d been decisive. Blunt and quick to make a decision. Most of the time to his detriment.

  This time he was going to take it slow and put the needs of Rachel before his own. Something he hadn’t been willing to do in the past.

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. KGI risked a lot for me. It’s the least I can do.” She smiled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other patients to see..”

  Ethan rose. “Thank you, Dr. Scofield. For everything.”

  “Call me Maren, please.”

  “Thank you, Maren.”

  “My pleasure.”

  She walked out of her office and ducked into Cole’s exam room, leaving Ethan standing in front of her desk, his heart beating a little faster than before.

  CHAPTER 10

  RACHEL opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the dim light. After a moment she could see clearly. Things had changed since the last time she’d woken up. No longer was she on a narrow table in a room so small that she’d immediately broken out in a sweat. Instead she was in a bigger, more comfortable bed.