Hidden Prey (Lawmen) (36 page)

“Landon!” Tori’s scream. “Oh, God.” And then she was over him. “He’s bleeding, but I can’t tell where.”

Dylan shouted for Joe’s men to call in the chopper and to stand watch while Dylan attended to Landon. Dylan ripped open Landon’s bulletproof vest and then Tori was pressing a piece of the yellow dress against his wound.

Tori was getting good at this, he thought before he slipped into darkness.

Tori sat in the hospital waiting room at Tucson Medical Center, her chest tight as she waited for Landon who was in the operating room. The doctors had said it was touch-and-go, and Tori was terrified that Landon was going to die.

The pain in Tori’s chest had nothing to do with her broken rib and everything to do with her feelings for Landon as she prayed for him. She’d fallen in love with him, and she’d fallen hard.

While the doctors worked on Landon, the hospital staff insisted on going over Tori, taking X-rays and examining her. They treated the laceration on her scalp, bandaged her ribs, and took care of other injuries she had sustained.

The whole time members of the hospital staff were patching Tori up, all she could think about was Landon and the need to get to him.

After Landon had been shot, the men who had come to rescue Tori grabbed her and took her to a helicopter that had landed on the expansive lawn. A powerful draft from the rotors had sent the second tent flying.

Dylan and another man had carried Landon while others covered them with their weapons, taking out as many of Diego’s men as they could.

Only one of Joe Black’s special ops team members had sustained a bullet wound before they escaped by helicopter, the Jimenez Cartel’s men still coming after them. Somehow Tori and the spec ops team managed to get off the ground with no one else on the team being shot.

Tori had feared for Angelina’s life so the men had snatched her and took her with them. The girl had stayed huddled next to Tori who kept close to Landon in the helicopter. Angelina never left Tori’s side, almost clinging to her.

At the hospital, the young woman had been treated for shock and given a mild sedative. Angelina was still dazed from all that had happened in front of her—Alejandro shooting her grandfather, that same uncle having taken her hostage, and then her uncle being killed.

As soon as they had gotten into the helicopter, one of the men had taken what they called a “sponge syringe” and injected a special sponge into the bullet hole in Landon’s gut to expand and stop the bleeding.

Once they reached the hospital, the new technology had been explained to her. The FDA hadn’t approved it yet, but Joe Black’s company, Black Sky International, had gotten hold of the device filled with small sponges that sealed up gun wounds like “Fix-a-Flat.” A radiopaque X was on each tiny sponge to make sure the doctors could find them once they started working on the patient.

The sponge had kept Landon from bleeding out and losing his life. They’d also injected a sponge into the thigh wound of the other man who’d been shot.

And now here she was.

Not knowing if Landon would live or die.

She squeezed her eyes shut.
God, please, let him live.

The doctor and nurses finished patching up Tori and left her with Angelina to clean up and dress. The nurses provided scrubs for Tori and Angelina to put on so that they didn’t have to wear the torn yellow and pink dresses that had been covered with dirt and blood. Angelina and Tori both cleaned up and combed their hair the best they could.

Just as Tori and finished dressing in the scrubs she’d been given, and Angelina came out of the private bathroom wearing hers, a tiny elderly woman walked into the hospital room. She wore all black with the exception of a white lace mantilla, and looked even older than Landon’s grandmother.

An eerie sensation washed over Tori, a feeling not unlike déjà vu.

Angelina looked nervous and backed up against the hospital bed and sat on the edge.

“Do I know you?” Tori asked the elder woman.

“I would like to rest my legs,” the woman said in a strong Hispanic accent.

“Of course.” Tori pulled up one of the chairs in the hospital room for the woman. Tori thought she could hear the woman’s joints creak as she sank down onto the chair.

“Bring it closer.” The woman gestured to another chair in the room. “And sit.”

Tori did as she was instructed, and sat facing the woman.

“I am Juanita.” The elderly woman looked at Angelina who was still sitting on the bed. “You have grown to be a lovely young woman, Angelina.”

Tori’s eyes widened as a surprised look came over Angelina’s face. Before Tori could ask Juanita any questions, the woman reached out and took Tori’s hands in hers. “We will pray for your man.”

Juanita closed her eyes, her cold, bird-like hands holding Tori’s. Something about the woman gave Tori a sense of peace, and she closed her own eyes.

For a long moment, Tori prayed with Juanita.

After several minutes, Tori raised her lashes. Angelina was watching with wide eyes.

“He told you the truth.” Juanita was looking at Tori. “Now it is up to the will of God.” To Angelina, the old woman said, “These are good people. You will be welcomed and loved here. You belong.”

Tori’s thoughts spun and she could see Angelina looked just as confused. They stood when Juanita did, then watched as the elderly woman slowly made her way out of the room.

Angelina and Tori looked at each other. Angelina looked as if she was at a loss for words like Tori.

It was as if everything had come to a standstill while the woman prayed with Tori.

As soon as Tori and Angelina stepped outside of the hospital room, everything else passed by in a blur.

Tori and Angelina went to sit in the waiting room. Tori started biting one of her nails as she waited for the doctor to return to give an update on Landon’s condition.

