Rescue Me (42 page)

“We need to stop the bleeding,” she said,
coming to her senses, and grabbed for anything she could find to
push on his pressure point. “And we need to get you warm.” She set
him down gingerly and ran over to her binder. It wasn't quite what
she had in mind when she set out to have her system save lives, but
it just might work.

She ran back to him and lifted his arm, then
cringed when Spencer let out a weak roar of pain. “Sorry,” she said
and rolled the contents of her binder under his arm. “Hold your arm
really tight against this.”

“I can't.”

“Turn to your side.” When Spencer didn't
respond, she pulled him onto his injured side. He grimaced and made
a face.

“Jesus Christ, woman. Are you trying to kill
me?”

“I'm trying to save you. Does it hurt?”

“Well of course it hurts. In case you missed
it, I've been shot.”

She ripped his shirt open and pulled it off
him. He cringed. “Sorry,” she offered and wrapped it tightly around
his head.

“Easy,” he ordered weakly. “You hurt worse
than the goddamn bullets. Did you ever think of using
your
shirt?”

She dropped her gaze to her bloody tank top.
She knew better than to move the patient, let alone literally tear
the shirt off his back, but she had no choice. Her tank top didn't
have enough material. “Sorry. There. Does it hurt to breathe? Is it
better?”

He took a few breaths and they seemed
stronger. “Better.” Kat removed Spencer's coat from her shoulders
and draped it over him. He tried to lift a hand to stop her. “No,
you keep it. You need to stay warm.”

Leave it to him to fight her as she tried to
save his life. “Stay on your side. Do you have your radio with
you?”

He mouthed the word, “no.”

And they couldn't use the radios Travis had.
They were two-way and wouldn't reach anyone. Kat wanted to scream
out her favorite curse when his pocket rang. She recognized the
ring tone and her heart skipped a beat. Reaching into his pocket,
she pulled out her cell phone.

Oh, thank God.

“Rand!” she cried when she answered it.

“Kat! Are you okay? I heard Spencer calling
for you on the radio. What the hell is going on? Where's
Spence?”

“Rand, I need an air vac immediately.” Kat
rested her hand on Spencer's chest, feeling his heartbeat and
concentrating on the THUMP thump, THUMP thump.

“Oh, sure you do. I have half a mind to—”

“Rand! No time. I need that air vac. It's
Spencer. He's been shot.” She choked on a sob. “Multiple times.”
Kat looked at Spencer. His eyes were closed as he fought to
breathe.

“Oh, shit.”

“Now get that air vac up here. We're at that
damn cabin in the Black Hills.”

“Stand by.” Rand paused briefly and Kat heard
him speaking, but not into the phone.
“Alpha-Whiskey-Four-Five-Eight. Walter Adam Randall. Emergency air
vac. We have an agent down. Alpha-Sierra-Two-Three-Seven. Spencer
Robert Allen. One civilian with him.” He gave the coordinates to
whoever he talked to before coming back to Kat's call. “They're on
their way.”

She closed her eyes and the tears streamed
down her cheeks. Clutching her phone for strength, she whimpered,
“Please hurry. He's been shot in the head.”

“Stay with him. They'll be there before you
know it. I have to make a few more calls.”

“No,” she cried, her panic taking over. She
couldn't lose contact with another human. That would send her over
the edge. “Please don't leave me, too.”

“I'll call you right back. I promise. You
stay strong and let TREX help you.”

“Why TREX?”

“An explanation best saved for later. I'll
call you right back.” Rand ended the call.

Spencer attempted to move but she stopped
him. He tried again and she held him down. “Save your strength. You
just lie there and let me take care of you.”

He nodded slightly but didn't speak. He
wiggled his fingers and Kat laced hers with his. With a weak smile
he nodded again. He looked up at her. There was such a powerful
mourning in his eyes. Kat couldn't bear to see him in this much
pain—physically and emotionally.

“I want to hear your voice,” he whispered.
His eyes closed and another tear escaped. “Talk to me.”

“Do you remember the first search we were
ever on together? I fell in love with you that day. And every day
since then. I will always love you—” she stopped when he struggled
to take a breath. He slowly let it out.

