Declan closed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. He blew out a deep breath, unable to get the image of an unresponsive Aspen out of his head. He sat in the empty waiting room, replaying the sight of her being shot in his head. He released a growl, blaming himself for not taking better care of her.

He would gladly have taken a bullet for her.

In the truck, he’d practically wept with joy when his fingers finally found her thready pulse. They arrived at the Emergency Room with a team of medical professionals meeting them at the door with a stretcher. They’d swept her away from him, leaving him to stand in the doorway of the hospital with an empty feeling in his chest.

“Are you holding up?” Mac appeared near him.

Declan opened his eyes. Black boots stood in front of him. Glancing up, he found his team standing before him.

He’d lost track of time and didn’t know how long he’d been sitting in the waiting area. They hadn’t allowed him to find out any information on Aspen. The only things he’d been told was that she was alive and was in surgery.

So he’d flopped down in the chair, refusing to leave.

“They won’t tell me anything,” he growled, standing.

Zain, Brodie, Ashton, and Iker stood silently behind Mac.

“Don’t worry. Sarena is working on that.” Mac reached out and gripped his shoulder.

Mac’s fiancée was an assistant nurse manager of the Emergency Room. He felt somewhat relieved by the fact Sarena was going to help him.

He rested his hands on his hips, and his team settled into chairs around him.

“You guys don’t have to stay. You’ve done enough—”

“We’re not leaving,” Ashton announced. He settled back in his chair with a defiant look on his face.

“I don’t have any place to be at for the moment,” Zain said, folding his muscular arms in front of his chest.

Declan ran a weary hand through his hair and looked around at his men. They each dared him to try to send them away.

“Look, I really—”

“Stop,” Mac snapped, cutting him off. He ran a hand along his face and waved to their team. “You know we protect our own. The minute she’s out of surgery, there will be someone on her around the clock. I know your stubborn ass won’t let her out of your sight, so we’re going to be here to help.”

Declan jerked his head in a nod, his throat constricting.

“She’s one of us,” Iker said. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. It had been Iker keeping him from tearing the head off of one of the doctors when they’d barred him from Aspen’s room.

The doors of the waiting room burst open with Myles striding through them. The look on his face was grim, and the men to stood from their chairs.

“Declan.” Myles nodded to him. “Mac. I just got off the phone with the captain. The feds and local boys in blue are all over that fucking alley.”

“Do we know who any of those fuckers are?” Brodie asked.

“Not yet. I’m sure we’ll know soon,” Myles replied.

“That was a lot of man power. Someone with deep pockets definitely wants your girl dead,” Ashton said.

The room grew silent, and Declan agreed.

“My federal contact had notified me that Ray Acosta had escaped from jail. There is a nationwide manhunt for him. I had just texted Dec when all hell broke loose,” Iker announced.

Curses filled the room with the news.

Ray Acosta may have just escaped from prison, and still somehow he was able to send a small militia after Aspen. It was even more imperative that Declan be able to protect her. A man like Ray was going to be desperate and wouldn’t quit until he got what he wanted.

Aspen dead.

“Federal agents are on their way here now and will be assuming protective detail,” Myles said.

“How the hell did they know where we are?” Mac scowled.

The tension in the air grew tense as they all waited for a reply.

“Someone called it in to the feds. They are on their way to the hospital now.” Myles shrugged before shoving his phone in his cargo pant pockets.

Declan bit back a curse. With all that’d been happening with Aspen, he’d been distracted from his attempt to find out the leak in the department. Whoever notified the feds had to be the same person.

“The leak,” Brodie snapped, running his hand through his hair. “We’ve got to find the leak.”

“The feds would have found out eventually when they didn’t show up at the airport,” Iker cut in.

Everyone paused, knowing what he said was the truth.

“How do we even know it was from our department? It could have been any of the men who were working with that fucker, Williams,” Zain spoke up. “There’s no telling how many crooked feds are involved.”

