Under the Wire (37 page)

With a soft cry she ran to Adam, wrapped him in her arms, and, oblivious to the frenzied bats evacuating the cave, whispered his name over and over again.

Peradeniya General Hospital, Kandy, 3:00
 
a.m.

Lily couldn't stop touching Adam. Couldn't stop smiling. Couldn't stop fussing. Couldn't stop—didn't
want
to stop—the flood of joy and relief. A consuming sense of wonder filled her to bursting as she watched this lean, bruised, and brave young man sleep on the pristine white sheets of the hospital bed.

"Don't you think you ought to try to get a little rest?"

Lily glanced over her shoulder at Darcy, who'd met them at the airport two hours ago after Ethan had called her. With the assistance of the local city leaders, Darcy had arranged to have an ambulance waiting for the Cobra when it landed.

"I'm not letting him out of my sight."

"And I can't seem to get that man of mine cornered long enough to get him
in
my sights," Darcy sputtered, but there was a smile in her voice, so Lily knew she wasn't as angry as she let on.

"They were amazing," Lily said softly, and with the slightest of touches ran her fingertip over the back of Adam's hand. He'd needed stitches over his eye. He had a cracked rib. A bone in his elbow was chipped, and his arm was now in a cast. He was dehydrated, half-starved.

He was alive.

She wouldn't think about what they'd done to him now. She couldn't or she'd break down.

"They are amazing," Darcy agreed.

And she should know,
Lily thought. The three of them had stormed a terrorist stronghold in a remote jungle in the Philippines and brought Darcy home.

"Who
are
those guys?"

Lily snapped her gaze to Adam, just then realizing he was awake and watching her.

Tears filled her eyes. She stood, leaned over him and brushed the hair back from his forehead.

"Friends," she said in a hushed voice. "Very good friends. Sleep now, baby. We'll talk about it when you're stronger."

"Minrada?" Adam's voice was dry and brittle as his eyes drifted closed again. Lily heard the concern . . . and maybe something else in that one raspy word.

"She's fine, sweetie. So are Amithnal and Sathi. Everyone's fine. Everyone's safe."

"He's a brave kid," Darcy said quietly when it was apparent that Adam had fallen asleep again.

Lily wiped a tear from her eye. "Yeah. But God, I wish ... I wish he'd never had to be."

It caught up with her then. The grief boiled up like a storm that had been building for a season. She started shaking; the tears brimmed and burned her eyes. After days of containing them she could no longer hold them back.

She spun away from the bed, shoving her fist to her mouth to quell the sound of her grief—and was caught up by two strong arms.

"Let it go. It's okay. Let it go."

She didn't know when Manny had come into the room. Didn't care. Knew only that she needed him. Every bit as much as she needed Adam to be safe, she needed Manny to make
her
feel safe. To let her be weak. To tell her that everything really was okay.

"I'll stay with Adam." Darcy touched a hand to her shoulder as Lily let Manny walk her out the door. "You rest now. I'll take care of him."

When Lily woke up, she was stretched out on a cot in a sparsely furnished waiting area. She closed her eyes again, rolled to her back, and stifled a groan when her stiff muscles complained. Blinking sleep from her heavy lids, she forced herself awake—and smelled coffee.

She must have sniffed and moaned again, because someone chuckled.

"Yes," Darcy said, "it's really coffee."

Lily sat up, worked out the kinks, and reached out blindly.

Darcy laughed again and placed the cup in Lily's outstretched hands. "Savor it. It came at a premium and it's the only cup you get. Now tea—I could have gotten you all kinds of tea."

Lily sipped, savored as ordered, and let go of an appreciative, "Ahhh. You're my new best friend."

"I could work with that."

The warmth in Darcy's voice brought Lily's head up. Darcy was smiling at her. A friend, smiling at a friend.

"Thanks," Lily said. "Thanks for that.

"And the same goes for me," she added after a moment, not sure exactly why she felt a little self-conscious about admitting she considered Darcy a friend.

Old habits, Lily decided. She wasn't used to unqualified acceptance. Hadn't gotten it from her parents, that's for certain. Had always felt she'd had to work to prove her worth.

But not with Darcy. And that fact felt special and new and real.

"Who's with Adam?"

"Relax, Mom. Manny's got it covered."

Whether it was the caffeine or the nerves that started tap dancing through her abdomen, Lily was suddenly wide awake.

She shot off the cot.

"It's okay," Darcy said gently. "He hasn't told him."

Relief—or maybe it was disappointment—partnered up with the nerves and sped up the pace of Lily's pulse again.

On one hand, it was probably best if Lily broke the news to Adam about Manny. On the other, well, if Manny had taken care of it, she wouldn't have to.