And didn't take another breath.

Grief overtook her and she wailed as the pain
consumed her. “Spencer! Damn you! Don't leave me! Don't you
dare!”

Her phone rang and she scrambled to answer
it. “Rand?” She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“The bird is in the air. Expect some company
on the ground as well.”

“TREX?”

“Yep.”

“Rand,” Kat cried into the phone. “Spencer
stopped breathing.”

Rand dropped an uncharacteristic f-bomb.
“Kat…”

She dropped the phone to the floor, missing
the rest of his statement. She didn't want to hear his 'I'm so
sorry' or words of false hope. Spencer's chest hadn't moved. She
knew what that meant.

No. She refused to accept it. He couldn't be
gone. She wouldn't let him go.

Not now.

Not ever.

The faint sound of a helicopter caught in her
ears. The steady chopping of the air vac echoing into the night air
grew louder and louder. And fast.

Running outside, she flagged them down by
jumping and screaming. A light from the helicopter beamed down,
landing on her. They didn't have anywhere to land, not in the
middle of the forest. As the bird hovered, several TREX men in
their typical black tactical gear jumped out and shimmied down
ropes. Black BDUs. Tight black turtlenecks. Black hats. They even
had black paint streaked across their faces. A litter came next.
Four men grabbed it and ran inside the cabin. Kat ran in after
them.

And skidded to a stop. They already had him
in the litter. How did they do that so fast? The TREX team worked
in perfect tandem as they strapped him in and lifted. Without a
word, they had him up and out. Kat followed them and watched as
they attached him to the ropes hanging below the bird.

“Let's go!” One of them yelled and made a
motion with his hand.

And they were gone, leaving her alone.

“Ms. Davis?”

She turned to see Dan Weber standing there.
She threw her arms around him, needing that human contact. She
didn't care that she was half-naked and covered in Spencer's blood.
He didn't either, apparently, and held her.

“Oh, Dan. Please tell me he's going to be
okay. I need to know that he's going to be okay.”

“He's strong, Kat. He'll make it. Come on.
I'll stay with you until your ride gets here.”

“My ride?” she asked, barely audible. Now
that Spencer was on his way to the hospital, the adrenaline that
kept her upright and focused drained and left her exhausted and
disoriented.

Weber didn't say anything more and led her
back inside the cabin, over to the table then lowered her down on
the bench. She saw Salazar's and Travis's bodies out of the corner
of her eye and shifted to put her back to them.

He pulled out a blanket—from where she didn't
know—and wrapped it around her. “Better?”

She nodded and stared at the floor. No matter
how much she tried, she couldn't ignore the copper smell of blood
or the gunpowder residue that caused it all.

Within minutes it sounded like an entire
caravan of vehicles drove up and parked outside tires crunching in
the snow, engines idling. Several men poured into the cabin, some
in the same outfit Weber had on, others in plain clothing. A few
even had on suits.

Kat closed her eyes and shook her head. Why
did she notice what they wore? A man handed Weber a bag, which he
in turn handed to Kat.

“What is this?”

“A change of clothes. Boys?”

In a flash, a wall of TREX men lined in front
of her, their backs to her. She hurried into the sweats and
sweatshirt before adding the thick socks and slippers. The warmth
of the clothes hugged her and made her feel an inch better. She
tapped on the shoulder of one of the men and they parted.

“Let's get you home.” Weber reached for her
and helped her to the door. He turned back to the room of men.
“Give me a full sweep. Take the bodies. We don't need any unwanted
attention until we're ready to strike. One hour. Let's move,
people.”

She remained silent and let him take her over
to a giant black SUV. She eased into the back and scooted over when
Weber joined her. Another man, this one in a suit, turned from the
driver's seat and smiled.

“Ron Donovan, at your service.”

“She doesn't care,” Weber barked, returning
to the no-nonsense SAC she'd come to know. “Let's get her out of
here.”

Kat paced back and forth at the door of her
bathroom.
Five short minutes, my ass.
Her heart beat in time
with each second as it ticked away.