Dylan had contacted Landon’s mother and father, who had called Landon’s three sisters. One of his sisters lived close, and within thirty minutes she and Landon’s parents arrived in a flurry. When Dylan introduced Tori to Landon’s family, Mrs. Walker gave Tori a hug, clearly seeing how distraught Tori was.

Mr. Walker left to get Grandma Teresa, and when she arrived, the old woman went straight to Tori and started questioning her in her no-nonsense tone. Tori didn’t mind. It took her mind off the possibility of Landon actually dying.

As they waited, Tori held Angelina’s hand tightly, letting her know that she wasn’t alone. Tori didn’t know what the future held for the fifteen-year-old, but she’d do everything in her power to keep her from being sent back to her great-uncles who would now be running the family business. They feared for Angelina’s safety if the girl was left with the ruthless men.

Juanita’s words came back to Tori.
“These are good people. You will be welcomed and loved here. You belong.”

Tori was relieved to learn that Special Agent Sofia Aguilar was here at Tucson Medical Center, and was out of the ICU, her prognosis good. Some of the other agents and staff hadn’t fared as well. The explosion at the DHS office had been a tragedy all the way around.

It had also been big, big news, and was being covered by TV stations around the world.

Tori had heard Dylan speaking to another agent. The feds were going to come down hard on every aspect of the cartel’s business.

All of the DHS in the southwest was involved, with agents being brought in immediately. Arrest warrants would be issued, the cartel’s men tailed, and business disrupted. DHS would give the cartel’s business as much grief as possible.

This was war.

Tori leaned her head back against the waiting room wall. God, when would they find out about Landon?

Angelina was asleep, her head on Tori’s shoulder, when the doctor finally appeared. Tori refused to think the worst, but it was there, at the back of her mind.

“We were able to resuscitate Landon after he died on the operating room table.” The doctor looked tired and spoke to them as a group.

Tori’s heart nearly stopped and Landon’s mother sucked in her breath. Landon had died on the operating table?

“He is now in stable condition.” A huge, shuddering breath of relief made Tori weak as the doctor spoke.

As the doctor continued talking, Tori held onto the fact that Landon’s condition was stable. She knew that the doctor was covering his ass by not giving them an absolute, “He will make it.” Tori knew with all her heart Landon
would
survive.

But dear God, Landon had
died
on the operating room table before being resuscitated.

Landon was allowed to have a few visitors. His parents went in first with Grandma Teresa. When Mrs. Walker came out, her eyes were bleary as if she’d fought off crying but she smiled. “He’s going to be all right.”

Tori went next, after Angelina agreed to stay with Mrs. Walker. The girl looked fearful but let the motherly woman sit next to her. Dylan had taken Mrs. Walker aside earlier, so likely he’d told her about Angelina.

When Tori entered the room, her chest ached even more to see Landon hooked up to monitors. His tanned skin was unusually pale.

He saw her and smiled. “Hi, honey.”

Her heart flipped over to hear his voice. “It’s good to see you.”

And it was so good to see him. Alive. Thank God he was alive.

She moved to the side of hospital bed and took his hand in hers before she sat in the chair next to the bed.

His fingers were warm as he squeezed hers. “How are you feeling, Tori?”

“The better question is how are
you
feeling?” She rested her other hand on his good shoulder. “You scared me.”

“Then we’re even.” His expression was serious. “When you were taken, I was nearly out of my mind.”

She thought about how much she loved him as his gaze held hers.

“I have something I want to tell you,” she said at the same time he said, “There’s something I need to say.”

The looked at each other and laughed. Landon coughed and winced, the movement clearly hurting.

His voice croaked a little from the aftereffects of the cough. “Ladies first.”

“I wanted to—” She took a deep breath. She could do this. “I love you, Landon. I know it’s too soon, but I just…I just needed to let you know.”

A warm smile eased over his face. “Honey, that’s exactly what I was going to tell you. I love you.”

Her breath caught. “You do?”

He slowly stroked her hand with his thumb. “I think I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you running up that hill.”

Tears made her sight blur and she had to blink them away. “It feels like I’ve loved you forever.”

He shifted on the bed, trying to scoot up and winced. “Come here.”

She stood, their hands still joined. He tugged her down and she lowered her head. He released her hand and slid his fingers into her hair before drawing her in closer to him. Their lips met in a kiss that took her breath away.

The kiss was sweet and long. She’d missed his taste, she’d missed his scent. It filled her, as if he was a part of her. She couldn’t imagine ever living without the man who had captured her heart and soul.

When she drew away, he skimmed his fingers down the side of her face. “You are mine, Tori. I’m going to love you forever.”

She captured his hand in hers. “Me, too,” she said softly. “Me, too.”

The conductor cut off the symphony with his baton at the end of the last triumphant note.

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience as Jean Luc Leon, the conductor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, bowed to Tori, the Concert Mistress. He motioned for her to stand while the applause continued. He gestured to each of the soloists who also stood, and then to the entire symphony.

Jean Luc turned and bowed to the audience as the applause went on and on. The concert had been the highlight of the symphony’s eighty-fifth season.

Tori felt the familiar thrill, a high after an amazing concert and the applause of an appreciative audience. It was a feeling like none other.

When the applause died down, the audience began to file out. Some came up to Jean Luc to express their pleasure in a concert well done.