Special Ops Bodyguard

by Beth Cornelison

  She bit the inside of her cheek, fighting back tears of pain and regret as the EMTs moved her onto a gurney and bumped her across the threshold to the waiting ambulance.

  One of the medics held a syringe up for her to see. “This is for pain. Do you have any allergies?”

  She shook her head and welcomed the relief the drug brought her as it was injected in her IV. But as her head grew woozy and her eyelids drooped from the sedating pain-killer, she wished there was an equally effective remedy for her broken heart.

  Gage’s pulse pounded with the drumbeat of guilt as he crept into the dank alley. Leading with the security guard’s weapon, he swept his gaze over the scattered trash and the collection of dead leaves that littered the narrow gap between the old buildings.

  When he had reached the bank after leaving Kate, the manager had explained that Hank had gone to the car to wait. Except, no one was at the car.

  Castigating himself for his screw up, Gage had begun searching the streets, asking in the businesses along the thoroughfare for witnesses, tips…anything to tell him where the senator might be. Calls to Hank’s secure cell went unanswered. No one remembered seeing him. He was gone. Just…gone.

  Gage was about to turn and move on from the alley when a faint moan filtered through the chill air. He stood motionless and listened, trying to pinpoint the source.

  Despite the autumn cold, Gage’s palm sweated around the revolver’s grip. His gut knotted when he thought of how he’d been duped, how his mistake might have cost Senator Kelley his life.

  But how could he have turned his back on Kate knowing her life was in jeopardy? He gritted his teeth as he prowled toward the back of the alley. He’d known what his involvement with Kate could mean to his job, the heartache he’d leave Kate with, but he’d not imagined the danger to Hank would reach Kate. His relationship with her, his feelings for her had become a liability to her in the worst possible way.

  Another muffled groan pulled him from his self-incriminations and drew him to a weathered door with rusty hinges. Gage tested the knob, and with a creak, the door was caught by the chill October wind and swung open. Gage flattened himself against the alley wall beside the door. He carefully scanned the room, his gun aimed into the darkness, before he ventured inside.

  Huddled in the fetal position on the floor, Senator Kelley clutched his stomach and moaned in misery. Bitter compunction rose in Gage’s throat. Hank’s face was beaten and bleeding, and Gage could only blame his own miscalculation and distraction.

  Continuing his visual search of the dark room, Gage edged inside. When he was certain no one lurked in the shadows, he knelt beside Hank and began a field assessment of the man’s injuries. “Senator Kelley, how badly are you hurt?”

  “No…more,” the man croaked.

  Gage loosened Hank’s tie and eased him onto his back. “Senator, it’s Gage. What happened? Who did this?”

  Hank opened his eyes a slit, and when he saw his bodyguard, he visibly wilted. Relief softened the tension in his face. “Raven’s Head…warning…”

  Ice shot through Gage. Knowing that the senator’s enemies had found a way to get to Hank and could have killed him sent fresh waves of frustration and guilt deep into Gage’s soul. “Can you walk, sir? We need to get you to the hospital.”

  Hank gazed up at him with bleary eyes. “The waitress… Kate…”

  Gage tensed, prepared for Hank’s condemnation, for the senator’s censure for Gage failing his duty to his client.

  But Hank surprised him, narrowing a concerned look through puffy, bruised eyes. “Did they…hurt her?”

  “Sir?”

  “Did you…find her? Help her?”

  Acid churned through Gage when he thought of having left Kate, still bleeding, still in agony from her gunshot wound. He swallowed hard. “The second gunman was Gloria Cosgrove, sir.”

  Hank’s expression reflected his shock.

  “She shot Kate in the leg, but I was able to subdue Gloria until the ambulance arrived for Kate. The cops should have been right behind them.”

  Hank groaned and closed his eyes with a wince. “Will Kate be…all right?” The rasp of his voice was growing fainter. Clearly Hank needed medical attention—and fast. Yet his determination to find out about Kate’s condition, his thoughts of someone besides himself while he lay bleeding and battered touched Gage. Maybe the senator wasn’t a lost cause after all.

