Chapter Three
Every inch of her body hurt. Rachael shifted in the hospital bed and gasped. “Holy Mother.” She fell back against the pillows. “Getting shot hurts like hell.”
She looked over and smiled at her uncle, who sat sound asleep in a chair. At least her moving and cursing hadn’t woken him up. She realized she was in one of the private suites at St. George’s Hospital, one of the larger private hospitals that cared for the rich and famous. Wonderful.
“Every single time,” a new voice said. Whipping her head around was a bad idea, but self-preservation had her moving before her body screamed at her. “You also shouldn’t move around like that. It’ll only make it hurt more.” The large man with white-blond hair lifted a hand in a wave. He had icy eyes. He also had a bunch of friends who all looked her way to wave, too. Some were playing cards, another was reading a book, and a couple were sleeping.
“Who are you?” She knew they had to be good to get past her guards, but they were obviously very damn good if her uncle continued to sleep while they played cards. “Uncle Adam?”
“I’m awake,” he muttered. Yawning, he stretched his arms out. Then he opened his eyes to blink at her. When she moved her gaze toward the men over and over, he frowned and then looked at them. Once more, all the men lifted a hand to wave. “Oh, good, you’re here.” Rach saw that look in her uncle’s eyes that said that he had known they were there the whole time. Her uncle was a lot of things but not a fool who could be taken off his guard. Interesting. Why was it important for him to let them think he had been asleep while they’d snuck in? She would have to ask him later.
“For a while now,” the blond said. “We didn’t want to wake either of you, so we settled in to wait.”
“Rach, sweetheart, this is the team that will be watching over you. They’ll be taking you to a local safe house so you can heal and then to another further away so they can figure out who’s coming after you.”
“And you trust them?” she asked. At his nod, she looked back at the men. “I assume that you all know who I am, so who are you?” Obviously, he trusted them or he wouldn’t have feigned sleep. He had been watching them to see how they reacted to her. What kind of game was her uncle playing? He never gambled with her life and normally wouldn’t leave her side if she were hurt, so this was very unusual.
Big and Blond was the one to introduce everyone. “Mikhail, Gareth, Owen, Wyatt, Dieter, Stefan, Nolan, Lincoln, James, Victor, Antonio, and Thomas. As soon as you’re discharged, we’ll be heading out. We’ll give you a few moments with your uncle before he leaves. You won’t be seeing him for a while, at least until we get to our secondary safe house.”
“Okay. Thank you.” She watched the men file out of the room. “So, you’re ditching me?” She took the hand that he offered her when he came close.
“Once they have you settled in the other house, I’ll come around to see you. For now, I want you to focus on getting well. They know about your condition and what you’ve been through with the gunshot. Dieter is their medic, so he can handle most everything.” Getting to his feet, he leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll see you soon. Trust in them as you trust in me. They will do anything necessary to keep you safe, but you need to listen to them at all times.”
“Are you sure it’s okay to bring them in? I don’t want someone hurt because of me.”
Sighing, he sat on the edge of her bed and took her hand in his again. “They’ll be okay. They are all highly trained military men who have been through more special ops than I can count. These guys know exactly what needs to be done and will not hesitate to do it.” Lifting her hand, he pressed a kiss to her fingers. “I would never, ever leave you with anyone I did not believe in one hundred percent.”
“I know you wouldn’t. Do you have any idea where they’re taking me? And how will the police be able to get in touch with me if they have a break in the case? There are so many what ifs. You wouldn’t let the federal marshals take me into custody, but you’re sending me away with these men. You know the cops are going to be unhappy with you, right?”
“They can suck it,” he muttered. “They’re worse than useless. With these guys, I at least know for a fact you’ll still be breathing tomorrow. Given that someone paid off a DOD employee to try to kill you, I do not have any faith in the Marshals or the cops. I’m sorry, but there it is. Those men out there cannot be bought, ever. When you go to the second safe house, I will explain everything. Until then, keep your head down, listen to them, and know I love you.”
“I love you, too, Uncle Adam. How about you give me a hug and let them back in? I guess we should leave sooner rather than later.”
