Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(76)

Her answer was faint, barely discernible, almost as if she wasn’t fully conscious herself.

I couldn’t let him die because of me.

Rio swore viciously. He balled his fist, wanting to destroy something.

“Save it, man. She said to tell you to chill out. She’s only sticking a Band-Aid on me until they can get me to the hospital. She actually apologized for not being able to do more. Son of a bitch.”

Dolphin wasn’t any happier about Grace’s help than Rio was. But Rio also knew the moment Grace broke away from the other man. He lost color and slumped weakly back onto the concrete. His strength seemed to leach right out of him, but at least he wasn’t coughing up blood and his breaths were even and strong.

“I’ll be a son of a bitch,” Donovan murmured. “Damndest thing I ever saw.”

Donovan had been working diligently on a pressure bandage, trying to stop the bleeding. He was up to his elbows in bright red blood. It was all over his shirt. All over the ground. And yet now it had slowed to an ooze.

“I hear the chopper,” Steele bellowed from the runway.

The others scrambled, forming a tight line all the way to the landing pad so that Dolphin could be carried behind cover. As soon as the helo touched down, Donovan, Garrett and Sam hoisted Dolphin upward and rushed him toward the waiting stretcher.

Donovan climbed in with the other medic, and the chopper immediately took off, buzzing over the distant trees.

A few moments later, a line of SUVs roared down the runway.

“That’ll be the cavalry,” Sam said. “Fall in and let’s get the hell out of here!”

Rio didn’t question who came to get them or how Sam had arranged it so fast, but then Sam had a lot of damn connections, especially with the milita

ry. He was just grateful to get away so that they could regroup and figure out where to find Grace.

He reached out to her again, needing rea, needinssurance that she was okay.

Are you okay, honey? Do you know where they’re taking you?

There was only a faint whisper back. They drugged me, but I have to pretend it’s stronger than what it is because I don’t want them to know I can still function. I was out for a while because he hit me over the head. I don’t know anything yet. Don’t contact me. I don’t want to betray our link. I’ll reach out to you when it’s time.

I love you, he said fiercely. I’ll come for you, Grace. I’ll never leave you. Rest now and know that we’re going to get you out of this.

He felt her answering smile, so full of love and trust. Trust. It hit him like a hammer. She had absolute faith that he would indeed come for her, and like hell he was going to let her down.

CHAPTER 34

“RIO, you’re going to want to hear this,” Sam said in a grim voice.

Rio turned where he’d taken position in the hospital waiting room with the others. Dolphin had been taken to surgery a half hour before and they were likely in for a long wait.

Garrett stood next to his brother, and Steele was on Sam’s other side.

“Resnick was shot earlier today in his home.”

Rio’s brows went up. “Dead?”

Sam shook his head. “Critical. He was found by Kyle Phillips. He was the one who notified me. He and his team are on constant guard because they fear Resnick is still a target and someone will want to finish the job while he’s vulnerable.”

“So what’s this have to do with what’s going on here?” Rio asked impatiently.

“Because I was the last person Resnick tried to contact, and when Phillips found Resnick, his computer files were open to everything he had on KGI. Including the airfield we flew into and the locations of the majority of our safe houses. Phillips lifted fingerprints not belonging to Resnick from the keyboard, and when he ran them, they came back to a deceased former member of the Army Special Forces. Pretty coincidental, isn’t it?”

“Fuck,” Rio swore. “They got to him. Titan f**king got to him and that’s how they knew where to find us. Son of a bitch, Sam, why the hell does Resnick have that kind of information?”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “I know you’re pissed, but you need to back the f**k off, Rio. We do a lot of damn jobs for Resnick. Hell, he’s paid for half of those facilities, from the safe houses to the airstrip we used today. In the past we’ve never had a reason not to trust him. It wasn’t until recently that he gave us a reason to second-guess that decision.”

Rio shoved the strands of hair that had come loose from his ponytail behind his ears and blew out a breath.

“I think we should go see Resnick and Phillips,” Garrett said in a low voice. “If Resnick comes around, he may be able to tell us something that helps us locate Grace.”

Rio’s nostrils flared. “How far? Where is he?”

“An hour away. We can get there quicker,” Sam said. “Let me tell the others what’s up. I want protection for Dolphin but I also want them on standby for orders if we get information that helps us from Resnick.”

“Thank you,” Rio said quietly. “I know I’ve made this personal. She’s not just a mission, Sam. She’s my f**king life.”

Sam smiled faintly. “Every mission is personal, Rio. Some are just more personal than others.”

Sam slapped him on the shoulder and then walked away to talk to Steele. Nathan came up behind Rio and nudged him over to the side.