by Ronie Kendig
Alone again with the man who had infiltrated her heart, mind, and life, Darci slipped her hand under the warming blanket and coiled it around Heath’s. “C’mon, Soldier. Snap out of it.” She had no vehemence behind it, but everything in her ached for him to come to attention. “I won’t let you die for me, Heath.”
Minutes later, Timbrel hurried into the room, accompanied by the soft click of nails. “She went ape when she saw me.”
Trinity wagged her tail as she scampered to Darci, then went up on her hind legs, sniffing the bed. Darci drew Heath’s hand to the side.
Trinity whimpered, licking his hand as if it were a Nylabone. Digging her claws into the bed, she tried to haul herself up onto the mattress. Darci bent down and gave her a boost.
“Trinity, down,” Timbrel said in a firm command that wasn’t loud but authoritative, ordering the dog onto her belly.
The dog complied instantly, stretching out next to her handler. She swiped her tongue over his face, then rested her snout on his shoulder and let out a sigh.
Darci ran a hand over Trinity’s fur. “Thank you, girl. For everything.”
“Hey.” Timbrel pointed to the other side of the bed. “There’s room for one more.”
One more dog? Darci frowned at the girl. Wha—? “Oh, no. I couldn’t.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. We’re in a hospital. Nobody’s going to get the wrong idea.” She nudged Darci’s shoulder with a fist bump. “Besides, everyone knows body-heat transfer is the best at rewarming others. And we all know you and Heath are into each other.”
Heat flushed through her face.
“He needs a reason to come back.” Timbrel’s expression went soft. “Be that reason.”
Forty-Five
I pray you’d be uplifted by His grace, and feel yourself enfolded in the peace of His embrace …” Angelic and soft, like a murmur against his soul, the voice drifted out.
Darci’s ivory-pale face, almond-shaped eyes, and pink lips dusted his mind. Smiling, laughing … leaning forward for a kiss, then pulling away with another laugh.
Stop taunting me.
Then wake up, Ghost.
Wake up? Was he sleeping?
A bark jolted through his hearing. Wet and warm, a tongue slid along his cheek. Heath tried to touch the fur ball but couldn’t move his arm. He dragged it out from under Trinity. He wrapped his arm around her as she greeted him with more kisses.
When he tried to lift his other arm, he realized it was pinned, too. But beneath what? Tugging his arm free, he angled to the side, aware of two things in that instant—tubes feeding him oxygen and snaking down his throat, and the blue halo of light against a crown of silky black hair.
Darci? Curled up next to him, in the bed?
No, that had to be a dream.
More like a fantasy!
He wanted to wrap an arm around her, make sure she didn’t fall off the bed, but he was afraid to touch her. Afraid to burst this dream bubble. He liked it, a lot. Liked her next to him. Heath coiled an arm around her and closed his eyes. It was so right, so perfect.
“See you finally decided to join us.” The voice, though gruff, was quiet.
Heath looked in its direction and grimaced.
Arms folded over his broad chest, General Burnett simmered. “I asked the doc not to remove that tube so you couldn’t talk.”
Darci still hadn’t moved. What was she doing here?
“That woman next to you is very important to me.”
“Sh—” Curse this stupid tube!
Burnett grinned. “I’ll have your neck, back, legs, every piece of you if you hurt her.”
Understood, Heath conveyed with a lone nod. In more ways than one. The general was accepting that things were happening between Heath and Darci. He wasn’t giving permission, but he wasn’t going to interfere either.
“She’s been like that next to you for nearly twenty-four hours. The docs ain’t happy, but I ordered them to let her and that stinking dog of yours be.”
Heath let the glower seep into his eyes. That “stinking dog” saved your asset!
“All right, Doc.” The general motioned to Heath. A man moved in and reached toward him. He removed the breathing tube, turned off a machine, then returned. “This will make you gag.”
Heath braced himself as the tube—and his lunch—retracted. He coughed. Gagged.
