Mercenary Trilogy - Willing Part 28

"Daddy's in the office, Mama. I wanna ask him."Josie's heart rate accelerated."Don't be silly. Can't you see there are no lights on?" Definite impatience this time. "No one's in there.""But I saw lights. Little ones. Like Daddy's flashlight."The quality of the stillness outside the room told Josie all she needed to know about what the mother thought of her son's comments. "Abel, go wake the others. Now."

Josie moved. She whirled into the hallway and sprinted for the boy before he could get out the door to sound the alarm. Hotwire was running for the woman.

The little boy lifted his arm, and it was only then that Josie realized he was carrying a gun.

"I'm going to help my daddy!" She heard the safety disengage and dove to her right as the child fired, but

the bullet found its target. Pain that she'd felt once before burst through her thigh, and her legs collapsedbeneath her."I'm down. Get out," she said into the mouthpiece of her headset, and then blackness overwhelmed her.

Daniel ran toward the building with the office in it faster than he'd ever run in his life. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it. d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l. Josie had said she was down. They'd all heard the shot over the headsets, and it had sounded like thunder in his ear, but the sound from the building had been muted. The merc part of his brain automatically computed a low probability it had awoken others in the compound.

Hotwire had said he'd neutralized the mother and was headed toward the sleeping quarters at the other end of the building, but a child of approximately five years of age had made it outside. The child was armed.

Daniel saw the small body outlined against the dark buildings. He was wearing light pajamas, but he had a black object in his right hand.

This child had shot Josie.

Daniel approached him at a sprint and grabbed him from behind still in forward momentum mode. He clamped one hand over the boy's mouth, used the other to disarm him and then immobilize him.

Figuring a quick knockout would be less traumatizing for the kid than a drawn-out battle against a bigger foe, he pressed against the carotid artery, and the child went limp against him. Daniel had a minute, maybe less, to get the small shooter tied up before he became conscious again.

He burst through the door to the building and came to a skidding halt in front of Josie.

Her eyes were shut, and her head lolled to one side. Blood was all over the floor under her, and one of her pant legs was soaked with it. The mother was against the opposite wall, her eyes dilated with shock, tears running down her face. She was gagged, but when she saw her son, she squirmed against her restraints and tried to speak.

Daniel used plastic ties to secure the child's hands behind his back and his ankles together. Then he put the little one on his mother's lap. He hated putting the tape over the little boy's mouth, but they couldn't risk him waking and raising the alarm.

When he finished, the mother looked up at him, terror in her eyes.

"Your son is fine." It was all he could take time to say.

And frankly, he didn't see the use of saying anything else. How many women and children had he seen hurt by the fanaticism of the men responsible for their safety? Not that women couldn't be just as fanatic -and dangerous-which was why he did not untie the woman so she could cuddle her son. She might decide to try to finish the job the little boy had started.

Her eyes widened again, the fear that had abated with his words increasing, and he turned to see Hotwire running silently down the hall toward them.

"We're not here to hurt you," Daniel said roughly to the woman before turning away from her and her son.

"The others?"

"Neutralized."

Daniel fell to his knees beside Josie at the same time Hotwire did. The other man already had his knife out, and he slit her pant leg. Daniel put his arm around her, prepared to prevent her from crying out in pain if she woke disoriented from her unnatural sleep.

"Is she still bleeding?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but it looks like the bullet missed the bone." Hotwire probed the wound, and Josie's body jolted in involuntary reaction. "I'm not sure about her muscle, though. She's going to hurt a fricken long time from this one."

He started binding the wound.

Daniel waited until he was done and then lifted her gently into his arms. Though she did not waken, her face twisted with pain at the movement. He felt helpless and so d.a.m.n angry he could have killed.

"Take her back to the others. I'm going to finish in there." Hotwire indicated the dark office doorway with an inclination of his head.

"Someone else in the compound might have seen the corridor light before you turned it off. I did.""I know how to keep my head down. Don't worry about me. Just go."And Daniel went.He double-timed it to the meeting place, giving details into his headset as he went.It was decided that Tyler would take him and Josie to the nearest hospital while Wolf waited for Hotwire with the prisoners. They would bring them out in the second jeep. It would be a tight fit for the four adult

male prisoners in the backseat, but Daniel didn't give a rat's a.s.s about those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds' comfort.

Pain radiated through Josie's body. It seemed to be centered in her thigh, but it was hard to tell. It was all-consuming. The jeep went over a b.u.mp, and she groaned.

"It's all right, sweetheart. You're going to be okay. We're taking you to a hospital." She opened her eyes to darkness, but eventually shapes distinguished themselves before her. The interior of the jeep, her dad's head in the driver's seat. Daniel's face above hers. She couldn't see his expression, but she could feel his concern. His arms were firm around her, but gentle, and his breath was more labored than her own.

