Hidden Away (KGI #3)(106)

“I’m sorry,” Marlene said softly. “I’m sorry about your team members.”

Joe leaned back, his face white with pain and fatigue. “Yeah, it sucks. We were coming home after this mission. Most of us were getting out. We talked about nothing else for the last weeks. We all had plans. Now two of them aren’t coming home and three of us are in the hospital. I’m lucky to be alive, I guess.”

“Guess you’ll be home faster than you thought,” Ethan piped in. “Might take them a little while to get you discharged, but you sure as hell won’t be going anywhere after this.”

“Nathan and I were supposed to get out together,” Joe said through a clenched jaw. “This sucks. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“I’m just glad you’re alive,” Marlene said as she kissed his cheek again. “My prayers are so close to being answered. My babies back home, where they belong.”

The nurse stuck her head in the door and looked pointedly at the gathered Kellys.

“Time for us to go, Joe,” Frank said as he rose. “We’ll be here, though. We aren’t going anywhere. We’ll see you when you get out of surgery.”

Garrett stepped forward and took Joe’s hand. “Hey man, I’m shoving off for a few days. I have some loose ends to tie up. I’ll be back soon. I’ll be checking on you through Ma.”

Joe gripped his hand in return. “Let me know if Nathan gets in touch with any of you. Promise me.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem. Take care of yourself, baby brother.”

Joe glared at him and flipped him the bird. “I’ll show you baby when I get out of the damn hospital.”

The nurse herded the Kellys out the door and back toward the waiting area. Marlene plopped down in a chair and let out a huge sigh. Rusty, looking worried, sat beside Marlene and put an arm around her shoulders. “He’ll be all right, Marlene.”

Marlene smiled at Rusty. “I know he will, baby. I’ll always worry about my children, though. I’m afraid it’s a mother’s curse.”

“I’ll stay with you and Frank,” Rachel said as she sat on Marlene’s other side. She glanced up Ethan and he nodded. “Of course we will.”

Marlene frowned up at Sophie and Sam. “Let me kiss my granddaughter and then you get her home where she belongs. Last place she needs to be is a place full of sickness and germs. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”

Garrett leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Van and I are shoving off. I’ll call you.”

Marlene patted his cheek and then studied him as she rubbed her hand over his face. “You look tired, son. You need some rest. You’re working way too hard.”

“I’m bringing someone special home to meet you. I love her, and you’ll love her too.”

His mom’s mouth gaped open as he stepped back. “Why am I always the last one to know these things?”

Garrett smiled. Just saying it aloud had infused him with even more determination. Sarah belonged here with him. With his family. Surrounded by love and acceptance. He just had to make her see it.

CHAPTER 41

SARAH sat on the porch of the beach house where it all had begun. She was tired. Numb. Beyond exhausted. Her mind was in chaos. And she missed Garrett with every breath.

For several days, Adam Resnick had questioned her, albeit very politely. He’d made sure her every need was met. She was catered to, waited on, treated like an important guest instead of the sister of the CIA’s most wanted man.

It had hurt to hear the truth about her brother. She knew he’d been involved in some questionable activities, but she’d been shocked to know the extent. It horrified her to know of the things he’d done. The people he’d killed. The lives he was responsible for wrecking. She’d finally covered her ears and demanded that Resnick stop his recitation of Marcus’s many crimes.

She hadn’t been able to help them. She would have, if she had any way to. But Marcus had never given any information to her. He’d kept his dealings completely separate from her. He’d been careful not to ever let that aspect of his life touch her in any way.

She’d even given Resnick the number of her offshore account since Marcus had funded it. Now that she knew precisely how he’d gotten it, she had no desire to ever use it again.

As a result, she was broke with less than a thousand dollars left in her personal account. If Resnick hadn’t offered to set her up any place she wanted to go, she wouldn’t have been able to afford to come back here.

It was here that she wanted to sort out her life and pick up the pieces. Here is where her life had irrevocably changed. Yes, it had changed the moment Allen Cross raped her, but the island was where she’d been given a new lease on life. Garrett had done that for her. And then he’d crushed her in a way Allen Cross hadn’t been able to. That was the height of irony.

For three days she’d done nothing but sit on her deck and stare sightlessly over the water. She had no idea what she’d do next. At some point she’d have to make a decision. She couldn’t spend her life hiding.

It shouldn’t have surprised her to look up and see Garrett walking down the sand toward her cottage. But it did. It took all her willpower not to turn and flee into the cottage and lock the door behind her.