Darci stirred, but Heath firmed his hold on her. She straightened, then jerked upright. Her mouth formed a perfect O when she looked up at him, sleep prying at the edges of her eyes.
“Hey,” he managed, and what an effort it took!
“You’re awake.” She laughed and came out of his hold, but he caught her hand. She stilled for a moment, then kissed the back of his hand.
“Cheater,” Heath rasped. She was out of her mind if she thought that kiss would settle her debt.
With a shy laugh, she held his hand next to her face. Tears glimmered in her eyes. His fingers itched to touch her cheek.
“Give me a minute to check his vitals, then I’ll be out of your way.” The doctor took Heath’s pulse, checked his heart rate, listened to his chest, recorded the information in his chart … all while Heath watched Darci. She’d stayed with him? Why was he laid up in bed and she was up and moving around? Genuine concern carved a hard line in her face.
“Wha … happ’n?” Talking felt like passing razor blades over his windpipe instead of air.
“You went into cardiac arrest twice,” the doctor said. “We’ve had a tough time getting you to stabilize, then a harder time getting you to come out of it.”
“Thickheaded,” Darci said, her light brown eyes glittering.
He grinned and felt punch drunk with the way she gazed down at him. Wow, he’d risk his life every day of the year if she was the prize.
“They were prepping you for Landstuhl.”
That was the last place he wanted to end up again. “Good thing I woke up.” With you in my arms. That was amazing. Incredible.
“This young lady and your dog have kept your body temperatures stable. You should be thankful.” The doctor perched a straw between Heath’s lips. “Sip.”
Nasty-sweet and syrupy, the drink squirted down his throat. Though too sweet for him, Heath was glad for the way it soothed the dry, cracked plains of his throat and esophagus.
“Sip this and keep sipping. I’m leaving the saline solution till you down a meal.”
Nurses descended on him and over the next fifteen minutes examined, tested, checked—all as Heath kept his fingers entwined with Darci’s.
“This doesn’t make sense,” a nurse mumbled as she recorded information.
Darci looked at her. “What?”
“His electrolytes, blood gases … repeat EKG are all perfect.” She shared a glance with the doctor. “Like the severe hypothermia never happened. I guess because you were in top shape before, save for the TBI.”
Jabbing a finger over his shoulder, the doctor grinned. “That man in the hall has been praying since we brought him in. Maybe it’s a miracle.”
“Yeah.” Heath glanced to the hall where he spotted Jibril. “Definitely—a miracle. That’s what it feels like.” He downed more liquid. “Amazing. I’m tired but otherwise fine.” Weird enough. He even pried himself off the bed. Okay, so his body was a bit sluggish, but they could work with that.
The doctor nodded to the general, then turned to leave. “He’s all yours.”
Trinity pushed up onto her haunches, panting down at him, those amber eyes sparkling. Heath dug his fingers into her fur and massaged the side of her face. “Thanks, girl.”
She swiped another kiss.
Speaking of a kiss … Heath turned his attention to Darci, who suddenly seemed gun-shy and wanted to wrest her hand free. He frowned, but before he could say anything, she leaned down. Her lips aimed for his forehead, and his hopes crashed against her modesty.
“Still cheating.”
She smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
<
br /> “Where are you going?”
“To tell your team you’re awake.”
Heath couldn’t help the smile. Already watching out for him. “You’re the bomb—” Heath’s eyes widened. “Did you tell him?”
Darci nodded. “Everything’s taken care of.”
Heath glanced at the general, who seemed peeved, probably over the PDA. “You got the bombs?” Wait. He hadn’t had a chance to tell the doc. “How’d you find out about them? Was Haur connected?”
“What do you mean?” Darci asked. “Didn’t you tell him?”
“Daniels was DOA. He couldn’t tell me nothing.” The general went all military on them. “What didn’t he tell me?”
Darci hauled in an audible breath. “About the bombs!”
“What bombs?”
Forty-Six
Panic and fury erupted in his chest. Lance surged forward, aware of the bleeping that monitored Daniels’s blood pressure and other vitals. Aware the increments were shortening. “What bombs, Darci?”