"You okay?" she croaked, her mouth dry from the pain.

He tensed, as if he'd just realized she was awake. "That should be my line."

"I hurt."

"I'm sorry, baby."

"Me, too. Screwed up the mission." She grimaced as pain throbbed in her thigh. Definitely her thigh. "

Didn't expect the little guy to have a gun.""It's h.e.l.l what parents will do to their kids in the name of fanaticism.""We've seen it before.""Yeah.""So, I should have been prepared for it.""Don't you be blaming yourself, Josie-girl." Her dad's voice was gravelly, as though he was having a hard time getting the words out."But the mission...""Screw the mission!""Hotwire stayed behind to finish gathering the evidence, and Wolf was watching over the prisoners. It's all good." Daniel brushed her cheek. "But you getting shot wasn't. I'm sorry about that."Her heart contracted, and she wanted to cry. She could grit her teeth at the pain in her leg, but knowingthat he was taking on another load of guilt because of her hurt in ways she couldn't deal with. "It's notyour fault."

"I let you come."

"You're not my commanding officer, and even if you were, I probably would have disobeyed orders. I make my own decisions. It's one of the reasons I never went to formal military. I don't like people telling me what to do." It was hard to get the words out, but she had to make him understand. "You weren't responsible for securing the office. That was my job. None of this is your fault."

He didn't say anything, but his hand caressed her face, and the sense of grim tension surrounding them did not abate.

"Please don't let me become another burden, Daniel. I couldn't stand it."

"You are not a burden to me." His words were low, intense. "I love you, Josette."

She wanted to believe him so badly, but he hadn't said anything when she'd whispered the words to him before, and now he was feeling guilty. Did he think he had to tell her he loved her to make up for her being shot?

"It's not your fault," she said again.

The jeep lurched to a screeching halt as her father cussed out a deer who'd run in the road. Josie's leg got jolted despite Daniel's attempt to prevent it from happening, and another wave of intense pain rushed over her. The darkness around her became absolute as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Chapter 19.

D aniel held grimly to Josie's body, cursing the deer, the pain that had sent her into another faint and his own lousy timing on admitting his love for her. She hadn't believed him. He was sure of it. Rejection of his words had radiated off of her even though she hadn't said anything. Just that it wasn't his fault. It was obvious she thought he had told her he loved her because he felt guilty.

But that wasn't why. It was because he'd finally figured out that the feelings she brought to life in him couldn't have any other name. Not obsession, not desire, not even friends.h.i.+p. Those were all part of what he felt, but none of them were dominant.

What overwhelmed him with her was this absolute knowledge that life without her would be an abyss of solitude and pain.

She brought joy into his life. She made every day better. Spending time with her was the most exciting thing he'd ever done, bar none. He wanted to be a better man with her. He wanted to prove he could live without giving in to the demon of temper, that he was capable of walking a different path in marriage than his father had taken.

If that wasn't love, he didn't know what was.

Now all he had to do was convince Josie. He hoped it didn't take her as long to believe as it had taken him.

She woke one more time on the way to the hospital, and he wished she hadn't. It was obvious she was in terrible pain, but she was soldiering on, trying to hide how bad it was. He knew anyway, and it was killing him.

Josie's mouth tasted as if she'd swallowed sawdust, and her head swam with the effort it took to distinguish the voices whirling around her.

"She's been out for four hours." That was Daniel's voice. "She should have woken up by now.""It was like this after the first time, too," her father said. "It's the anesthetic. She reacts strongly to it. Lasttime it took her hours longer to come to than the doctors were expecting."

"And you didn't think you should mention this to the doctors here before they gave her a hefty dose?""I did mention it, but they had to give her enough to put her under.""Can't they do something to wake her up?""They don't need to. Sleep is the best thing for the healing process.""Natural sleep maybe.""I'm not going to get any sleep, natural or otherwise, with you two arguing over my bed." Her voice came out raspy and weak, but the words were distinguishable, and she was proud of herself.

A hand came softly against her face in a brief caress. Daniel. She would always know his touch. "How do you feel?"

She forced eyelids that felt glued shut to open. He was a blur while her vision focused, but she tried to

meet his gaze. "Numb.""It's the anesthetic.""My leg?""The bullet went through tissue and muscle. No major arteries. No major bones. You should be back to normal in six weeks or less."

Daniel slowly came into sharper focus. He'd made an effort to wash off the black face paint, but smears

remained near his temple and on one cheekbone. She wondered if she looked any better. Somehow, shedoubted it."I'll tell the doctor she's come to," her dad said before leaving the room."The mission?" she asked."Successful. Hotwire got what we needed. The prisoners and the evidence were delivered to the FBI two hours ago. They plan to move in on the compound immediately."