"I'd better go in there." She wiped damp palms on her pants—only then realized she was wearing a set of green hospital scrubs.

"So it wasn't a dream. I
did
take a shower and wash my hair."

"And you were almost awake when you did it." Darcy handed her a hairbrush. "Better do something with that."

Lily touched a hand to her hair. Felt the snarls.

"You were out before we had a chance to get a brush through it."

"We?" Lily asked with a heart-tripping trepidation.

"Me and your Latin bodyguard," Darcy said with a grin. "He's a little protective of you."

It would have been easy to smile at that thought. And Lily might have if she weren't so anxious to get back to Adam.

She hurriedly dragged the brush through her hair. "Better? I don't want to scare him."

"Scare? Sweetie, if I didn't like you so much, it'd be real easy to get bitchy. You should look like death warmed over after all you've been through, but look at you—you look amazing. When the guys dragged me off Jolo, I couldn't bear to look at myself in a mirror for a week. Not fair," she singsonged with a grin.

Lily felt herself choke up, and before she knew it, she pulled Darcy against her for a hard hug. "Thank you," she whispered hoarsely. "Thank you for being so... wonderful."

And then she rushed away to see her son before she got all watery.

Heart in her throat, Lily paused outside Adam's hospital room door. Manny's voice, deep and low and more animated than she had ever heard it, spilled into the hall. The amazing, miraculous, beautiful sound of her son's laughter was like a song.

And tears—God, would the tears ever stop?— threatened again. The joy she felt at having Adam back was consuming. The idea of the two—father and son— laughing together after all these years was as huge and whole as the Sri Lankan sun. It washed over her in radiant waves as Manny's soft chuckle joined with Adam's. In joy's wake, regret drifted like flotsam. They'd all lost so much. So much time. So many memories.

For a moment, she considered leaving them alone.

Didn't want to intrude on what was a special moment between them. More special for Manny than Adam could possibly know.

A nurse walked by just then and gave Lily a curious look, so she pasted on her best mom smile and entered the room.

"So, here they come," Manny was saying, oblivious to Lily behind him, "Rajah trumpeting like a corps of buglers, Kavith spouting Bruce Willis lines. The coconuts are flying, men are flying, and Dallas and Ethan and I are bug-eyed with shock."

"Mom," Adam's grin broadened when he saw her, "Manny was just telling me about the big rescue."

"So I hear." She smiled from Adam to Manny, who looked gorgeous and a little nervous suddenly. He stood when he realized she'd entered the room.

"Got to admit," Manny said, looking a little hesitant, "they made a helluva entrance."

Lily saw all kinds of emotions in Manny's eyes. Happiness. Hesitation. Questions.

Was it okay? Is it okay for me to spend time with him?

"Yeah," she agreed, letting Manny know it was more than okay. "It was something else, all right."

She walked to Adam's side, aware of Manny's gaze on her. "How you doing today, sweetie?" She leaned down and kissed his brow.

Embarrassing him, she realized, in front of this warrior who had saved his life.

"I'm fine, Mom. You can quit fussing."

She pushed out a snort. "Yeah, that's going to happen."

Adam rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as she smoothed the hair back from his forehead, relieved to find it cool.

"Well, I'll be leaving you two alone."

Lily turned to see Manny backing toward the door, looking uncomfortable—like he felt he was intruding.

And for that she felt more regret over all the years he'd lost with Adam.

"Just. . . just give us a few minutes," she said with a meaningful look. "Don't go far, okay?"

He swallowed hard and when his eyes met hers she could see he understood. She was going to tell Adam. With a clipped nod and a long look, Manny turned and walked out of the room.

Lily pulled a chair up by the bed. Took Adam's hand. Squeezed. "Sweetie . . . there's something I need to tell you."

CHAPTER 24

Manny scrubbed a palm over his jaw. He should have shaved. Should have—hell, he didn't know. Should have done something. Something to make himself look like a man a boy would want to have for a father.

Would it come to that? Would it come down to Adam deciding if, after sixteen years on his own, he'd want Manny in his life? As a father? Hell, after meeting the kid, he'd settle for being a friend.

Or not.

Not.

He wanted it all, he realized as he paced outside the door. After meeting this amazing young man who had every reason to be traumatized and cowering after what he'd been through but was, instead, strong and adjusted and ... and damn, he was something.

And he was his.

Or might be.

Shit. Manny felt like he was waiting for Lily to give birth. Worried. Happy.

Mostly worried.

He kept moving. Tried his damnedest not to overhear any of the conversation. Was half-scared that he'd hear Adam's response and it wouldn't be good.

How had this happened? How had it happened that Manny had been drifting along through life, content alone, and now the thought of losing Adam damn near ripped his heart out?