“Wu Jianyu,” she breathed, confusion marring her young features. “When I was at the village, his captain said the bombs were ready and waiting for his activation codes.” She blanched. “I thought you said you got him. I asked you!”
“You asked if I got him. And I did—Colonel Zheng is in custody.”
“His son?” Her question shrieked as she stabbed her fingers through her black hair.
“Wait,” Daniels asked. “That guy you sent with me on the mission?”
Lance nodded.
Darci’s voice pitched. “Why is his son in custody?”
“General Zheng came here, told me Haur had gone rogue.”
“The minister of defense came here?” Darci’s brow knotted. “And that didn’t ring fishy to you?”
“Watch yourself, Lieutenant.” Lance felt the steel grip of guilt. “Everything was fishy at that point. When a man like that comes into a hostile situation and claims one of his sons is rogue, I listen.”
“Wait.”
Darci spun toward Heath.
“I think I saw him—the general,” Heath said, his voice weak. “At the village. When I was leaving with you, I saw Jianyu with an older man, talking.”
“Zheng went back to China.” Lance’s blood chugged to an achingly slow pace, clogged around his brain, around the brutal information Daniels had just delivered. “He couldn’t have been there.”
Daniels’s gaze lit with challenge. “You verified that?”
What was going on? Nothing made sense. Except that he needed to do as Daniels had suggested. Lance spun and jogged out of the room. Otte pulled to attention. “Get General Early. Call an AHOD of all officers in ten.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Put SOCOM on high alert. We have a direct threat against military personnel in the region.”
Bagram AFB, Afghanistan
“Go!” Heath said to Darci. “Stay with him. I’ll get dressed and meet you there.” He stumbled out into the hall with Trinity at his side.
Jibril came off the wall. “What—?”
“Help me get to the bunk. I need to dress. Gotta help …”
They rushed to the building where his bunk offered him clean clothes, boots, and a jacket. He stuffed himself into the warm garments, savoring the delicious heat coiling around his body. Thank God he lived in Texas, because one thing he never wanted to be again was cold.
“You really gave us a bad scare, Ghost.”
On the edge of his cot, Heath stuffed his foot in a boot and shot a grim expression to Aspen. “I’d love a reunion, but there’s a very real, very tangible threat right now.”
“I’m hearing rumors,” Aspen said.
“No rumors.” Heath shook his head. “It’s real. Chinese have placed bombs on bases.”
A voice careened through a loudspeaker, rousing everyone and warning them to grab their gear and get into formation.
Darci appeared with a vest, lead, and harness. “Here.”
Man, just the sight of her… “Thanks.” Heath threaded his arms through the vest—the thing felt like a hundred pounds with the exhaustion from two heart attacks and hypothermia—and secured it before he put on a heavy jacket.
On a knee, he rested his gloves there and donned the harness vest and lead on Trinity. “What’re you hearing?”
“Burnett has put the word out.” She looked good in clean clothes, even with the bruise and busted lip. She moved stiffly as she handed him an HK USP. “The other dogs are being pulled from their kennels. Ordnance is clearing buildings as we speak.”
“EDD. Smart.” Heath nodded.
Explosive Detection Dogs were the best at tracking down chemicals and powders. While Trinity could hunt down bad guys like nobody’s business, she didn’t have the intense training EDDs had. On a base three square miles in size, they had a lot of territory to cover. “This is crazy. No way we’ll locate the bombs in time.”
“Let’s find Burnett.” Darci started walking, her movements slow in the thick coat and with broken ribs.
“He’s not going to tell us anything.”
She eyed him. “I want to talk to Colonel Zhen—”
Crack!
Heath stopped. “That was weapon’s fire.” He darted toward the building it’d come from. The same building where Zheng Haur was being held. Heath jerked open the door, and Trinity lunged in ahead of him. Weapon at the ready, he moved down the too-quiet halls.
“Don’t like it,” he whispered to Darci, who bounded and covered with him, her Glock held like a pro.