"Good," she croaked and then grimaced. "Thirsty..."

He lifted a cup, putting the straw to her lips, and she sipped at the icy water with real pleasure. When she

was done, he took the cup away and settled carefully on the side of her bed away from her injured leg.

He took her hand between his, the warmth in him infusing her with comfort. "I don't like you getting shot.""I'm not real thrilled about it myself.""I don't want the mother of my children to work in such a dangerous profession. Too stressful on family life."She stared up at him. "The drugs are making me hear things. You don't want children.""I didn't before, but now I do.""With me?" she asked, just to make sure. She felt too loopy to trust her first interpretation of his words."With you." His hands pressed against hers as if he was willing her to listen to him. "I love you, Josette. I know you think it's the guilt talking, but I swear it's not. I need you in my life. Permanently.""You mean like get married?" She had to be hallucinating."And have babies. Yes." He lifted her hand to his face and pressed her palm against his lips so she could feel his words as well as hear them. "Will you marry me, Josette? I'll spend the rest of my life proving I can be a different man than my father."

Tears that had nothing to do with the pain she was in filled her eyes. "You already have."The nurse and doctor came in with her dad. She was examined, poked and prodded until she didn't feelin the least bit numb. Daniel's tension grew and grew until he told the doctor and nurse to leave her theh.e.l.l alone. With both her dad and lover there, looking dangerous and none too pleased, the doctor andnurse listened. The doctor gave hurried instructions for her care and left. The nurse injected a pain killerinto her I.V. before going.

Josie didn't have enough energy to say thank you, but as she slipped into sleep the knowledge Daniel wanted to marry her did more to anesthetize her pain than the drugs.

The next few days flew by. Josie improved rapidly, and Daniel never left her side, going so far as to sleepon a cot in her hospital room. The staff didn't mention in his hearing that it was against hospital policysince he wasn't a relation, but Josie heard two of the nurses talking about it.

They also mentioned they wouldn't mind having him sleep in their rooms. Josie changed the subject when

Daniel asked why she was so cool toward the two women when they came into her room.

Her dad and the others were frequent visitors. Even Lise flew in and came to the hospital to see her.

Josie had another visitor, her third day in the hospital.

A pretty woman with troubled eyes came into the room with Daniel after lunch. Clinging to her hand was a small blond boy of five or six. He was looking at Josie with eyes that broke her heart.

They stopped beside her bed.The woman spoke first. "He needed to see that you were alive. Mr. Black Eagle a.s.sured us you wouldn't mind us visiting, but I'll understand if you want us to leave."

Josie looked at the little boy and put her hand out. "I'm alive. Feel."He tentatively reached out and then touched her hand. His was cold, and she curled her fingers around it."You're warm.""Yes."

Tears started streaming down his cheeks. "Dead is cold. I know 'cuz when the men hunted, the animalsthey shot was cold when they brought them back.""I'm warm and I'm alive.""Does it hurt?"

"Some, but they give me medicine to help with the pain.""I'm sorry." His lower lip trembled, and then the tears were audible as well as making wet tracks downhis cheeks.

His mother dropped to her haunches beside him, and she hugged him to her.He threw himself into her body, tearing his hand from Josie. "I didn't mean it, Mommy. I didn't mean it.""It's okay, Abel." She calmed him until the crying had diminished to a few sniffles, and then she looked at Josie over her son's shoulder. "I know why you broke in to the compound. Most of us had no idea the men were involved in things that dangerous. We thought we were making a simpler, better life for our children, and now that life is in shambles, but I'd rather that than raise my son to kill."

She stood up, her son held against her. "I'd never seen a person shot before. When the others talked about fighting for our way of life, it was emotional rhetoric. This is real, and Abel and I will have to live with the memory for the rest of our lives."

"I don't blame your son for shooting me."The woman's eyes filled with tears. "Thank you.""Abel," Josie said.The little boy looked at her."I forgive you."He wriggled down from his mom and came to the bedside. "Can I hug you? Mommy hugs me when I get hurted and it feels better."

"Sure." She went to reach down, but Daniel was there, lifting the boy to her so she wouldn't put anystress on her wound.He hugged her tightly around the neck, choking her, but she didn't complain. This little one would live with more trauma from the shooting than she would.When he let go, he looked at her anxiously. "Do you feel better?""Yes. Much. Thank you."He and his mother came to see her twice more, and each time, Josie reiterated that she was going to be okay and that she forgave Abel. He'd started smiling again, which his mother tearfully thanked her for. There would be more traumas to come with the investigation into the shooting, but both he and his mother were going to make it through.