Game On (The Morgan Brothers Book 4) (25 page)

The time they’d spent chatting while playing the games Phoenix created had given all three of them a great deal of insight into how the others viewed the world in general. They may not have known her name, but they’d learned a lot about her. She’d told them how much she loved wildflowers and confided she slept best when soothed to sleep by the sound of rain. Mitch had teased her when she’d confessed to loving
The Three Stooges
and old
I Love Lucy
marathons.

He’d been reluctant to lay her on the gurney when they reached the helicopter, but Ryan’s hand on his shoulder let him know the other man understood how important she was. “I’ll take good care of her, I promise. But I can’t do it unless you two move back. I want to assess her before we take off in case she needs something I can’t do when I’m bouncing around. Lifting off from the base of a mountain can be a bitch, at least we aren’t under enemy fire, but the wind currents are unpredictable. I need to take a look while we’re sitting still.”

Mitch nodded in agreement, but it was still damned difficult to let go and scoot back. Ryan quickly cut away her shirt and shorts before returning the snips to his pants pocket. The man had been a hell of a combat medic during his time as a Navy SEAL and Mitch found a measure of comfort in the fact there wasn’t much Ryan Morgan hadn’t already seen when it came to gunshot wounds.

Phoenix shifted in his seat, watching his cousin closely as his hands moved over Aspen’s body. “Does he have to touch her everywhere?” The growl in his voice made Mitch smile.

“I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing. He was one of the best combat medics in the Special Forces. Other teams requested him when they had joint missions with the SEALs, hell my own team nagged our commander to get him onboard several times.

“I didn’t say he wasn’t qualified. I said he doesn’t need to touch her everywhere.”

Ryan grinned and shook his head, “You’re an idiot, cuz. I’m not discounting how lovely your woman is, but you know full well I only have eyes for my wife.” Banging on the fuselage, he let the pilot know they were ready to go. Ryan continued working as Mitch felt the helicopter lift into the air. “I’m not thrilled about having to treat her at our local facility, but the flight time to a larger medical center is an even worse option. I’ve already gotten her medical records from Micah, so that will save a lot of time.”

Mitch wasn’t surprised the Prairie Winds team’s computer guru had already hacked her records, the man was almost as good with computers as Phoenix. He also knew the Wests were still trying to recruit her, so they’d probably already built an impressive file on the former Air Force captain. There wasn’t any reason she couldn’t fly private aircraft and with her experience, she would be a huge asset to their team. This injury was definitely going to require extensive physical therapy, but it wouldn’t be anything he and Phoenix weren’t prepared to help her with.

By the time Aspen had been wheeled into the small medical center’s trauma unit, Ryan had shifted from field medic to doctor, shouting orders and instructions as the door closed behind them. The silence, as he and Phoenix stared at the closed door, was deafening despite all the activity surrounding them. A young nurse led them to the nearest waiting room, but Mitch couldn’t sit still. He pulled his phone from his pocket when it vibrated against his thigh and opened the message from Kyle West.

Back-up headed your way. Keep me posted.

Short and sweet, typical Kyle West. But his use of ‘me’ instead of us, let him know Kent was on whatever team was heading to Montana. They hadn’t been leaving their wife’s side, so Kent’s willingness to make the trip spoke volumes about how much Aspen meant to them.

Phoenix answered his own phone, and Mitch assumed he was updating Sage on Aspen’s condition. He tuned out their conversation and tried to shut out everything else as he paced the length of the waiting room.
This damned room is too small to be cooped up in for very long. I’ll go bat shit crazy in here when it fills up.
And it would certainly begin filling with friends and family soon enough.

The sudden shift in Phoenix’s body language caught Mitch’s attention, and he stopped to listen to his friend’s end of the conversation. “How the fucking hell did that happen, Brandt?” Phoenix’s body was practically vibrating with anger and Mitch dreaded what he knew must be bad news. “Well, they’d better find him just as fast as they lost him.”