“Right now, it doesn’t even matter. We know what’s going to happen when the feds show up,” Mac’s voice slashed out.

“They aren’t keeping me from her,” Declan stated. He narrowed his eyes on his friend. Even being deputized for this assignment wouldn’t keep them from taking her.

“Mac,” a soft voice called out.

Declan swiveled his gaze to the door and found Sarena standing there. Dressed in her scrubs, she stepped into the room. Mac stalked across and took his fiancée in his arms for a hug.

“Sarena.” Declan made his way over with the rest of the guys in tow. Nerves filled his gut as he waited for news of Aspen.

She pulled back away from Mac, and Declan approached.

“Dec.” She brushed her hair behind her ear and stared up at him. “She pulled through surgery. They’re moving her to a private room in the Intensive Care Unit. I’ve spoken with the manager of that unit, and they will allow you to see her, but only during visitation hours. So you’ll be able to see her in a few hours.”

Relief flooded him at the news. He nodded, taking the small victory.

“The only thing is…” She paused, glancing around at the lot of them.

“What is it, babe?” Mac asked gently.

It always amazed Declan at the difference in Mac when he was around Sarena. It was as if she truly was his other half. He was calmer and less of an ass when with her.

“The hospital has already been notified that she is to be guarded. They are putting her in the isolation room to keep traffic away from the main part of the unit. They don’t want other patients’ care to be compromised by having guards around. There’s federal agents everywhere down there.”

Declan’s stomach gave way at the news. He turned and brushed past Zain to take in a few breaths, ignoring his name being called.

His mind raced at the thought that the feds would keep him from her. Rage festered and built in his chest. A red haze clouded his eyes. He braced his hands against the nearest wall, trying to breathe. He felt the walls closing around him.

He was suffocating.

Aspen was his.

He needed her, like he needed that next breath.

Ray Acosta would not get his hands on her. If he’d escaped from jail, there was only one thing that would be on his mind.

Finding Aspen.

Declan knew how they worked. The feds would swoop in and take her, uncaring if she were injured or not. They just wanted her for their case. They didn’t really care about her. If they did, they would have known their man had gone rogue.

His breaths were coming faster, and the anger built up in him and exploded.

Letting loose a yell, he slammed his fist into the wall. Shouts filled the air.

She belonged to him.

He slammed his fist into the wall again, ignoring the pain.

Thick, muscular arms wrapped themselves around him, pulling him back from the wall. His fist pulsed with pain. He didn’t care. He’d rather take the pain of a broken hand than experience the pain of losing Aspen. If they took her, he would never see her again.

“Aspen!” he yelled.

Curses sounded as he was taken down to the floor. He fought them, swinging his fist. Satisfaction surged into him as it connected with something.

“Dec! Get ahold of yourself,” Mac’s familiar voice snapped in his ear.

A knee was pushed deeper into his back while his arms were clamped down by two bodies.

“I have to get to Aspen,” he gasped, unable to move beneath the massive weight pushing him to the floor.

“Not like this. Get your shit together,” Mac said. “She’s going to need you, but I swear to God, if you don’t get it together, I will have you locked up.”

The fight left Declan. He relaxed his body and rested his head on the floor. Mac was right.

He couldn’t lose his shit right now.

His woman needed him.

“Are you good?” Iker asked, his voice a level above a growl.

Declan blew out a deep breath and nodded. “I’m good.” He closed his eyes and allowed the images of their night at the safe house to fill his mind. He’d held her in his arms while she slept. Her face had been relaxed and utterly beautiful. He’d held her close the entire night, barely sleeping a wink.

He wanted that again.

To hold her in his arms and never let go.

Aspen breathed in deeply and immediately regretted it. Her lungs burned like fire, and her throat felt as if someone had sliced it with razor blades. Her body was overcome with coughing, but a piercing pain in her legs made her cry out.

“Oh God,” she whispered, opening her eyes.