  Gage dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 911. “She’s on her way to the hospital now. She should be all right.”

  At least he prayed she’d make a full recovery. More than anything he wanted to be at her side right now, holding her hand, encouraging her. But his duty was to Hank, and he’d already failed the senator in a big way.

  When the emergency operator answered, he gave her the lowdown on Hank’s condition and location, ordering another ambulance, stat. When he was told how long it would take the lone ambulance in the area to take the women to the hospital in Honey Creek and come back for Hank, Gage changed his mind. “I’ll drive him then. But tell the hospital that the patient is Senator Henry Kelley, and he’s been savagely attacked by unknown assailants. Notify his family to meet us there and have extra security standing by.”

  Gage drove as fast as felt safe, checking the rearview mirror to keep tabs on Hank, who lay sprawled on the back seat, wincing every time the Town Car hit a bump. Gage was pretty certain Hank had no broken limbs, but his ribs had taken a beating and could be cracked.

  At the Honey Creek hospital, they were met outside the E.R. by an orderly and a nurse with a gurney. Two Honey Creek sheriff’s deputies stood sentinel by the admitting door and followed Hank as he was wheeled inside. In the E.R. driveway, Gage spotted the ambulance that had brought Kate and Gloria in, and his chest tightened.

  Please let Kate be all right.

  A young, sandy haired doctor in scrubs and a white lab coat hurried over to Hank and made a cursory assessment of his condition. “Take him to exam room three.”

  When Gage fell in step to follow Hank’s gurney, the young doctor caught his arm. “Whoa, partner. Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m his bodyguard. Where he goes, I go.”

  The sandy haired man, whose lab coat bore the name Dr. Finn Colton, arched an eyebrow, as if to say, And where were you when this man was taking a beating?

  “Colton?” Gage said. “Any relation to the sheriff?”

  “Brother. Why?”

  “Just curious. I met Wes last week when he investigated a breach of the security system at the Kelley ranch.”

  Dr. Colton nodded once. “Listen, normally I ask the family to wait out here while I treat the patient…”

  “I’m not family. I’m his bodyguard, and I need to be with him. I don’t know who is after him and where they might have planted operatives.”

  “I can vouch for everyone on my staff.”

  “Just the same, I have a duty to protect the senator. I am going back.”

  Finn gave him a hard look then scowled. “All right, but make sure you stay out of our way.”

  As Gage and Dr. Colton headed back to the exam room, Gage cast a glance into each room they passed, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kate. “Dr. Colton, are you aware of another patient that would have been brought in within the hour with a gunshot wound to the leg? Her name’s Kate Rogers. She’s a pretty blonde—”

  Finn was nodding as they rounded the corner into exam room three where the nurses were checking Hank’s vitals. “Just saw her.”

  Gage’s stomach jumped. “How is she?”

  “Is she family?” Finn asked, stepping over to shine a tiny flashlight in each of Hank’s eyes. “’Cause, by law, I’m not allowed to talk about a patient’s condition to anyone except immediate family.”

  “She’s his wife,” Hank croaked, surprising both Finn and Gage.

  Finn sent a skeptical look to Gage for confirmation, and Gage frowned. He couldn’t lie, even if it meant knowing the truth
about Kate. “I’m just a friend, but…she means a great deal to me.”

  Hank groaned, though whether in disgust with Gage’s honesty or pain from his injuries, Gage couldn’t say. Probably the former.

  Dr. Colton continued his examination of Hank’s injuries, murmuring an order to the nurse to contact radiology to set up a chest X-ray, before glancing back at Gage. “Sorry, I can’t help you. You can talk to her yourself later. I’ve asked that she be admitted overnight for observation.”

  “And the other woman, Gloria Cosgrove. She had a GSW to her hand. Are you keeping her here? She’ll need a full-time guard on her, if you do.”

  “I believe she’s already been treated and released into police custody.”

  “Your brother’s men or the Maple Cove department?”

  Finn paused from his work and furrowed his brow in thought. “I believe it was an officer from Maple Cove.”

