Chapter Fifteen
The first part of the plan went off like clockwork. Ed managed to get them lost in the patterns the other helicopters were running until they reached the landing zone. Ed hovered briefly while the men tossed out their gear, then jumped to the forest floor. Ed was gone the moment the last man was out.
Bending low to avoid the backwash from the rotors, they checked their packs, their firepower, their ammo, and the special equipment they carried with them. Each man had his handgun and also carried a Larue Tactical Predator rifle with two additional bands of ammo strapped across his chest. Added to this were KA-BAR tactical knives, packets of C-4 explosives, and tiny detonators with remote-signal switches. And finally, every man had flash-bang grenades to blind and distract the enemy if necessary.
Dressed all in black, they moved silently through the trees, the box in Dan’s pack effectively jamming any signal along the way. Every so often they stopped, listening for any disturbance in the air and checking for the presence of human security the way they had in the military. When they caught sight of the house through the trees, Dan held up his hand for everyone to stop.
“Heat signatures,” he whispered into his lip mic.
Troy waited, barely reining in his patience, for the information.
“Four on the first floor,” Rick whispered. “Inside. Four more on the perimeter of the house. Those are the ones Kat saw.”
“Two in front and two in back,” Mike added. “Three more on the second floor. Two on the left and one on the far right.”
“The single one has to be Summer.” Troy took a deep breath to settle himself. He’d be no help to Summer if he let his anxiety and impatience overrule the habits of long training.
“Lower heat signatures on the move,” Rick reported.
“Four outside bodies fanning out,” Mike confirmed in the same whisper. He lifted binoculars to his eyes. “All fully loaded.” A pause. “Assault rifles, guys.”
“Two now in a moving vehicle.” Rick again. “It’s an ATV. Everyone, heads-up.”
“Move out as planned,” came the word from Dan. “Troy, we’ll get you the distraction you need, so get moving.”
Troy began edging toward the open expanse of lawn on the side of the house with the single heat signature. Shutting out everything else, he slowed his heart rate and his breathing and focused on his sole objective, Summer.
“What the fuck is going on?” Olberman smacked his hand on his desktop. The security monitor that he’d insisted be set up in his office, along with the central one downstairs, had suddenly lost its picture. The screen was filled with snow instead of images.
“Vivian,” he shouted. “Get in here.”
“I’m here, Mr. Olberman.” She stood in the doorway. “We have a problem.”
At that moment the communicator on his desk squawked at him. “Mr. Olberman? It’s Keith, at the back of the house.”
“What’s happening out there?” he demanded. “Why is the fucking security system off-line?”
“Two of the men are heading out to check the perimeter right now,” Keith assured him. “I’m on my way to look at the main box. I’m sure it’s just a malfunction.”
“The company that sold it to me promised there’d be no glitches,” Olberman raged. “I want answers now. We’d better still be secure.”
“We’re fine.” Keith’s tone was even, unaffected by Olberman’s anger. “Like I said, just a little hiccup. We’re riding along the wall only as a precaution. You know this place is impossible to breach.”
“I know nothing’s impossible, you idiot. I want answers right now. Maybe I need to come down there.”
“No.” Keith’s voice was firm. “Please. Stay right where you are. We’ve got this under control.”
But at that moment Olberman heard a loud explosion, and the air beyond his window shimmered with the vibrations.
“God damn it!”
Troy waited silently behind a tiny but thick grouping of trees as the ATV made its way along the property line. They’d spotted the cameras in the trees, but Dan’s handy electronic gizmo had taken them off-line. At the point where the stone wall curved slightly, Mike stepped from behind a tree, aimed a dart gun at the two men, and took both of them down. The tranquilizer darts would keep them unconscious until police could be called for a cleanup operation.
“Two bogies down,” Mike whispered.
Troy moved over to the wall and in a crouch, followed it toward the open area where the house sat.
“Lots of movement inside and out.” Dan’s voice, barely audible.
“What about on the second floor?” Troy had to ask.
“Still the same. Everyone forward. Institute Phase Two.”
As they reached the clearing, four of the men tossed flash-bangs toward the house. The explosions blended one with the other and produced an enormous flash of light and blinding smoke. As his partners moved forward, ready to take out anyone who got in their way, Troy raced for the spot on the ground beneath the window where they were sure Summer was being held.