He gave her a gentle hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll handle the discharge papers for you. While I’m doing that, they’ll slip you out one of the many exits. I won’t know which one, and neither should anyone else. I’ll see you in a few weeks. Be good, stay safe, and know I’m thinking of you.” After an affectionate brush of his fingers against her cheek, he left the room. She could see him talking to the men outside for a few minutes before he continued on his way to the nursing desk.
Rach hated the feeling of loss. He was the only family she had. She took a deep breath and leaned her head back. God, this was going to damn well hurt, and she knew it. When one of the men came back in, one of the ones with short white-blond hair, she smiled. “Dieter, right?” The medic. If she recalled their names correctly, at least.
He gave a nod as he moved closer. He scooped up her chart and gave it a read-through before looking at her. “I’m going to give you a quick vitals check so I have a baseline of my own to go by. It’ll be your blood pressure, pulse, and breathing. I need it so when we reach the safe house I can give you another and know where we stand. Try not to move if you can avoid it. I need everything at rest.” Dieter dug into one of his large pockets and pulled out a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.
She nodded. When he touched her, however, there was an electrical shock that raced through her body which had her blood pressure spiking. “Whoa. Did you feel that?”
“Yeah, sorry,” he murmured. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze before wrapping the cuff around her upper arm. “Take a few breaths to calm down. I’ll check your breathing while we wait for that spike to finish wearing off.” He pressed the stethoscope to her chest and instructed her to breathe a couple of times. Then Dieter helped her to shift enough so he could slip his hand behind her and had her repeat the breathing. “Good, nothing out of the ordinary there.”
“Good.” She noted the scar on the side of his face. “How did you get that?”
“I got it on my first tour when someone took offense to my head being attached to my body. I, on the other hand, took offense to them wanting to disconnect my head, so I shot him point-blank. Apparently, I won that one.” He gave her a tight smile, never quite meeting her eyes as he worked. Dieter hit the release on the cuff as he listened and watched the dial. “Your blood pressure’s a little high, but not outside the range of acceptable.” Next, he stuck a thermometer in her mouth while he jotted down more notes, took off the cuff, and then pressed two fingers to the inside of her wrist while staring up at the clock on the wall.
Once he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth, she blurted out the question that popped into her mind. “Do you always shove things into strangers’ mouths?” Her cheeks heated with embarrassment as she realized how that sounded. “Please don’t answer that. Seriously. I’m not so sure that I would be able to handle whatever you had to say.”
Dieter merely lifted an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed by her question. “Only thermometers, the occasional sucker, or a large piece of chewing gum if I’m truly desperate.” His lips quirked in a slight grin before he began to put everything back.
“He’s got the discharge papers and is going over them with a doctor,” someone called through the open door. “We ready to move?”
“Yeah, she’s good. Come help me get her into a wheelchair. We’ll worry about clothing when we get to our destination.”
The other large, white-blond man walked in to help her. “Mikhail,” he said when she scrambled for his name. “You’ll remember us all soon enough, and then beg to forget us soon after. Promise.”
She snorted at that. “I would laugh, but it hurts like hell.” Her chest ached from the wound, but she was healing well and knew it. “So, Mikhail, do you and Dieter pick up women whose asses are hanging out in the wind together often?”
“This is a first for me,” Mikhail said. “At least with Dieter. I prefer to pick up the half-naked ones with my buddy Gareth, and Dieter usually works with Wyatt, but he was on a phone call helping our tech guy out with something.” They lifted her smoothly off the bed and settled her into a wheelchair. Mikhail tucked a blanket around her before Dieter took control of the chair to wheel her out of the door. The men created a wall to block the hallway off from the nurses’ station while Dieter wheeled her up the hall.
“Ah, so you boys are all paired together, are you?” She leaned back in the wheelchair and closed her eyes. “Damn, this hurts. Seriously. Does being shot ever not hurt as bad as this?” Stupid question. Of course being shot hurt and she was being whiny, so not a good combination.
“Nope, always hurts like a bitch,” he told her. A small ding had her opening her eyes to see him wheeling her into the elevator. He moved to block the doors, and three others joined them. Dieter hit the button for the garage level while the others did a check on their weapons before they tucked them out of sight.
“Great. Okay, so that’s off my list of things I would like to do in this lifetime again,” Rach muttered and then smiled. “Getting shot was on my list of things never to do. Funny how stuff turns around, right?” She closed her eyes again. Sweat began to form at her spine. Rachael took in heavy, deep breaths. She had to force herself not to hyperventilate. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Her hands shook and her legs twitched while fear clutched at her heart. The huge men surrounded her, boxing her in.