  Gage gritted his teeth. He’d have much preferred that Sheriff Wes Colton and his men handled the case. Based on how the Maple Cove PD had responded to Janet’s domestic abuse situation, he didn’t trust the small-town yahoos to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s with Gloria.

  When Dr. Colton finished his exam, he promised to check in with them again once Hank had been X-rayed and the films came back. The hospital personnel whisked out of the room, leaving Gage and Hank alone in the exam room.

  Gage took a chair beside Hank’s gurney and rubbed his face with both hands. Geez, what a day.

  “So go see her,” Hank croaked.

  Gage raised his head and furrowed his brow. “What?”

  Hank met his gaze through puffy eyes. “Kate. I know…you’re worried about her.”

  Clenching his teeth and battling down the swell of emotion in his throat, Gage said, “You’re my responsibility. I left you earlier and look at you.”

  “Not your fault. They’d…have found a way…to get me with or…without you.” Hank closed his eyes and sighed slowly, wincing. “Do you…love her?”

  Gage frowned and shifted in the hard seat, uncomfortable with the direct question. He didn’t want to discuss Kate with anyone, especially not Hank. “You should be resting.”

  The senator grunted. “Do you…love her?”

  Gage flexed and balled his hand, fidgeting. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter now.” The memory of Kate’s hurt and disappointment last night arrowed through Gage. “We have no future together.”

  “Why not?”

  He scowled at Hank. Why hadn’t the painkillers they’d given him knocked him out yet? Why the third degree from Hank all of the sudden?

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Well, I do.” Hank sent him a stern look. “’Cause you’re being…an idiot.”

  Gage raised an eyebrow. “You really want to go there?”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m one…to talk. But that’s no…excuse for you to act the fool.”

  Gage puffed out a deep breath through pursed lips. Fine. He’d lay out the facts for Hank, and then maybe the guy would drop the subject. “All right, yes, I love her. She’s kind and smart and beautiful and full of joy and hope. When I’m with her, I feel happier than I have in years.”

  Hank opened his mouth to reply, and Gage cut him off. “But…” He drew his brow into a frown. “I’m all wrong for her. Breaking things off with her was the best thing I could do for her. We’re opposites, Kate and I, and I don’t want her to look back in a few years and realize I’ve dragged her down, held her back, sucked all the joy out of her life.”

  “Who says…you would?”

  Gage scoffed. “Look at me. I’m an ex-Ranger who screwed up his last mission and watched his whole team die. I have nightmares about the sounds and sights of that day. I jump at loud noises and carry around a boatload of guilt.”

  “So talk to a shrink.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t need a shrink.”

  “Ah. You’d rather…wallow in your misery.”

  Gage sent Hank a dirty look.

  “You hold on to your guilt, because you lived…and your team didn’t.”

  “Damn right! It was my fault they died! Scouting the route was my job, and I failed!” Gage surged to his feet to pace. As little as he wanted to talk about Kate, he wanted to discuss his last mission in Afghanistan even less.

  “Oh.” Hank nodded. “So you don’t think…you deserve to be happy now. You think…your being happy disrespects…the tragedy of losing your team?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Yet Hank’s assessment needled him. Was that why he couldn’t commit to Kate?

  Hank was quiet for a moment, his eyes closed, and Gage prayed that meant the painkillers had finally helped him fall asleep. In the lull of conversation, Gage squeezed the bridge of his nose and worked hard to rein in the riot of emotions bubbling inside him. He didn’t need to be grilled like this after all the turbulence of the day. He was too raw, too tired…

  “Kate…makes you happy…but you pushed her away.”

  Great. The inquisitor was still awake.

  Gage sighed impatiently. “Because I don’t want to hurt her.”

  “And how…would you do that?”

  “Look at me. I’m a mess, and I can only be a drain on her life. She deserves more.”

  “Or…” Hank met his gaze, and Gage jolted at the lucidity still sparking in his eyes. “She could be just what you need…to move past your guilt and…make a fresh start.”