He heard shouts and some shots being fired, but he had only one thing to focus on. Balancing himself on the balls of his feet, he grabbed a climbing anchor and rope from his pack, tossed the anchor up until it locked on the balcony railing and shimmied up in seconds. Without waiting to knock, he smashed through the French doors.
A startled and very frightened Summer backed away from him, staring. He knew what she saw—a stranger dressed all in black and armed to the teeth.
“It’s me, sugar. Troy.” He held out his hand to her. “Come on. We have to make tracks.”
“Troy?” her eyes widened.
“Yes. Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
Recognizing his voice she hurried over to him. “Oh my God. Troy.” She threw her arms around his neck.
“Wrap your legs around my waist and hold on tight. The ride’s not over yet.”
When he stepped back out onto the balcony with her, he spotted a man below aiming an assault rifle at them. He took a step back, about to shift Summer and aim his rifle when he heard the rapid report that was distinctive to the LaRue Tactical Predator. A quick glance showed him the man down, along with three others scattered over the lawn.
He switched his mic to the frequency Ed was monitoring.
“We’re down and on our way. Get here now.”
With one arm around Summer, he slid quickly down the rope, thanking his tours in Iraq for teaching him to do this under the worst circumstances. As they landed, two more flash-bangs went off to his right.
Then Mark’s voice in his ear startled him.
“Bogie behind you and to your left. I have him in my sight but—”
Just as he said that, Troy felt something bite into the soft flesh under the arm holding the rope. His grip loosened, and they slid the rest of the way down. It hurt like a sonofabitch, but as he’d done other times, he gritted his teeth, set Summer down, and grabbed her hand.
“You’re hit.” She held tightly to his hand.
“I’m good,” he insisted, forcing back the nausea that surged up. The bastard had hit his armpit, where the shield didn’t protect him. He knew he was bleeding, but he had to get Summer out of here. He heard shots behind him and hoped they were his partners and not the bad guys. Ducking his head, he raced toward the trees, his hand holding tightly to Summer’s smaller one as he pulled her along with him.
Behind him he heard more shots, but he didn’t dare stop to see who was hit. His primary responsibility was to get Summer to the clearing so Ed could pick her up. Just as they reached the cleared space, the helo flared out above them, leaves blown everywhere, slender trees bending with the force of the wind.
Steeling himself against the pain, he lifted Summer in his arms and practically threw her into the bird’s cabin.
“Go, go, go,” he shouted to Ed.
“No,” she screamed. “You come with me. You’re wounded. Troy, you’re bleeding badly.”
But Ed was already lifting off.
Once the helicopter was away, Troy leaned against a tree, fighting the blackness rolling over him. He’d done this before. He could do it again. Dan met him as he broke into the clearing.
“Christ, Troy. You’re bleeding like a butchered pig.”
“Everyone else okay?” he gasped.
“Yes. We dragged those wounded but still alive over to the fence.”
Rick was just coming down the stairs with Kurt Olberman in front of him, hands cuffed behind his back. Troy could hear him cursing a blue streak.
“You bastards fucked with the wrong person this time,” Olberman spat.
“No, that would be your problem,” Mark said. He looked at Rick. “Everyone else out?”
Rick nodded. “I’m taking him out to the gatehouse, where his assistant is already trussed up. She swears almost as well as he does. Olberman will be joining her in a minute. Then it’s one last bang and we’re out of here. I’ll wait until then to make the call to the feds and tell them we left them a prize package.”
“You’re dead men.” Olberman continued to shout as Rick practically dragged him through the front door. “I’ll see you in hell.”
“You first,” Troy muttered.
The last thing they did was race through the main building, planting C-4 in all the key spots. Dan took Troy’s plastic explosive from him as well as the detonator. They’d already decided it was too dangerous to leave all Olberman’s records for some other vicious human being to find.
“The feds would love to get their hands on his information,” Dan had said, “but we can’t take a chance that someone else will. This is the best way.”
Mark and Rick half carried Troy over to the helipad. With Olberman down, Ed could land on the concrete pad. Dan made the call, and in less than a minute, Troy heard the sound of the rotors. Then the bird came into view, flared out, and set down. Moments later, they were all on board, and Ed lifted away.
When they were high enough, Dan looked at them all and nodded. Immediately, all the remotes were pressed and in a blast that reverberated in the air and shook the ground, Kurt Olberman’s kingdom exploded into a gigantic pile of rubble.