A warm hand settled on her good shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “Slow breaths,” Dieter whispered. His thumb began to rub lightly at the stiff muscles. Another ding let her know that the doors were opening. When she’d been wheeled a little, she felt them come to a stop. A quick look around showed they were stopped by a pillar with all four men around her, facing outward.
She looked back at Dieter and frowned. “How did you know?” Not even her uncle knew she panicked in small spaces, but this man did. How?
He shot her a look and gave her a shrug. “I’ll tell you later.” His head whipped around at the sound of vehicles approaching. All the men tensed but then calmed just as suddenly. “Our ride is here. We’ll shift you into the back so you can relax. The drive, while typically not that long, will take a bit as we make sure we don’t have a tail.” He moved to wheel her toward one of three identical SUVs with blacked-out windows.
“I don’t mind sitting,” she assured him. “I don’t want to lie down. It hurts too much.”
“We have a medical-grade bed at the safe house you’ll be able to adjust. Figured it would be beneficial to you. I’m going to have to lift you myself this time around since we need to get you into the truck. Owen there is going to watch your head and help guide you into place as we go. Hopefully without getting a handful of something you don’t want him grabbing.” That said, he bent to lift her from the chair as another of the men wheeled it out of the way.
“I trust you.” Dieter touched her, and she trusted him. “Yes, hopefully you won’t be grab-assing because then I might have to smack your face, and we’re on our way to becoming friends. That would be bad, don’t you think?” She was smiling as she spoke, teasing him. “Holy mother,” she whispered in his ear when he lifted her into the SUV. “I seriously suck with pain. Well, this kind.” Rach blushed again. How the hell did this man make her blush so much?
She felt his chuckle against her arm as he eased her into the seat. Owen helped get her settled, ensuring the blanket protected all her exposed parts, and then buckled her in. “I’ll be able to give you something at the house to help manage any residual pain from all this jolting around. But I’d rather not give you anything without you being on the monitors. Thank you, Owen,” Dieter told the man. Owen gave her a grin and slid out of the truck, leaving the door open. “All right, I’m going to climb in next to you, and we’ll get underway. I have a pillow for you so you can lean into the door while we drive.”
“That sounds perfect. Thank you. I appreciate any help you can give me. Pain meds I really don’t care for, but I wouldn’t turn them away after this, I’m sure.”
Dieter shut the door and came around the truck. Next to her, he grabbed the huge, soft pillow out of the back. Leaning around her, he put it between her body and the door. He hit the lock and gave her a nod. “Lean into it and see if it’s comfortable. If we need to move it, we should do it now.”
She did as he instructed and sighed. “Much better. It’s helping ease the pressure that was created when I sat down.” She hoped the relief was enough that she wouldn’t need the pain meds later.
“I have a couple more to put under your arm so more strain is removed. Don’t go lifting it. I’ll ease it up, tuck a couple underneath, and then we should be set to go.” Once she was nestled into her cocoon of blankets, Dieter signaled the others. Wyatt got into the front passenger seat, and the one she was relatively sure was Gareth took the wheel.
She looked at the man in the front passenger seat. He had barely brushed his hand over her hand as she’d been rolled from her room, and Rach had felt that same electrical shock from him. She hadn’t said anything at the time because she didn’t want them to all think she was losing her mind. “Will there be a pool where we are going? I ask because once the stitches are removed, the swimming and buoyancy of the water will be good for helping me gain full movement. At least that’s what I recall one of the doctors telling Uncle Adam.”
“There will be one at the second location. Indoor in the basement with a sauna, Jacuzzi, and gym,” Dieter told her. He shifted around in his seat until apparently finding a comfortable spot. “We’ll also arrange for some physiotherapy sessions to get you started so there’s no chance of you doing more harm.”
“Thank you. That sounds excellent.” Rachael closed her eyes and yawned. She was tightly wedged in with the pillows to cause her the least harm, and she was grateful for it. “I think the pain pill they gave me earlier at the hospital is starting to work. Please don’t laugh if I start to snore?” she whispered before drifting off to sleep.