Nobody's Angel (44 page)

“Adam, you listen to me.” Karla kept up her non-stop litany, trying to get some response. “You’re not meant to leave yet. I waited nine years for you. I came back to you. You will not leave me. Do you hear me?” No response.

Nine years? Where the hell had those two met? She would have been what…sixteen? No wonder Adam treated her more like a daughter. He probably still saw her as a kid.

Marc continued to clean the wounds in the order of severity. Where the hell were the EMTs?

“Is he going to be okay, Doc?”

Marc looked up to see Damián looking like he was about to drop. All the blood had to be triggering PTSD shit for the kid, from that rooftop where he’d lost his foot to a grenade blast and had Sergeant Miller bleed out lying on top of Damián’s chest.

“I hope so. Why don’t you start down the trail and meet the EMTs? You don’t have to return with them. Just let them know where we are. Your stump might be rubbed raw after all this hiking.”

“I’m fine. Don’t let him die, Doc.”

Damián thought of Adam like a father. Despite the fact that Marc and Adam were a little closer in age, emotionally, Adam had been like a father to him, too.

God, don’t let us lose him. Not after all he’s already been through
.

Adam had to have one of the strongest constitutions and wills to live to have fought back from Afghanistan. But he had Joni then. Marc glanced over at Karla as he continued to clean and cover the cat scratches.

Tears streaked her face. She closed her eyes. “Ian, don’t you let them take my Adam away from me. It’s not his time. He’s mine. God sent me to watch over him.” She sobbed the last words.

He hoped Adam had the will to keep fighting, because he was going to have to deal with a long recovery from these wounds—the fresh ones, true enough. But more importantly the reopening of old ones—both physical and emotional.

Karla would be up to fighting right alongside him; pushing every step of the way. The two were a good match, if only Adam would get his head out of his ass long enough to realize it.

First, though, Marc had to keep him alive until the EMTs arrived.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Angelina lay curled in Marc’s arms, her head against his shoulder. She couldn’t let him go. After seeing what happened to Adam, she just wanted to be as close as she could. Marc went out into that wilderness nearly every day. The thought of him laid open like that made her sick to her stomach. Angelina shuddered when she thought of Adam’s back.

“Cold,
cara
?” He pulled her closer and laid his chin on the top of her head.

Safe. Protected.

Loved.

After a few minutes, she pulled away and sat up, meeting his gaze. “I love you so much, Marc.” She’d said it at least a dozen times in the last few days, but needed to make sure he knew.

He smiled, as if he understood, as well. “And I you,
angelo mio
.” He brushed his thumb over her lips, making them tingle.

She could read the worry in Marc’s eyes. She’d watched him work so hard to save Adam’s life—and she had no doubt Adam would have bled to death on that mountain if Marc hadn’t been there.

What a nightmare for everyone. Adam was the glue that held this family of sorts together. Angelina looked around the waiting room at the odd assortment of people, all here because of their connection to either Adam or Karla.

Poor Damián looked shell-shocked, staring blankly at the floor, flexing his fist as if he just needed to pound something to make everything all right again. She remembered him at the club last month, his whip coiled at his side, ready to take the hide off that poor blonde. He’d scared Angelina at first, but now she knew what a gentle person he was inside. The way he was with Karla these past few days touched her, too. Karla would need all the support she could get to nurse Adam back—if he…

No, she wouldn’t think like that. He was going to make it. The fever that had consumed him since yesterday was no match for Adam…or Karla, for that matter.

Luke sat next to Damián and grinned at her when she met his gaze. Karla couldn’t believe it had only been a few days since Luke, Karla, and Adam had all performed the elaborate farce Marc had orchestrated to win Angelina back. He’d planned everything from wardrobe to script.

When would this nightmare end so everyone could get on with their lives, most especially Adam?

Luke cast a worried glance over at Cassie, who sat huddled in the corner, alone, brushing her pencil in rapid bursts over the sketchpad on her lap. She knew the woman wasn’t comfortable being around all this testosterone, but she’d refused to wait at the house. She was worried about Karla. The two shared a special bond that Angelina envied.