Summer crawled over to Troy. “Mark?” She looked at her friend. “How bad is it?”
“He’ll be fine,” Mark assured her.
But they were busy getting Troy out of his shirt and armor and packing the wound from a first aid kit. Dan pulled a long strip of cloth out of the kit and bound it tightly over the packing.
Summer clutched his hand in both of hers.
The last thing Troy heard was her voice saying, “Promise me you won’t die.”
He managed to nod before unconsciousness took him over.
Ed had radioed the Level 1 Trauma Center at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver to let them know they were inbound with a critical patient with a gunshot wound and loss of blood, and gave them his ETA. Summer knew they’d have to contact the police, but Dan assured her they’d handle all that. Even as he spoke, he was in the other cockpit seat, his Bluetooth cell phone plugged in with a special adaptor.
“I have a friend in the local FBI office,” he told her. “I’m going to give him a very brief rundown, tell him they can do the cleanup out at the estate, and ask him to personally meet us at the hospital.”
Summer barely registered what he was saying. Her entire focus was on Troy, desperately pale beneath his two-day growth of beard. She clutched his hand tightly, whispering to him, telling him how much she loved him.
The moment Ed landed on the hospital’s helipad, a trauma team rushed from the door opening onto the roof with a gurney and other equipment. Mark moved Summer aside so the team members could climb in and lower Troy to the gurney. Then they were off, so fast she hardly had time to ask any questions.
“They’ll know what to do, right?” She could taste the fear in her mouth.
Mark squeezed her shoulder. “This is a top trauma center. The best you can have. They’ll take very good care of him. Ed’s going back to San Antonio to pick up Faith to be with you.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Are you sure she doesn’t mind?”
He kissed her forehead. “She’d be mad if I didn’t do this. Let’s go on inside.”
Ed lifted off, and Summer hurried into the hospital, flanked by all the men. Then they were in a trauma waiting room, and a nurse was pressing scrubs into Summer’s hands.
“You might want to get out of your bloody clothes,” she said in a kind voice.
Summer looked down, realizing for the first time that Troy’s blood had soaked her blouse and slacks.
The nurse smiled at her. “Come on. I’ll take you into our locker room and help you.”
“My—” She stopped. What did she call him? “My boyfriend is the patient that just came in. Can I find out how he is?”
“I’m going to check right now,” Mark told her. “Dan’s on his way to the lobby to meet the feds. Go on, honey. Get yourself changed and come on back here.”
Only the kindness of the nurse kept her from falling apart completely. When she returned to the waiting room, the men were all there, plus two others she didn’t recognize. Dan was standing against the wall, talking to them, and introduced them as Blake Cardwell and Manny Berger from the Denver field office of the FBI.
“Blake has sent a team out to Olberman’s to clean up the mess there,” he explained. “And he took care of the gunshot-wound situation with the hospital, so we’re all set.”
She could barely manage a smile for them. “How is Troy?”
“He’s in surgery,” Mark told her. “I got a minute with the doctor before they took him up.”
“And?”
“They managed to stabilize him and get some blood into him. They’ll let us know the minute they have anything to tell.”
But the minutes stretched out. One hour. Two hours. Summer lost count. Mark never left her side, bringing her coffee she never drank and getting her food she never ate. She was vaguely aware they moved in and out of the room and at some point the federal agents left, but it was all a blur to her. She simply sat on the uncomfortable chair, Troy’s very pale face burned into her brain, and prayed. After a while, she felt a soft hand on her arm and looking up, saw Faith standing beside her.
“Come on, sweetie.” She urged Summer out of the chair. “I brought some clothes for you, so you could change out of those scrubs, and some other personal things you might want to have.” She winked. “I knew the key to your house would come in handy one day.”
“I just want to sit here and wait,” she protested.
“I know, but you won’t do Troy any good if you don’t take care of yourself. Come on. Mark’s going down to the cafeteria to get you some yogurt. We can take it out to the little courtyard off the waiting room. Fresh air will do you good.”
Summer moved as if in a fog, hardly processing her rescue and escape. All she could think about was Troy. But Faith gently bullied her to take care of herself, eat the yogurt, drink water, all the while talking to her in her low, soft voice. It felt as if a year had passed before a tall, lean man in surgical scrubs came to talk to them.