She should have just paid the extra two
dollars and gotten the box that guaranteed immediate results. At
least then she wouldn't have had to pee in a cup, eye drop a few
drops into a little box, and pace back and forth waiting for an
answer. No, she would have just peed on a stick. The little red
line would have either shown up or not.

She looked at the clock. Three minutes to go.
Seriously? Nothing this important should take this long.
Cautiously, she leaned over and stole a peek at the window. Why was
the entire window a blurry pink? What did that mean? Did she do it
wrong?

“Gah!” She went into the kitchen. There had
to be something that would take three minutes to do. She flipped
through her mail again. She wiped down her counters. She thought
about sweeping, then decided against it. The last time she'd done
anything that required that much physical movement, she threw
up.

Two minutes to go. Just in case, she took
another peek at the test. The window still looked hazy and pink,
but a slight sign started to appear. She grabbed it and watched as
the sign grew stronger and stronger.

Oh shit. She hadn't expected that.

The sound of a car horn brought her out of
her shock-induced trance. She went to the window to investigate. A
distinctive vehicle pulled into the parking lot. Too curious to
ignore it, she left her apartment and hurried down the stairs.

A bright yellow Xterra stopped right in front
of her. She couldn't see who drove it until he stepped out.

TREX Special Agent in Charge Dan Weber.

He jumped out of the SUV and walked over to
Kat. “You got yourself a new set of wheels.”

“What?” She blinked. Twice. No way. A brand
new Xterra for her? And in her favorite color?

He grinned—a first for him. “I may have made
a few calls. What's the point of me being in the position I'm in if
I can't make a few things happen?”

“You did this?”

“Well,” he said with as much of a gleam in
his eye as Weber ever gave her. “In all honesty, Rand did it. But I
gave the order.”

She'd already made the connection when Rand
called them up in that cabin. “How long has Rand worked for
TREX?”

He eyed her cautiously before answering.
“He's been there almost as long as I have.”

“I knew it.”

He dropped the keys into her hand and lifted
his gaze to the new roof over the covered parking. “They did a nice
job.”

Kat glanced at the roof over her shoulder.
What was once wood and had little woodpecker holes all through it
was now a nice and shiny metal.

“I don't know what to say.” She focused on
the keys in her hand. TREX did this. Her new vehicle. The new roof.
Saving her life. As it all sank in she almost threw her arms around
him. But she still had the test with her. Abruptly, she shoved her
hands behind her back.

She had to call Rand. Screw that. She'd take
a drive in her new Xterra and thank him in person. “Thank you.”

“Don't thank me just yet. The rig was only
part of this special delivery.” He walked to the passenger door and
opened it. “I found this guy wandering around. Wanted to know if
you want him.” He reached in and helped the passenger out. She
didn't even see him through the heavily smoked windows.

Her heart hammered in her chest and sent heat
racing through her. Spencer Allen, looking absolutely beautiful as
he smiled at her. Those beautiful gray eyes shined and she shimmied
right along with them.

Kat ran over and threw her arms around him,
kissing his face. He sported a large white bandage over his left
temple and his left arm was supported with a sling. He grunted and
wrapped his good arm around her.

“Hi, baby.”

“Hey, Allen? You left this at HQ.” Weber
tossed Spencer's TREX credentials at him. Spencer caught them with
his good arm.

He stared at them for the longest time before
glancing back to Weber. “You know what? Keep them.” He tossed them
back.

Weber's face fell slack. “Are you shitting
me?”

Spencer pulled Kat closer to him. “I'm hoping
to get in with K-SAR.”

Shock held her speechless. Did he just say
what she thought he just said? “You're giving up TREX? For me?”

“For us.”

Weber gave them both a shocked look and shook
his head. “Your choice. I'll just leave you two to do whatever.” He
climbed into a giant black SUV that had pulled up behind the Xterra
and left.

Spencer kissed her forehead. “I've missed
you.”

“Is that all I get?” She leaned into him and
really kissed him, lingering for as long as her giddiness could
stand. He pulled her closer and made a rumble in the back of his
throat.

“No,” he said after they broke their kiss. He
walked to the rear of the Xterra. “I have something else for
you.”