Under Fire (39 page)

A movement from the general yanked her attention forward. The last thing she needed was him noticing anything in back. Not now. Not when Liam had pulled off this unbelievable Hail Mary pass beyond even Chuck Norris legend.

Liam McCabe was an original and he was hers, by God.

Sullivan leveled his gun at her again. “Don’t even think about running for a parachute. I’ll shoot your kneecap before you can clear the cockpit. Just because you’re my hostage doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you, maim you, torture you. Are you with me on that?”

“Right… Of course…” Rachel faced front, working to keep his attention forward, to give Liam as much of an edge as possible, although right now it seemed as if he was capable of anything. Still, she would have his back any way she could. “I shouldn’t have even considered a parachute. I’m so sorry. The last thing I want to do is distract you from flying.”

“Be more careful from now on.” The general smacked her with the muzzle of his gun.

Pain exploded through her head. Sullivan arced his hand to hit her again. She fought the urge to cower, not to mention the urge to puke.

Liam launched into the cockpit.

Sullivan jerked with surprise, lurching the airplane sideways. Rachel slapped her hands against the window, bracing herself. Liam stood sure-footed and grabbed Sullivan’s gun.

He jammed the man’s own weapon right against the general’s temple. “That’s enough. Now fly the airplane. Just fly the plane. Nothing else. Rachel,” he said without looking away from the stunned general, “are you all right?”

Liam may not have glanced her way, but she heard the tense fear, the concern, and yes, even the love in his voice.

“I’m fine. Do what you need to do. I’m okay”—seeing stars and stifling the urge to vomit, but she was alive. Thank God, she was alive because Liam had pulled off the unimaginable.

The general put his hands on the yoke and leveled the airplane. “I could just kill us all. All I need to do is drive this plane straight down into the ocean.”

“Yes, General, you could try that,” Liam said with an unshakable calm she’d seen before, in the Bahamas, when he ran missions. “But I’ll shoot you before you descend even a hundred feet. And while I might do a crappy job flying a plane, I’m willing to give that a try rather than risk a guaranteed crash.”

Rachel watched the general’s eyes dart nervously. Sweat beaded his upper lip while Liam stood steady, a man in charge, a true leader.

“Okay then,” Sullivan said quickly. “You two can take parachutes and jump into the ocean. Your PJ buddies can rescue you out of the ocean. That’s what you guys do, right?”

“We could. And thanks for the generous offer,” Liam said with icy sarcasm, “but I don’t think you’ll want us to do that. See, there’s an F-16 that’s been following you for quite a while now. If we’re gone, you’ll be shot down minutes later.”

The general tensed like a cornered rabbit.

Liam leaned closer. “That would be a damn shame too, because I can tell you—inside scoop?—they want you alive, if possible.”

They did? Although on second thought, of course they did. The military would want to interrogate him, find out how deep his espionage went. And listening to Liam manipulate the general with words as skillfully as he wielded any weapon, Rachel was humbled. A little awed.

And a lot grateful to have him on her side.

“General, being shot down or crashing isn’t any way for a hero like you to go out. Your life and career will be defined by people who aren’t fans of yours. You will never get a chance to have others understand your motives for doing what you did. History is written by the victors, and it’s rare to find a victor at the bottom of the ocean.”

“I’ll get to explain,” Sullivan echoed as if grasping a lifeline. His chest puffed with a sick, twisted bravado.

“Yes, sir,” Liam answered, giving the superior officer a subtle ego stroke with the
sir
. “You can be certain there are plenty of people on the ground eager to talk to you.”

General Sullivan’s throat moved with a long swallow before he keyed up the radio, calling in to the tower with his landing plan as if this were any normal flight. The egomaniac. Liam had played him perfectly.

The plane banked left, turning toward home in his smoothest move since they’d started this nightmare flight. Liam’s hand cupped Rachel’s shoulder. He never took his eyes or the gun off Sullivan. But his warm steady grip on her shoulder never left her. She covered his hand with hers and squeezed tight in a connection that went deeper than just comfort. Liam held on to her.

And she knew now, he always would.

***

Catriona begged, pleaded, and finally bullied her way in to see Brandon.

After an hour of searching, she’d learned he’d been sent to a larger medical facility off base. Then she’d paced for more torturous hours in the waiting area before being told he’d come out of surgery, but only family was allowed in to see him.

Once upon a time, she would have backed quietly into the shadows. But not any longer. She wasn’t blood related, but the only way hospital staff could keep her from him was to call in security, phone the cops.

And for their information, Lieutenant Brandon Harris was an air force security cop himself, and she was his girlfriend. Finally,
finally
, a sympathetic night shift nurse ushered her back if she promised to keep things quiet, and if the guard outside his door gave the okay.

“Of course,” Catriona said primly. “I’m always quiet.”

She ignored the chuckle from the wiry, older nurse and the guard as she pushed the door open into Brandon’s ICU room.

One look at him and tears clogged her nose. There were oxygen tubes. IVs dripped meds and what looked like a transfusion. His face was pale and puffy. Gauze was wrapped around his chest, his whole chest. How many times had he been shot? How many new scars on top of old ones would he have to bear for his country?

The nurse patted her shoulder. “He made it through surgery. That’s a good thing. You can sit with him and hold his hand. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

“Thank you…” Catriona choked out the words, trying to smile.

Her mom had been emphatic about manners, a good thing really. All the past frustrations at her parents felt so very small right now.

She pulled the chair closer to Brandon’s bed and took his hand, the one without IVs taped on top. “I’m so sorry this had to happen to you. But I’m here. I tried to bring Harley, but they wouldn’t let me, since she’s a therapy dog and not a service dog. Hopefully soon, though, we’ll work something out. For now, all the dogs are with Sunny. So don’t worry.”