“It was touch and go,” he told them. “He’d lost a lot of blood. The way the bullet entered his system, it carved out a path that did considerable damage to some of his organs.”
“But he’ll be okay?” Summer twisted her hands together.
“It’s looking good.” The doctor managed a smile for her. “Are you by any chance Summer?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.”
“A few times when he came to, he asked for you. He’ll be in recovery for a while, then we’re transferring him to ICU. Normally we restrict visitors there, but under the circumstances I’m writing permission for you to spend as much time with him as you want.”
“Oh.” She pressed her fingers to her mouth, tears tracking down her cheeks. “Thank you.” She turned into Faith’s shoulder and let the tears come freely.
“Dan’s getting more information right now,” her friend told her. “Let’s go into the ladies’ room and get you freshened up. You’ll want to have pulled yourself together when you get to see him.”
It was another very long hour before the nurse came to tell them Troy had been moved. All the men were still there. She tried to get Dan to tell her everything the doctor said, but he just smiled and said Troy had a long recovery ahead and she was the best medicine they could give him. There were things they weren’t telling her—she wasn’t stupid—but she’d wait until she saw him for herself before pushing for more.
When she entered the cubicle in ICU where they’d taken him, she nearly collapsed. He was even paler than before, and he was hooked up to more machines than she’d ever seen. The breathing tube in his mouth distressed her, and she questioned the doctor who had just walked in.
“He had some lung damage,” the man told her. “We repaired it, but we want to give him some help breathing until he heals a little more. Stay here as long as you want. I think you’re what he needs right now.”
She barely moved from the chair all night. Faith came a couple of times and urged her to eat something.
“You won’t do him any good if you pass out from starvation,” she joked. “Come on. One of the guys will sit with him while you’re gone.”
Whatever she ate tasted like sawdust, but she had to admit she felt a little stronger.
“Dan’s friend Blake called him,” Faith said. “His team is all over Olberman’s estate. Dan had Andy send him everything the Dragon had found about the man, so they could begin to track his dirty setup electronically. You and Troy can take a well-earned vacation when all this is wrapped up.”
“I hope that’s soon.”
But as that day rolled into the next one, and then another and another, her hopes began to fade. She spent all her time in the chair next to Troy, talking to him as if he could hear her. No matter what the doctors said, no matter how they tried to tell her about the extensive damage and his body was just taking longer to heal itself but it would be all right, fear was still wrapped around her. She dozed in the chair whenever sleep overtook her, but she refused to leave.
Faith insisted on staying at the hospital, but the men had to leave.
“I’ll be in touch every day with Mark,” Faith assured her. “And if we need him or any of them, they’ll be right back here.”
“But you can’t just sit here, doing nothing—”
“I brought my laptop.” Her lips curved in a wry smile. “Since Mark and I got together, I discovered hospitals are a great place to write.”
Five very long days had passed before Summer began to get a sick feeling that Troy’s recovery might not be so simple. Doctors and nurses came and went, checking the equipment and changing his medication. But the look on each face told her things were getting worse, not better.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She’d given the doctors and nurses their chance to take care of the man she loved. To make sure he survived. Now it was her turn. She just prayed she hadn’t waited too long. She asked Faith to tell the nurses she was pulling the curtains to close off the cubicle and to please stand guard so no one came in. “I’m going to see what I can do to help him. I have to.”
So with her friend standing outside like a guard dog, Summer let down the rail on one side of the bed, pulled her chair closer, and studied Troy’s body. Pulling the hospital gown down his free arm, she examined the bandages to see where they’d operated. Closing her eyes, she focused on gathering her energy. When she was ready, she placed her hand on his body in the spot she’d chosen to use and infused as much of her power into him as she could. She’d healed so many others. Now, when the medical profession didn’t seem to be getting results, she needed to use her skills on the man she loved.
She had no idea how long she sat like that, still as a statue, willing her body to cure his. When his hand moved to grasp hers, it startled her. He made an indistinguishable noise, and when she looked at him, she saw his eyes were open and he was trying to talk around the breathing tube. Her tears this time were of joy.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Don’t move. I’ll get someone to take it out. Don’t try to do it yourself.” When he grabbed her wrist, she shook her head. “You need to let go so I can get the doctor.”
The nurse was shocked when Summer opened the door to the cubicle and shouted for her, then pulled back the curtains.
