by Mike Ryan
“Don’t try to talk,” he told her. “Save your energy. I’m gonna get you out of here. Just hold on.”
Parker’s eyes suddenly opened wide in terror of what she was seeing. Yevenko was simply hiding and waiting for the right opportunity to re-emerge. Parker tried to point her finger at him to warn Turner that Yevenko was behind him but she couldn’t do it in time.
“Turner!” Cole yelled, also seeing Yevenko.
Turner grabbed his gun and stood up, only to be met with a bullet, as Yevenko had already fired his gun by the time Turner had gotten to his feet. Hit in the right shoulder, Turner immediately passed out from the sudden pain as he hit the ground. Yevenko smiled as he walked over to Cole, who was unable to put any pressure on his leg.
“He was not as much of a challenge as you,” Yevenko said. “You will be much more enjoyable to kill.”
“You sure do a lot of chatter for a tough guy,” Cole replied.
Yevenko let out a slight laugh. “Hopefully the next one they send, will be more of a challenge than you were.”
Parker had somehow managed to muster up the strength to get to her feet. She’d grabbed Turner’s gun that laid just inches away from his fingers. Hunched over and holding her stomach still, laboring badly, she squinted her eyes to get a better aim at her target. Yevenko detected the slightest of sounds coming from behind him and turned to meet his adversary. They fired simultaneously, both of whom hit the other with their shot. Yevenko was shot in the stomach and immediately fell to his knees, clutching his stomach with both hands. Parker was hit in the left chest, just inches above her heart. The gun flew out of her hand as she was knocked unconscious again, falling onto her back. Seeing as how Yevenko seemed seriously wounded, Cole crawled on the floor until he reached his gun. Still laying on the ground, Cole aimed at the back of the criminal’s head.
“Hey,” Cole said, getting Yevenko’s attention. Yevenko slightly turned around to face the agent, knowing he was about to kill him. “Looks like the enjoyment’s all mine,” Cole said, taunting him. “Guess you weren’t as challenging as we thought you were.”
Yevenko grinned, having the smile wiped off his face just a few seconds later once Cole pulled the trigger. A clean headshot to the side of Yevenko’s temple ended the conflict once and for all. Yevenko slumped over onto his side, death coming to him instantly. Cole slithered along the floor, quickly checking Yevenko just to make sure he was gone. Once Cole determined he was dead, he continued crawling until he got to his partners. Turner had a shoulder wound, though it didn’t look too serious. Parker, on the other hand, was bleeding badly and needed immediate attention if she was to survive. Blood was pouring out of her stomach and her chest. She was just barely hanging on and he wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to keep doing so.
******
Cole and Turner were walking side by side in the corridor of the Los Angeles hospital, discussing how each other was feeling. Cole had been on crutches for the past several weeks and he was getting antsy to ditch them.
“One more week and I get rid of these blasted things,” Cole said.
“Can’t be that bad, can’t it?” Turner asked.
“You try walking around on these things all day long. Damn annoying.”
“Least you don’t have to walk around with this thing on,” Turner said, holding up his arm, which was in a sling.
With a fractured clavicle as the result from the gunshot wound he suffered in Russia, Turner had successful surgery to repair the broken bone. He still had another month or so of healing, barring any setbacks.
“Giving you problems?” Cole asked.
“With the drugs they got me on? No. No problems. Put one of those pills in my mouth and I can’t even feel my face afterwards,” Turner joked.
They’d been wandering around the halls for close to an hour, trying to give Burnett enough time to do what she came for. They’d pretty much exhausted themselves just walking around.
“I think she’s had long enough, don’t you?” Turner asked.
“At this point, I don’t even care. I’ve had enough,” Cole responded.
“Let’s get back to the room.”
They circled back to the room, Turner knocking gently before pushing the door slightly ajar.
“Safe to enter?” he asked, poking his head in.
“Yes. We’ve basically finished,” Burnett replied.
Turner and Cole then entered the room, with Cole taking a seat to rest his leg. Turner walked around Burnett to get to the bed, giving Parker a long, tender kiss on the lips. As soon as she saw him, her eyes lit up, the smile returned to her face, and she had this glow about her.
“Missed you,” Turner told her.
“You just saw her an hour ago,” Cole remarked.
“So? Doesn’t mean you can’t miss someone in an hour.”
“How you feeling?” Cole asked his partner.
“Better I guess. Think I’m just about ready for some more pain medication,” Parker answered.
“So what’d you decide?”
“I did my best to convince her, Cole. But I don’t think I succeeded,” Burnett stated.
Parker smiled. “I don’t know. With all of this happening, I think I’m definitely done in the field. I just don’t have the desire to go back. I think it’s time,” she told them, grabbing Turner’s hand. “Plus, I think it’s time I committed myself to other things now.”
“Well, my offer still stands. If you’d like to stay on as an analyst, you and Turner may work from home if you still plan to stay and live in Los Angeles,” Burnett said.