A bright light blinded her. She raised her hand to shield her eyes to allow them to adjust. She glanced around at her surroundings and found herself in a hospital room. A standard hospital gown covered her body. She was tucked away in a bed with rails up the sides. She moved her body as much as she could, wincing from pain. “Declan?”

Her heart raced with the thought of being alone. She swallowed hard and winced from the pain. She licked her parched lips, finding them dry and chapped.

She took in the room. Curtains lined it. The walls were glass, but the curtains provided privacy for her. A man sat with his back to the her outside the door.

He must be a guard.

But where was Declan?

The sounds of beeping had her turning and looking at the monitor that displayed her vitals. Memories of running from the building and the feel of the bullets slamming into her back crowded into her mind. She could still feel the white-hot burning sensation in her leg.

Oh God. She’d been shot!

Her heart rate was increasing right before her eyes with the memory of Declan picking her up and running to the car.

Seventy-three.

Eighty.

Ninety.

The door slid open, revealing a nurse walking through it.

“Oh good. You’re awake,” the nurse said with a gentle smile.

Her smooth, brown skin was flawless. Her dark eyes held a curious note, but she didn’t ask the questions that were smoldering in her eyes. Her dark hair was pulled up in a bun, and her scrubs were dark but didn’t hide her curves.

Aspen didn’t say a word but watched the pretty woman walk over to her machines that were on a pole delivering intravenous fluids into the tubes connected to her. She eyed the tape on her arm and felt the cool fluid entering her veins.

“Where am I?” Aspen asked. She grimaced hearing her voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

“You’re in intensive care. You underwent surgery to get that bullet out of your thigh.” The woman paused and stepped closer to the bed. Her eyes were gentle as she studied Aspen. “I’m Ronnie, by the way.”

“I’m Aspen,” she whispered. She winced at the pain it took to talk.

“Here, let me help you. The doctors ordered this soothing spray for your throat. It’s probably sore from when you were intubated during the surgery.” Ronnie turned and grabbed a bottle with red liquid in it.

Aspen read the label with a familiar name on it. She opened her mouth, and Ronnie sprayed a few squirts inside. The cooling spray instantly calmed the scorched sensation in her throat.

“If that leg of yours hurts too much, hit this button, and pain medication will be dispensed to you to help keep it under control.” Ronnie lifted a small device with a red button on the tip.

“Thank you.” Aspen tried to smile, but her cracked lips prevented her. She took it from Ronnie and hit the button. A beep sounded from the machine it was connected to.

“Don’t need to thank me. I’m friends with Sarena. You’ve met her before, right?”

Aspen nodded, thinking back to the day she and Declan had lunch with Mac and Sarena. It seemed like eons ago.

“She told me to pass along that Declan is here. But you’re under heavy guard now, and they won’t let anyone who isn’t a federal agent or hospital staff into your room. I was able to bribe the other nurse to switch patients with me so I could have you.” She patted Aspen’s hand with a smile.

Aspen felt somewhat comforted knowing that if Declan couldn’t be here right now, they’d at least found a way to send a friendly person to be with her.

“Thank you.” Aspen couldn’t help but say it again. “What happened?”

“You took a couple shots to the back. Thank God you were wearing that bulletproof vest. You are going to be sore for a while. But the real issue was your leg. You took a bullet in your thigh, and it lodged itself into your femur. Had it been an inch or two higher, it would have hit your femoral artery, and I don’t even want to say what could have happened if that would have been the case.”

Aspen gulped with that knowledge. She wasn’t medically trained, but hearing a bullet hitting any artery didn’t sound good.

“I don’t even want to know what could have happened.” Aspen shook her head.

“You were in good hands. The surgeons were able to dig it out without causing too much damage. Now you relax. I’m going to let Dr. Murphy know you are awake. He’s one of the surgeons who operated on you.” Ronnie backed away from the bed and turned. She disappeared out the door, leaving Aspen alone once again.

She settled back against the pillows, feeling the effects of the pain medication kick in. Her body relaxed, and her eyes drifted shut.