“If I hadn’t seen this, I’d never believe it,” she told Summer. “We didn’t think he was going to make it.”
“I just couldn’t let go of him. Not when I’ve just found him.”
The doctor was even more shocked, but he briskly went about removing the tube and checking all Troy’s vitals.
Summer stood on the other side of the bed, Troy’s hand gripped in hers.
Faith was crying and telling her she was going downstairs to use her cell and call Mark.
People were flying in and out of the room, doing what needed to be done.
Summer started to say something, but all the blood suddenly seemed to leave her head and she collapsed to the floor, blackness surrounding her.
Summer opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, wondering where she was. She was in a bed, she realized that, but whose bed? And where was it? She turned her head and her glance landed on Troy, sitting in a wheelchair, smiling at her.
“Welcome back, sleepyhead.” He grinned. “Have a nice nap?”
Then she remembered. Troy being shot, having surgery, nearly dying. The agony of waiting while the doctors and nurses did their thing, assuring her they’d take good care of him. But they had only been able to do so much. She recalled her sense of urgency, hoping she hadn’t waited too long to resort to her psychic healing.
She looked around her, analyzing her situation. “I’m in a hospital bed.”
“Yes, you are, sugar.” Troy started to push himself out of the wheelchair.
“Wait, wait. Don’t get up.” She raised the head of the bed, tried frantically to get up. Dizziness swamped her, and she fell back against her pillows.
“I think I’m in a little better shape than you right now.” He nudged her over and carefully eased himself up beside her.
“You’re better.” She could see how clear his eyes were and that his color was so much more normal.
He cupped her chin and turned her face toward his. “You saved my life, Summer. The doctors said they’d pretty much given up on me, but you healed me. And I nearly lost you because of it.”
“How—how long have I been out?” She looked down at what she was wearing. “And who got me into this nightgown?”
“The nurses. Faith had the bag with your stuff in it. And you’ve been out since yesterday.” The smile left his face. “You used so much of your energy to heal me, you nearly didn’t have any left for yourself.” He pressed his mouth lightly to hers. “I thought I might have to get out of bed and use my skills on you, but Faith explained that you were replenishing your energy. We were all just a little scared because it took so long.”
“I couldn’t let you die,” she told him. “I love you. The thought of losing you scared me to death.”
“Kind of how I felt when I discovered Olberman had taken you. I might never let you out of my sight again.”
She grinned. “That might be a little difficult when you’re off saving the world.”
“We’ll work it out. We’re getting married just as soon as we’re out of here. Like I said once before, the rest is just details to work out later.”
He pressed his mouth to hers again, this kiss hotter and deeper. His tongue played with hers, and he moaned with the pleasure.
“Okay, okay. Get a room, and I don’t mean one in the hospital.”
Startled, Summer pushed at Troy gently to see who was there. Mark and Faith stood in the doorway, grinning like fools.
“I’m not sure they allow that in the hospital,” Mark told him.
“If they don’t,” Troy told him, “they should. It’s better than any medicine they’ve got here.”
“The doctors say you can be discharged tomorrow. Ed’s bringing the corporate jet back to transport you in luxury and whisk you off to whatever island paradise you choose to spend your honeymoon.”
Faith smiled. “We shamelessly eavesdropped. So when’s the big day?”
“As soon as we’re out of here.” He looked at Summer. “How much notice do you need to give your family?”
She laughed. “I’m pretty sure my brother and his wife have an inkling. I’ll break the news to my parents, and we’re good to go.” She sobered. “Two things, though.”
“Anything,” Troy told her.
“I want a very small wedding. Nothing big or fancy. It’s not my style.”
“Okay. What else?”
“I’d like the agency to track down the young boy with the heart condition whom Olberman wanted me to cure. He was going to sell my services to the boy’s father, who rules some island in the Pacific.”
Troy frowned. “I don’t know, sweetheart. It might not be safe if they were hooked in with that asshole.”
“Please? I’ve dealt with enough parents to know that desperation will make them do anything.”
Troy studied her face as if searching for something. “All right,” he agreed. “But you go with a full security detail, and I set the conditions.”
Her lips turned up in a smile. “So is this what it’s going to be like from now on? You setting the conditions?”
“You can bet on that. And the first one is to get us out of here so we can celebrate properly.”
And despite Mark and Faith watching, he took her mouth in another scorching kiss, sealing their future.