“Yeah, what else you gonna do?” Cole asked. “Open up that private security thing you guys were talking about?”
“I’ll think about it. I’ll certainly have enough time to do that,” Parker said.
“Doctors say how much more time you got here?” Cole wondered.
“Probably another a week or two,” Parker replied. “I know I’m definitely ready to go now.”
“Just make sure you’re completely healed first,” Turner said.
“It’s gonna be a while for me to be completely healed.”
“You’ve had a collapsed lung, broken ribs, damage to your liver, abdomen, and spleen, not to mention infection and blood loss,” Turner recounted. “Just relax.”
“All I’ve been doing these last couple weeks is relaxing.”
“He’s right,” Cole interjected. “Make sure you’re healthy when you leave here. We’ve all been worried about you.”
“Aww, Cole. There’s that big softy again coming out again underneath that gruff exterior of yours,” Parker smiled.
After a few more minutes of talking, Burnett finally excused herself, having to get back to work and deal with a few more issues that seemed to be a daily occurrence for her.
“Oh, my dad called me earlier and said he’d like to come down later to see you if you’re up for it,” Turner stated.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Parker said, not a hinch of nerves or anxiety shown on her face.
“I’ll let him know.”
“You guys never did tell me what happened.”
“Still don’t remember anything?”
Parker shook her head, fiercely trying to remember the events in the fish warehouse. “I remember laying there, and shooting Yevenko, but I don’t really remember what happened after that.”
Cole cleared his throat, not really anxious to get into the retelling of it. “Turner and I carried you to the car and got you to the closest hospital,” he said, not making a big deal of it.
“Don’t be so modest,” Turner said. “Cole, on one leg, carried you to the car. I might’ve helped a little bit.”
“Yeah, after you woke up after passing out.”
“Hey, it was a traumatic experience!”
“Well, thank you to both of you,” Parker told them.
“I figured it was time to return the favor,” Turner responded. “I mean, I lost count how many times you’
ve saved me from something.”
“Must be reaching fifty,” Cole grumbled.
“Hey, speaking of big softy over there,” Turner remembered. “He was willing to sacrifice himself for the both of us.”
“What?” Parker asked.
“Stop it,” Cole said.
“No, no, the truth needs to come out,” Turner said.
“I’m gonna slap you overtop the head with one of these crutches.”
“He was gonna distract Yevenko and his men, sacrificing himself, in order for me to get you out of the warehouse.”
“I think it’s time for me to go,” Cole replied. “It’s getting rather uncomfortable in here.”
“You know, if we decide to open our own security business, I think maybe we should have a position for Cole,” Turner stated.
“Me?”
“Yeah, why not? You know, you can’t stay in this line of work forever,” Turner told him. “You’ve been shot multiple times, it’s gonna catch up to you one day. Plus, maybe you’re starting to slow down a little.”
“Slow down?”
“Yeah, you know, can’t avoid the bullets and the punches like you could in your prime.”
“I dunno. Me, in the private workforce? I don’t know if the public’s ready for that. Won’t be able to use my gun as much as I like,” Cole stated.
“True. Law enforcement in our country does take a dim view on people who enjoy shooting others.”
While they were conversing, Turner looked over at his girlfriend, who seemed to be getting sleepy. Her eyes were halfway closed and she looked tired. Turner rubbed her face as she finally closed her eyes, then kissed her forehead.
“As tough as they come,” Cole noted.
“Yeah, she is.”
“You got lucky when you met her.”
“Dude, you ain’t gotta tell me. I say that to myself every day,” Turner said.
“She got lucky too,” Cole said, trying not to sound sappy.
Turner looked at him strangely, not sure if he heard right. “Did you just compliment me?”
“Don’t be silly.”
“You did. See, you’re not as grouchy as you like to appear.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“So about that job,” Turner mentioned.
“I dunno. Where would I live, what would I do?” Cole asked.
“You’d live here. In L.A.”
“Here? In Los Angeles? I hate Los Angeles.”
Thanks for reading Ghost Fall. I hope you enjoyed the book and the series!
About The Author
Mike lives near Philadelphia, PA, with his wife, and three kids. They have a busy household that now includes four dogs. When he’s not writing, Mike loves spending time with his family, and anything to do with superheroes and Star Wars.
Would you like to know when my next book’s available? You can sign up for my mailing list to be notified of new releases at www.mikeryan36.blogspot.com, follow me on Twitter @Mike_Ryan36, or send me an e-mail at [email protected]. Want to be on my review team? Send me an e-mail and you will receive review copies before my books are made available for sale.
I always answer e-mails, tweets, questions, or anything else on your mind.
Interested in Mike’s other books?
Rogue Ghost
Ghost Pursuit
The Cain Conspiracy
The Cain Deception
The Cain Directive
The Cain Redemption