Phoenix ended the call and threw his phone against the wall. It exploded into a thousand pieces just as Coral stepped through the door. “Wow, bet that felt good.” She grinned at her brother-in-law without an ounce of judgement in her eyes. “I can’t even tell you how often I contemplate doing the same thing. I think our health insurance should cover it because it’s as close to therapy as I have time for.”

She never broke her stride as she walked straight into Phoenix’s outstretched arms. Mitch envied his friend’s tight family connections. He’d seen the Morgans take one another to task on occasion, but he’d never failed to see the love they shared. “How’s she doing? Have you heard anything yet?” Coral’s questions were muffled because they’d been spoken into Phoenix’s chest, but Mitch heard the concern in her voice. Before either of them spoke, the door opened, and at least a dozen people spilled into the room.
Yes, indeed, this room is too fucking small.

A
spen woke to
the all too familiar beeping of medical equipment. Her mind was foggy and made her frown as she tried to sort out why she was back in the hospital. Hadn’t she gotten out of CeCe’s hospital? She remembered stepping outside into the sunshine after her friend finally agreed to release her from the small island clinic. The warmth of the sunshine on her face after being stuck inside for so long had been a welcome sensation. She’d stood still so long her friend CeCe had turned back into Dr. Cecelia Barnes and threatened to pull her right back inside if she didn’t get moving.

Fighting to open her eyes proved too daunting a task, so Aspen listened for clues as to why she’d once again landed in a damned hospital.
I’m getting fucking tired of this shit.
When she didn’t hear anything but the constant beeping of the monitors and soft hiss of oxygen, she stopped fighting and drifted back to sleep. There didn’t seem to be any reason to force memories that were out of reach…quite frankly, it was just too much effort.

Phoenix stood by
Aspen’s bedside watching as she frowned in her sleep. At first, he’d thought she was finally coming out of the anesthesia, but the frown lines between her brows had faded, and she seemed to have settled once again, so he hadn’t spoken. Ryan had been crystal clear in his warning, he wanted his patient to sleep as much as possible. “Sleep heals a lot of problems. I mean it when I say I’ll kick your asses out of here if you don’t let her sleep.” The glare he’d given Phoenix and Mitch had assured them he wouldn’t hesitate to follow through on the threat. The two of them had stayed by her bedside, only leaving to take a shower or grab a quick bite to eat. Bending down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, Phoenix stepped into the hall leaving Mitch to watch over her.

Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and sent up another prayer pleading for God’s help. Hell, God was probably getting tired of hearing the same request, but he found comfort in the gesture. A warm hand on his forearm started him back to the moment. Opening his eyes, Phoenix was surprised to see his lovely sister-in-law Josie looking at him with worry in her ocean blue eyes. “Are you okay?” The voice the world knew as pop-sensation, Josephine Alta, was full of concern as she stepped into his arms. “We’ve already gotten an update on Aspen from Mitch, but right now it’s you I’m worried about. Please tell me how you’re doing.”

At that moment, Phoenix felt overwhelmed with gratitude. He’d grown up in a wonderful family, and it was often easy to forget what a blessing he’d been given. But moments like this were poignant reminders of how lucky he was. Kissing the top of her out of control blonde curls, he smiled at the glare his brother, Colt sent his way. “I’m damned glad to see you, but sorry you had to put your vacation on hold. Sweetie, you really needed that break.” Her recent tour had been insanely successful and she’d more than earned the month long stay she and Colt had planned in Hawaii.

“We’ll still go. But not until we know your lady is on the mend, and you don’t need us anymore.”

“I’m always going to need my family, sweetness. But I’ll agree that I don’t usually need you as much as I have the past couple of days.” It was hard to believe it had been almost forty-eight hours since he’d watched Mitch unravel Aspen in the shower. In some ways, those precious moments seemed so recent and in others, he’d swear it had been a lifetime since her cries of pleasure rocked him all the way to his soul.