  Let my love heal you. We can work through whatever happened to you together, if you’d let me help. Gage gritted his teeth, fighting the tremors that raced through him, shoving down the hope that filled his chest like a balloon until he couldn’t breathe.

  “Do you…have any idea what I’d give…for a fresh start, a second chance with my family?” Hank’s battered face filled with regret. “Love doesn’t come…around every day. Don’t blow it.”

  Gage sank back down on the hard chair, his heart heavy, his thoughts tangled. “I don’t know.”

  “You have PTSD.”

  Gage jerked his head up. Post-traumatic stress disorder? He knew the term but had never applied it to what he was going through.

  Hank drilled him with a hard, determined gaze. “Get…professional help.” He paused, letting his suggestion—no, it had been an order, a plea—sink in. “Then you can…focus on what matters.” Hank sounded groggier now, out of breath. “Love matters. Don’t…lose it.”

  A knock sounded on the exam room door, and Cole stepped in from the hall. “Dad?” He took in his father’s condition with a sweeping glance and paled. He muttered an obscenity under his breath and approached the side of the bed. “Who did this to you, Dad, and why? What’s going on?”

  Hank ignored Cole’s question, holding Gage’s gaze. “Once you’re…on your feet, focus…your energy on…making Kate happy. Giving her everything she deserves.”

  Gage’s pulse tripped. Would he ever reach a point where he buoyed Kate’s spirits and brought her the same joy and light she gave him? He wanted that so badly he could taste it. He wanted to pamper Kate and fill her life with love and happiness.

  Cole jammed his hands in his pockets and divided a curious look between his father and Gage. “What happened to Kate?”

  Hank raised an unsteady hand, signaling for Cole to wait. “Go see her. Tell her…how you feel. Don’t lose her.”

  Gage hesitated. “I can’t leave you, while—”

  “Cole’s here. There are guards outside. I’m protected.” A grin twitched at the corner of Hank’s bloody lip. “Go. That’s an order.”

  Gage shoved to his feet. Purpose and hope filled his stride as he crossed to the door. He glanced back at Cole, touching the cell phone clipped to his hip. “I’m just a call away if you need me.” Then to Hank, “Thanks. While I’m gone—” he gave Cole another meaningful glance “—take your own advice. Make a fresh start.”

  A dull ache radiated from the gunshot wound in Kate’s thigh as she stared at the ceiling above her h
ospital bed. The injection she’d received made the pain in her leg tolerable, but nothing seemed to ease the sting in her heart. She felt so alone, especially with Janet gone to Idaho. When tears threatened, she blinked them back, refusing to feel sorry for herself. She had so much to be grateful for. Determined to keep her spirits up, she reviewed her blessings. Janet was free of Larry, safe in another state and making a new start for herself. The bullet had missed vital blood vessels and bone and had passed through her leg, meaning her recovery would be much quicker.

  And Gage…

  Her heart sank again. What was she supposed to do about Gage?

  And suddenly he was at her door, as if her thoughts had conjured him. He gave a soft knock then said softly, “Kate? May I come in?”

  “O-of course.” She struggled to sit up, then gasped when a sharp twinge shot through her leg.

  Gage was at her side in an instant, catching her shoulders and easing her back against her pillows. “Hey, take it easy. Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”

  She shook her head. “How’s the senator? No one will tell me anything.”

  With a guilty grimace, Gage caught her up on the senator’s condition.

  “Have they caught the men responsible for attacking him? Gloria’s accomplices?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Not as far as I know.”

  “Then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be protecting Senator Kelley?”

  “Cole is with him, and…the senator is the one who sent me to see you.”

  Kate stilled. Did the senator blame her for drawing Gage away from him?

  Gage must have read her confusion, because the corner of his mouth twitched in a brief grin, and he wrapped his fingers around her hand. The warmth of his large, calloused hand surrounding hers made her heart kick with longing.

  He took a deep breath and expelled it. “Senator Kelley thinks I have PTSD.”

  She frowned. “Post-traumatic stress?”

  He nodded, and her mind clicked through the past two weeks. His grimness, his reluctance to talk about his past, and… “Last week when the truck backfired outside the diner…”