She shook her head. Sweat beaded on her forehead. The pain from her ribs must be excruciating, but he knew better than to suggest she rest. Or not engage in the hunt.
Bang!
The sound pounded Heath’s breath into the back of his throat.
“Door,” Heath said, as much to himself as to her. The squeaking and swishing of tactical pants warned them of the incoming flood of soldiers.
Sure enough. Around the corner, a sea of uniforms.
Muzzles swung toward them.
“Whoa!” Heath raised his hands. “Friendly.”
The men banked left, so Heath and Darci went right. Down the hall. Clearing one room after another, his heart pumping harder and faster, sensing they were closing in on their quarry. The last room. Heath shoved a foot against the handle. It burst inward. As it flapped back, his heart thudded.
“Hands in the air,” he shouted. “Hands in the air!”
Zheng Haur stood over the body of his captain, gun in hand. A guard lay to the side, unconscious … but coming to. And still armed.
“Haur, what happened?” Heath shouted, praying the others heard. “Who killed him? Where’d you get the gun?”
Absolute calm shrouded the man. “I want to speak with General Burnett.”
“Fat chance.” Heath eyed the weapon. “You just killed a man and took out another. Do you really think they’ll call Burnett here?”
“Bring Burnett.” Haur did not relinquish the gun.
“Not happening,” Watterboy’s firm voice cut into the room.
“If you want to live, if you want to stop the bombs, bring Burnett here.” Way too calm. “I suggest you do it now. Time is short.”
Forty-Seven
Camp Loren, CJSOTF-A, Sub-Base
Bagram AFB, Afghanistan
You are Meixiang?”
Daniels stepped in front of the woman, cutting off Haur’s line of sight.
Haur gave a halfhearted smile. “I am no threat to you or to her.”
Unfazed and undeterred, Daniels held his aim. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
But Meixiang edged back into view, living up to her reputation as the skilled, bold operative Jianyu had said she was. “I am Meixiang,” she said in perfect Mandarin.
With a respectful nod, Haur smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you at last.” She was much paler than he’d expected for his brother’s tastes, but her beauty could not be denied. “You created quite a
stir in the Zheng dynasty.”
Though she said nothing, Meixiang studied him. Intently. She flicked a finger to the body at his feet. “Why have you done this?” Haur smiled again. “In time, Meixiang.”
Shouts and thudding boots reverberated through the building. More military police poured into the room, weapons at the ready, in full tactical gear.
General Burnett stood there, shielded by two MPs. “What is this, Zheng?”
Haur raised both hands, the gun dangling from his thumb. “Thank you, General.” Eyes on those before him, Haur dropped the magazine. Expelled the chambered round. Slid the barrel off. A few more quick flicks, and the weapon lay on the table. “There are times we implicitly trust those who work close with us. We come to believe so fully in their identities, we do not question them.” He glanced at Meixiang. “Sometimes that is a mistake.”
She eased to the side. Eyes locked with him, she retrieved the barrel from the floor.
“What’s your point? Why is Bai dead?”
“Captain Bai is dead because I killed him.” He straightened and held his head high. Not that he was proud of his actions, but there was no point in denying the obvious. “I discovered not too long ago that he was not my ally, but my enemy.”
Burnett stepped past the guards. “Is that supposed to enlighten me?”
“I was sent to the mine to check on Jianyu. General Zheng ordered me into this country to find Jianyu and bring him home.” He tilted his head. “But as the mission progressed, things became less certain.” His gaze shifted to Heath. “At the village with your team, I saw something that told me I had been betrayed.”
“What was that?”
“I saw my brother and General Zheng there. Together.” The image burned into his memory. “They hugged. Father and son, happy. Not as the bitter rivals they had pretended to be.”
General Burnett planted his hands on his belt. “Why would they do that?”
Haur snorted and shook his head. “I think you, of all people, know why, General.”
The older man took another step into the room. “Zheng Xin came to me after you were knee-deep in this mission.”