Colt gently pulled his wife back so she was pressed against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her protectively, he leaned down to speak close to her ear. “Are you okay, beautiful?”

Phoenix wondered if she’d been ill, but pushed the thought aside when she answered. “I’m just tired. I’ll be fine, though I think I might go find a nice soft chair somewhere.”

Colt nodded and opened his arms. “I’ll be right behind you.” Once she’d disappeared down the hall, Colt turned to him. “What do you know about the guy who shot Aspen? Any clue where he’s gone?”

“Since I did his background check, I know a lot about him. Hell, I even know what size shoes the crazy bastard wears. But I have no fucking clue where he’s gone.” He’d managed to retrieve the deleted file from his computer and forwarded it to Micah, but so far none of the man’s known contacts had panned out. Orman’s financial resources were also a huge concern.

Colt frowned before moving to his side. Leaning against the wall beside him, Colt sighed. “I don’t know what the hell happened, but for what it’s worth, Brandt is fit to be tied.” Yeah, Phoenix knew his brother had been on a rampage since the neighboring county dropped the ball, letting Barry Orman slip through their fingers. Why they hadn’t posted a guard inside the man’s ground-floor room was a mystery to everybody. Colt grinned when he added, “And from what Sage told me, Kyle West has been making a lot of calls since he got the news. I can only imagine how those conversations are going.”

Phoenix smiled for the first time in two days. “No shit. Pretty sure the sheriff and the deputy who was assigned to watch Orman are both going to be looking for work when the next election rolls around.” He and Colt had always been close, and he appreciated his brother’s effort to lighten his mood. Phoenix hadn’t expected Colt and Josie to postpone their trip, but he had to admit, it was damned good to have them here.

“For the first time I can remember, I’m grateful the Mistress of Mayhem was in the thick of things. Sage told me she made one hell of a shot.” The corners of Colt’s mouth drew up in a smirk—his sarcasm wasn’t wasted on Phoenix. Caila Cooper could probably outshoot most snipers. She simply never missed what she was aiming for.

“I’m glad she had the foresight to disable him, rather than killing him. Well, I was glad, before the jackasses in the next county let him walk.”

Sighing, Colt nodded in understanding. “She’s grown into an amazing young woman, and I think we’ve all forgotten she isn’t the annoying little tag-along anymore.”

“True. She certainly isn’t a little girl anymore. I know this will shock you, but Sage seems to be taking this worse than any of us.” They both laughed because their older brother was notorious for assuming his younger brothers still needed looking after.

“What happened between Caila and Kip? I thought Kip was going to blow a gasket when he saw her sneak in the back way a few minutes ago.” Phoenix hadn’t realized she’d been there until the nurse brought in a small bouquet from her and told him they’d been delivered personally.

“I’m not sure, but I know whatever it was has both of them running scared.” Phoenix knew Colt wasn’t going to let it go until he was convinced Kip wasn’t going to pull his usual vanishing act. Kip Morgan had loved and left more women than his four older brothers combined. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t adored by each and every one of his former conquests because he was. But that routine wouldn’t play out the same with Caila, she’d wanted Kip forever.

“If he breaks her heart I’m calling first dibs on kicking his ass.” Since whatever happened started at the club the night they’d claimed Aspen, he felt like it was his right.

Colt snorted as he pushed away from the wall. “Yeah, well, let me know how that works out for you. You’re going to be busy taking care of your woman, and I’m going to be busy tying mine to every available palm tree I can find for the next month, so we’ll leave the ass-kicking to Sage and Brandt. Hell, they’ve already got the process down to a science, may as well let them handle it.” Truer words were never spoken. Both Sage and Brandt took their responsibilities very seriously, while Colt’s years on the rodeo circuit had left him with the cowboy saunter and easy-going attitude. Well, he was laid back unless it involved Josie, then his brother was wildly protective.