The last three days had been exhausting for them all, but no one had wanted to leave the hospital. Poor Karla had barely left Adam’s side in three days. When they managed to pull her away to get something to eat, she barely touched a thing. She needed to keep her strength up if she was going to help Adam fight back.

Angelina heard the ding of the elevator around the corner and a moment later the distinct aroma of her mother’s lasagna. She looked at the doorway and saw Mama, Tony, and Rafe come in carrying a thermal baking dish, bread, plates, silverware, bottled water, and plastic cups.

Angelina jumped off Marc’s lap and ran across the room to them, pressing a kiss on Mama’s cheek. “What are you doing here?”

“When you called to tell me why you couldn’t make it to dinner today, we decided to bring dinner to you. Franco and Matteo are parking the car.”

Tears welled in Angelina’s eyes. Luke and Marc cleared the magazines and silk-flower arrangement off the coffee table to give them a place to lay everything out.

Angelina turned to Mama and wrapped her arms around her. “Thank you so much.” She pulled away and saw tears swimming in Mama’s eyes. Then anger as she reached up to lightly brush the bruise on Angelina’s cheek.

“Who did this to you?”

She heard Tony and Rafe growl and looked over to find them glaring in turns at Marc, Luke, and Damián.

“No! Allen Martin did this, but he’s in custody now. I’ll definitely be pressing charges to make sure he gets locked away for a long time.” She took a breath and saw the curious expressions on their faces. “Come, let me introduce you to everyone.”

She’d introduced Cassie, Luke, and Damián to Mama and two of her brothers, and couldn’t help but notice some tension between Luke and Tony, but was more intent on introducing Marc to her family. She released Mama’s hand and walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “And this is Marc D’Alessio.”

He squeezed her waist, then pulled away and walked over to Mama. Bending down, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on each cheek. “I am honored to meet the woman who gave life to the woman I love.”

Mama’s face grew as red as Angelina’s flushed face must be, and now they both were crying. Mama smiled and pinched his cheek, then looked over at Angelina. “I like this one.” Everyone laughed, releasing some of the tension in the room. “Now, let’s eat before this gets any colder.”

As Mama went to dishing out her fabulous meal, Marc took Angelina’s hand and pulled her aside. “We’re going to get Karla out here. See if you can get her to eat something, too.”

Angelina nodded and watched as he and Damián went toward the entrance to the unit. She noticed Luke had retreated to the opposite side of the room and went over to him. “What’s going on between you and Tony?” A cloud passed over Luke’s eyes before he turned away.

Luke drew a deep breath. When he turned to face her again, she saw despair and turmoil in his gaze. Had he and Tony known each other through SAR? How could that be a bad thing?

“Angel, I should have told you this a long time ago, but couldn’t find the words.”

No. Wait! Her heart thudded against her chest. She didn’t want to hear any more bad news, but it was too late to rescind the question.

“I was on that mountain the day your father died.”

“I didn’t know you’d been with SAR that long.” She thought he’d said it had been four years.

He turned away. “No, I’m the reason he died.”

Angelina’s heart pounded against her chest and she swayed. He stood up and grabbed her arms to steady her.

“Take your hands off my sister.”

Angelina looked over to see Tony, eye to eye with Luke. What on earth was Luke talking about? And why was Tony so angry?

“I don’t understand. The newspaper said Papa was trying to rescue a novice hiker who’d gotten lost.” When Luke looked down at her, she saw self-loathing and guilt.

No!
Luke knew the mountains. He saved lives. He wouldn’t have been stupid enough to head out on a hike with the threat of an avalanche. The warnings had been clear from what she’d heard.

“My wife, Maggie, and I had come up from Austin on vacation.”

His wife. Maggie Denton. Why hadn’t she made the connection?

“We didn’t know enough to listen or look for warnings. It was sunny and warm. We thought nothing of it.” Luke seemed lost in the memory of that day seven years ago, his gaze unfocused. The words tumbled out of him. “We got lost. Then it started to snow. Hard. Maggie wanted to keep going. She wanted to photograph some damned plant to share with her students. Then she slid down a scree slope. The rocks cut her up badly and she injured her ankle. I couldn’t get to her, so I hiked out for help.”

