Shades of Gray (KGI #6)(29)

P.J. gave her a crooked grin. “I’m just a civilian, remember? I can’t be expected to keep up with all those military rules.”

“You’re going to try sneaking out if I don’t help you, aren’t you?”

P.J. nodded, her expression growing somber.

“Fuck me,” Cathy muttered. “Do you have any idea what those men of yours are going to do if they find out I was the one who aided and abetted you?”

“Just throw a hooyah in Cole and Dolphin’s direction. It’ll all be all right then.”

“You’re so damn irreverent,” Cathy said in exasperation. “Navy sticks together, you know. I ought to turn your ass in and then cuff that good arm to the bed.”

P.J. glanced down at the awkward cast. Her shooting hand. She needed those fingers steady.

“How long until this heals?” she asked seriously.

“Few weeks in that cast, and you should be good. Hairline fractures of three fingers. Once the swelling and bruising goes down, they should heal quickly, but only if you don’t try to rush things. Give yourself the time you need and don’t try anything stupid or you’ll be sorry. I’m only going to help you if you swear to me that you’ll take care of yourself and give yourself time to heal. Do we have a deal?”

P.J. slowly nodded. “Thanks, Cathy. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me a damn thing,” Cathy said, her voice thick with emotion. “I have a twelve-year-old niece. Those girls you saved. They could have been my niece. Any one of them. You did a good thing, P.J. You sacrificed too much, but you saved them.”

P.J. blinked away the betraying moisture in her eyes. “How much longer until you get off?”

Cathy checked her watch. “Well now that I don’t have to give you meds and take your vitals, give me five minutes and I’ll be clocking out. Stay put and I’ll come get you when it’s time to go. We’ll take the stairs down and hope to hell no one looks at us too closely.”

She studied P.J. a little closer and then rubbed her chin. “Tell you what. I’ll bring you some scrubs. It’ll draw less attention than you walking down looking like some street urchin in those clothes.”

P.J. smiled. “Thanks.”

“Now sit and rest until I come get you,” Cathy said with a scowl.

P.J. gratefully sank into a chair as she cemented her next course of action. The very first thing she needed was to go back to Denver and take care of a few things there and then take the time to heal. As much as it pained her, she knew Cathy was right. There was absolutely nothing she could do in her present state. And she needed the time alone to come to terms with what had happened. Without the smothering presence of her team members. They all had jobs to do, and as long as she was a weak link, they weren’t going to be able to perform.

By the time Cathy made it back, P.J. knew exactly what she was going to do. With Cathy’s help she changed into scrubs and the two took the stairs and ducked out of one of the personnel entrances.

The checkpoints were more challenging. But Cathy told the truth. Sort of. She dropped KGI’s name, said that P.J. was being discharged and that she was giving her a ride out.

“You can drop me anywhere in Clarksville,” P.J. said. “I can get a ride to the airport.”

“Fuck you,” Cathy said rudely. “I’ll take you to the airport.”

“But you just worked an entire shift. The airport is over two hours away.”

“I can run you up to Paducah. Might take you a little longer to get where you’re going, but you know the minute the guys figure out you flew the coop, they’re going to look at Nashville and Memphis.”

P.J. sighed. “You’re probably right. Paducah it is.”

“You know you can stay with me as long as you like,” Cathy added quietly.

“Thank you for being a friend,” P.J. said, a knot growing in her throat. “It means a lot.”

Cathy glanced over at her. “Just as long as you realize that you do have friends, P.J. And that you can lean on them from time to time. It’s in the friend’s codebook. Scout’s honor.”

P.J. smiled. “I’ll remember that.”

“Okay, well let’s get you to that airport. You got money?”

“I have my ID and a credit card. That’ll get me where I’m going.”

“All right then. Let’s hit the road.”

CHAPTER 15

THE war room on the KGI compound was filled with a large group of very pissed-off men. Steele stood to one side with his team—minus one. Noticeably absent P.J. Cole stood shoulder to shoulder with his team leader as he surveyed the other occupants of the room.

Rio and his team, consisting of Terrence, Diego, Decker and Alton, stood looking haggard and tired. They too were down one man. Browning, who’d betrayed Rio’s trust in a previous mission. Rio was a hard, unforgiving bastard and you only got one chance to f**k him over. Browning was lucky Rio hadn’t killed him, but he’d cut him loose and walked away from him.

And then there were the Kellys: Sam, Garrett, Donovan, Ethan, Nathan and Joe. And Swanny, the newest recruit to KGI.

The room bristled with rage and testosterone overload. The silence was heavy but the undercurrents were electric. Cole knew what was on the minds of every single member of KGI.