Hidden Away (KGI #3)(79)

“Most people would never make that kind of sacrifice.”

“I showed you my br**sts, for God’s sake,” she said in disgust.

He grinned, white teeth flashing. He was extraordinarily handsome and when he smiled, he transformed from dark warrior to someone with oodles of charm.

“And as a gentleman, I’ll not comment on how spectacular they were.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes, but she smiled, feeling a little lighter and less mortified than she had before.

“Thank you,” she said. “For coming. Garrett said you would, but there were times I wondered. It felt like we were there for a week.”

His expression grew serious. “We look after our own. No way we’d not come for him.”

“Loyalty like that is priceless.”

He nodded and then reached to the floorboard for one of the packs. “Are you still hungry? You didn’t eat much before. And are you sure you’re all right?”

She rubbed her forehead and then massaged the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “I’m okay. Just fried. I think if I ate anything else I’d be sick. My head is killing me.”

He frowned. “You should have told me. I can give you an injection.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t want to be out of it. The idea kind of freaks me out right now. Just some ibuprofen would be wonderful. I think it’s just going to take a while for me to come down.”

He dug into his pack and shook out several pills into his hand. Then he uncapped a bottle of water and extended it to her. After she took it, he handed over the pills and she threw them back and swallowed them with a gulp of water.

“Will you check in with Marcus? He’ll be frantic that I haven’t checked in. I assume you would have already told him that we’re safe. I’d like to ... talk to him if possible,” she said.

Rio’s face became expressionless. “Your brother knows you’re safe. Garrett will handle reporting in. We work for Garrett but this is his mission. He took the assignment from Marcus.”

She nodded. “It’s enough that he knows. Garrett will handle it.”

“Can you try to sleep?” Rio asked gently. “You can stretch out and put my pack against the door to lay your head on.”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I’m so exhausted and yet I feel like I’ll never sleep again.”

“Let me give you something,” he said. “It’ll relax you and allow you to rest. It’ll alleviate some of the anxiety you’re feeling.”

She hesitated and he pressed. “You need the rest, Sarah. You’re dead on your feet and when Garrett wakes up and sees you like this, he’s going to wig out, and then we’ll have no hope of getting him the care he needs. He’ll be too worried about you.”

“That was dirty,” she said with a scowl.

“Thank you, ma’am. I do my best.”

“Oh all right,” she conceded.

“Pull your sleeve up,” he directed as he dug back into the pack.

She complied and he uncapped a prefilled syringe. She looked doubtfully at it as he swabbed an area of her skin with alcohol. Then before she could question, he plunged the needle into her arm. She gasped and then rubbed when he withdrew.

“Sorry,” he said.

“That seemed like an awful lot of medicine for something that’s just supposed to bring me down and relax me a bit.”

“Oh it’ll knock you on your ass for several hours,” he said cheerfully.

Already the world was going hazy around her and her eyelids grew heavy. “When I wake up, I’m going to kick your ass,” she slurred.

Rio leaned her toward the window and tucked his pack underneath her head. He gave her a gentle smile. “Good night, Sarah.”

SAM paced the tarmac with restless energy while Donovan and Ethan leaned against the door of the Kelly jet. Sam checked his watch for the third time in as many minutes and swore under his breath.

“Where are they?” he demanded. “What the hell’s taking them so long? I hope they didn’t run into trouble.”

“We’d know if they did,” Donovan said. “Rio can handle it. They’ll be here.”

Ethan remained silent, his expression tense. “Garrett called home. He knew the women would be upset. If he was thinking of Mom and Rachel and Sophie, he’s fine.”

The distant sound of a helicopter quieted the conversation. The hum grew louder until the chopper burst over the dense area of trees. A few minutes later, the chopper touched down several feet away from where the jet was parked and Rio hopped out of the cockpit.

Sam started over, his brothers on his heels. Sam waited for the engine noise to die before addressing his team leader.

“What the hell happened? Where’s Garrett?”

“He needs medical,” Rio said. “There’s a clinic about thirty miles out. It’s safe.”

“That’s stupid,” Ethan cut in. “We can get him on the jet and take him home to a hospital there.”

Rio shook his head. “Not going to happen.”

“You want to explain why?” Donovan asked.

A dilapidated old van creaked onto the tarmac and drove noisily over to where the chopper had landed. Rio motioned to Terrence, who ducked into the helicopter and came out a moment later, a woman curled into his arms. He carried her toward the van while Sam and his brothers watched in confusion.