Her Papa died because of Luke? Her throat closed as the emotions of losing her father all those years ago resurfaced. She wrapped her arms around her waist and closed her eyes, withdrawing from him. Tony encircled her with his arm, his body tense.

“I know it’s lame. Nothing can bring him back. But I’m so sorry, Angel.”

Tears blurred her eyes and she closed them. Warm lips brushed her cheek. She turned to find Marc. When she gave him a curious look, he said, “We’re waiting for Karla to come out.”

Angelina was never so happy to see anyone and wrapped her arms around him. He whispered, “Shhhh, I’ve got you,
cara
. Just let it out.” And she did, but after a few moments, he said, “
Amore
, I know you’re hurting, but so is Luke. He lost his wife that day—and he’s blamed himself every day since.”

“But if he hadn’t gone up on the mountain that day—”

“Your father signed onto the SAR squad to help people, no matter if it was their own stupidity that got them into danger or not. Hell, most rescues involve someone making a stupid, potentially fatal mistake. Luke grew up in Texas. He didn’t know the mountains then. Remember what we said about respecting the wilderness?”

Angelina hiccoughed, then nodded.

“He’s spent the last four years atoning for his mistake. He’s saved dozens of others who got themselves in similar predicaments, including those hikers last week. He doesn’t judge them. It’s his duty to rescue them.”

Angelina looked up at Marc.

“Just like it was Papa’s.”

Marc reached out and stroked her cheek with his thumb, careful to avoid her injured one. “We know the risks when we go up there. Your father volunteered to go down that scree slope to get to Maggie. He knew the dangers. He knew the threat of an avalanche was high. He went anyway, because that’s what we do.”

Oh, God, no! As if Marc’s being in the wilderness for recreation and his business wasn’t enough, he also faced danger on the search-and-rescue missions. She knew she’d worry sick every time he left the house alone. She wanted to be out there with him every chance she could, when she wasn’t working wherever she found a job as a chef or caterer.

But Luke had saddled himself with the guilt of the deaths of his wife and her father all these years. She turned to him, embarrassed at the way she’d reacted. New tears sprang to her eyes and trailed down her cheeks.

“Luke, I’m such a child sometimes. I’m so sorry. For your loss. For the guilt you’ve carried. For being so…”

Tony came toward Luke, his gaze intent, and she feared a physical altercation. Angelina’s heart pounded as Luke eased himself away from her side, setting her away from him and steeling himself.

Tony spoke to her instead. “You’re not the only one who behaves like a kid sometimes, baby.” Then Tony surprised them both by extending his hand to Luke, as well. “I’m sorry, too. No more hard feelings.”

* * *

Luke felt some of the guilt ease away from him at Tony and Angel’s words. He shook Tony’s hand. Nothing would bring back the life of the innocent man who had died on the mountain attempting to rescue his wife. But he needed to extend his deepest regrets at long last to the woman he’d deprived of her husband’s love, comfort, and protection all these years.

He crossed over to where Angel’s mother stood riveted watching the scene, tears streaming down her plump cheeks. “Mrs. Giardano, your husband will always be a hero in my eyes.”

She wrapped him in her arms. Two other tall Italian men walked into the waiting room and Luke pulled away. Matt and Franco were introduced by Mrs. Giardano, then she drew everyone over to her.

Luke looked at Cassie, who hadn’t glanced up from her sketchpad since introductions had been made earlier. Her hand flew over the paper as she captured something form her imagination onto the paper. Her long brown hair fell in loose, wispy braids over her breasts. Her olive-colored skin indicated European heritage, and her high cheekbones, her native Peruvian ancestry. Something niggled at his brain, but Mrs. Giardano brought his mind back to her.

“I haven’t told any of you this before, because I didn’t think you needed to know,” she said, her gaze taking in each of her five children. “I thought it best to let you believe…”

He heard Angel whisper, “No, Mama,” and Marc wrapped his arm around her to hold her close. Luke was happy the two finally realized they belonged together.

“My Antonio was indeed a brave and caring man. He loved his family. He loved his work.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “But he also was proud and stubborn.”

Rafe walked up to put a supportive arm around his mother. Luke handed her a couple tissues from the box on the table and she brushed the moisture away from her face. She seemed like a sweet woman, not unlike her daughter. She dearly loved her family and they loved her.