Her voice faltered and she pressed her forehead to his arm, just letting the tears fall. She wasn’t sure how long she sobbed her heart and fears out, but the sheet was getting pretty wet and she needed tissues for her nose. Still, she didn’t want to let go. Touching him was reassuring, and they could toss her out at any minute. She would just stay like this a while longer, enjoying the way he stroked her hair—

He stroked her hair?

She looked up. “Brandon?”

“Yeah, Cat,” he answered, his voice a hoarse whisper, his touch heavy and a little clumsy. “It’s me. The others? Rachel?”

Clasping his hand, she pressed it to her cheek. “She’s okay. Everyone is all right. You did it. You called base security and alerted them. You relayed details it would have taken critical time to figure out otherwise. They got Rachel out alive and arrested General Sullivan.”

“Good. Thas… good…” His words slurred.

His eyes drifted closed and she tried not to be sad over that. He needed his rest.

Angling over him, she kissed his forehead and whispered what she hadn’t dared tell him when he was awake. “I love you.”

His eyes fluttered open and she blushed.

“Hey, now, Brandon, you weren’t supposed to hear that yet.”

He touched her lips. “You deserve better than me… so much baggage…”

She cupped his face and stared straight into his surprisingly clear eyes. “Who makes up the rules about what’s fair and not fair? Because last time I checked, life rarely keeps a perfectly tallied scoreboard.” She smiled. “Like that football analogy? I threw it in there just for you.”

He laughed, then coughed.

“Shhh…” She pressed her fingers to his mouth. “You don’t have to talk. I just want you to know that I do love you. The man you are now and the part of yourself you’ll reclaim over time. I understand about journeys to strength.”

“God, Cat, I love you, too”—his chest pumped for air, from exertion and emotion—“but I won’t ever be… the same man I was before.”

“Brandon, I can’t imagine how anyone could remain unchanged after what you’ve been through.” She kissed his hand, sitting by his side where she intended to stay. “I accept you as you are. That’s a great gift, you know. You gave the same to me.”

She’d waited a lifetime for someone to accept her, see her, the real her. But then maybe a part of that journey was learning to accept herself first. Whatever the path, she was just so very glad it had led her to this man.

***

Liam stood outside the emergency room door, where Rachel was finishing up billing paperwork after her exam. She’d been smacked around pretty bad by General Sullivan, and Liam had been hard-pressed not to return the favor by beating the crap out of the bastard.

But this arrest was going one hundred percent by the book. No jeopardizing the conviction. When everything came out, after the military justice system finished with Sullivan, he would be lucky to get only a life sentence—treason, kidnapping, murder, attempted murder. There wasn’t a punishment harsh enough.

Liam cracked his knuckles.

The automatic doors from outside swished open, bringing in a gust of humid Florida heat along with Jose James. The younger PJ had changed into jeans and a marathon shirt, his gym shoes squeaking on the tiles.

“Everything okay with Rachel, sir?” Cuervo pulled up alongside him.

“Right as rain.” Thank God. “We’re out of here any second now.”

“Awesome. Awesome.” Cuervo nodded, fishing in his pocket and bringing out keys. “Data and I thought you might need some wheels, since that rat trap Jeep you bought is still down in the Everglades. So we brought you a rental car over. Data’s on the phone with a lady friend now or he would have come in with me. She’s pissed because he missed their date last night. I guess saving the free world isn’t a good enough excuse sometimes.”

“Data had a date?”

“Yeah, I know. Guess some gals go for pocket protectors.” He passed over the keys. “Here ya go. We even made sure it’s gassed up.”

“Hey, thanks.” He clasped the cool metal in his fist, searching for the right words, but hell, there weren’t ones big enough to thank a person for helping save
his
world—Rachel. “I appreciate this, and everything else you guys did for us these past few days.”

“
De
nada.
It’s what we do for each other.” Cuervo leaned back, crossing his feet at the ankles. “You gotta know what the takeaway is from this whole little debacle.”

“Move to the Everglades permanently? My car’s already there.”

Cuervo looked at him, really looked, with a maturity gained from the job more than of years. “If all the good ones like you get out, we’re stuck with leaders like General Dickhead.”

A laugh punched up and out. God, he loved his guys. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

They settled into silence, soaking up that side benefit of being a team, spending hours in the field or on the road together. They didn’t have to fill every second with meaningless chitchat. When they spoke, it counted. It meant something. And it was clear Cuervo had something more on his mind.

Finally, Liam nudged. “Go ahead and spit it out, kid. Whatever it is you need to say.”

Cuervo stared at the floor, scuffing the heel of a gym shoe while he gathered his thoughts just right. “Seriously, I get that it’s tough to stay in this profession, to screw over the ones you love again and again because the mission calls. I see that grief with the other guys in the unit over busted relationships. At what point does a guy go from being an altruistic serviceman to becoming a cold bastard ignoring the needs of his family?” He frowned. “God knows, I don’t have the answer.”

Liam swallowed hard, thinking of his exes, the breakups, the pain he’d caused.

Cuervo looked up, pinning Liam with clear trusting eyes that would follow him into hell if he asked. “But I do know whatever happened in the past is the past. And the man I see in front of me today is sitting firmly on the altruistic side.”

Liam scratched his chest right over his heart, which was starting to pump hard. Back in the plane, he’d realized how damn foolish it was to let Rachel go. But if he got out of the air force, his life forked in a different direction from hers or so he’d thought during that stupid-ass fight back at the cabin.

And if he stayed in the air force, well, the odds didn’t bode well for military marriages, especially ones around his career field. “I’ve got a chance here with Rachel and I don’t want to wreck it by making the same mistakes all over again.”