Running on Empty (28 page)

Because of an evil, jealous woman, Riley might die. 

Aidan and Justin had handled their worry in different ways. Aidan acted calm and confident, as if he didn’t for a moment believe Riley would die. She imagined his attitude would be helpful in any situation. Believing the worst wasn’t helpful. 

Justin, on the other hand, had an almost opposite reaction. He had been gentle and careful with Riley. They’d been miles away from any kind of medical facility. While Aidan notified the authorities and arranged for the hostages to be returned to their home, Sabrina had driven like a crazed lunatic to the closest hospital. And Justin had worked to save his partner’s life. Talking to her, urging her to stay awake, promising her she was fine, and telling her he was going to kick her ass as soon as she was well enough to take him on. He had tried to bandage the deep wound in Riley’s stomach, but there’d been so much blood it had been useless. 

Sabrina had actually thought Riley would die on the way to the hospital. No one could stay alive after losing that much blood. Somehow, Riley had. But for how long? 

Once Justin had relinquished his partner to the doctors and nurses who’d met them at the door, he had lost it. One broken chair, a shattered window, and two bloodied fists later, he had managed to calm down. 

For the past five hours, Justin had been standing as close to the surgery doors as possible. She had a feeling he was trying to stare through those doors and will Riley to stay alive. 

Sabrina had always been intrigued by how the two operatives worked so well together yet didn’t seem to like each other. Compared to her and Aidan, who teased each other mercilessly, these two acted as if they barely knew the other existed. But when they were on an op, they moved as if they shared the same thought processes. If nothing else, this event had shown that feelings definitely existed. 

The sound of running feet caught her attention, drawing her to her feet. Noah and Declan burst through the doors. Noah gave her a sweeping glance as if to reassure himself she was fine. 

“I’m okay.” 

He acknowledged her words with a nod and went straight to Justin. 

“Are you all right?” Declan asked.

She saw the concern on his face and, despite the circumstances, relished that it was there. What would he do if she threw herself into his arms? She made herself stand still. “I’m fine.”

“You have blood on your shirt.”

She glanced down. “Most of it is Riley’s.”

“Some of it’s yours?”

“I tried to get the knife away from the woman. Aidan had her pinned down, and I thought she was contained. She got a slice of me.”

“How bad?”

“A few stitches. No biggie.”

She could tell he wanted to say more but instead asked, “How’s Riley?”

“We don’t know yet. She’s been in surgery for over five hours.” And then because she knew he would understand, she blew out a shaky breath. “I’ve never seen that much blood, Declan. She had to have lost more than half her blood before we could get her here.”

“Come here.”

The gruff gentleness in his voice was dearly familiar. Even though she told herself she didn’t need this and it certainly meant nothing to him, she went into his arms anyway. As they closed around her, Sabrina closed her eyes with a sigh. Okay, she had lied to herself. She did need this. 

A door squeaked open, and all eyes went to a short, thin man in green scrubs with a tired and serious look on his face. Noah and Justin met him at the door. Sabrina, Declan, and Aidan gathered behind them.

“You’re Ms. Ingram’s family?”

“Yes, we are,” Noah answered. “How is she?”

“She’s no longer bleeding internally but she’s lost a tremendous amount of blood. We should know within the next forty-eight hours. She’s young, in excellent health, so that’s in her favor.”

“Can we see her?” Justin asked.

“She’s in recovery, then she’ll head to ICU. If she wakes, it won’t be for several more hours. It would be best if you wait until tomorrow to see her.”

The doctor turned and walked away, leaving the ominous words “if she wakes” hanging in the air.

Chapter Twenty-two

Alexandria, Virginia

Declan took a long draw off his beer and eyed the man who sat on the sofa across from him. Jackson Sands had once been a trusted friend and co-worker. To be sitting in a living room in a civilized manner having a cold one together felt surreal. The normal, everyday stuff still seemed off-kilter and strange.

Since Declan’s rescue, Jackson had checked in with him two or three times a week. The man’s concern had been appreciated but hard to take. Having no one interested in his wellbeing for so long, Declan had been resistant to his interest. 

He’d invited Jackson to the LCR apartment. He and Sabrina had yet to return to her house. He had wanted her to be close to those she trusted while she healed. And Sabrina had wanted to stay nearby for Riley’s sake. The young operative had been transferred to the LCR medical facility and was making great strides in her recovery. Still, probably because of all the uncertainty in her own life, Sabrina had said she wanted to be completely sure of Riley’s good prognosis before she went home.

“So, are you ready to let me help you find the bastards who did this to you?” 

One thing Declan always appreciated about Jackson—he didn’t beat around the bush. 

When Jackson and his team had rescued him, Declan hadn’t taken much notice of the man, but now that he had, he swore the guy hadn’t aged a bit from the first time they’d met almost fifteen years before. A little over six feet tall, skin bronzed from the sun, dark brown hair with a few glints of gold, and a face that Declan had been told made women fall at his feet.

 “You have any ideas?” Declan asked.

“Several. You’ve made a lot of enemies along the way. Assassinating evil men has a way of pissing off other evil men.”

“True. Having enemies within my own agency is a little disconcerting.”

“But not unexpected. The Agency doesn’t exactly hire choirboys.”

“No, but we try to bring in those who are loyal, with a strong sense of patriotism. Selling out one of your own isn’t exactly the type of behavior I’d expect.”

“You’ve grown soft. Takes all kinds of assholes.”

Soft wasn’t the description Declan would give himself. Before his capture, he had been as jaded as any covert ops agent. And now, after what he’d been through, he had about as much faith in his fellow man as he had in the Easter Bunny.

“I’m glad you found Sabrina,” Jackson went on. “Bet she was as surprised as hell.”

Declan gave a noncommittal grunt but inwardly winced. He hadn’t told his friend what an ass he’d been, not relishing the idea of confessing that he’d abducted Sabrina with the intent of killing her. Not exactly his finest hour.

 “Never seen two people more in love than you two.”

Again, Declan made no comment. At one time, there had been no doubt of his feelings. But that was then—when he’d had something still inside him. With only bitterness remaining, he had nothing left to give. What woman, especially someone as warm and caring as Sabrina, would want a hollow shell for a husband?

“She had a rough time of it,” Jackson said. 

“Were you around when it happened?”

Regret darkened his eyes. “No. I was on an op in Yemen. Didn’t hear about it until I got back a week later. I only heard it secondhand. Didn’t even know what hospital she was in.”

“Hospital?”

“She didn’t tell you she was hurt in the blast?”

“She told me cuts and bruises. Made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal.”

Jackson shrugged. “Again, this is only secondhand, but I heard she was unconscious for a few days. Severe concussion, broke some bones.”

A cement-like weight settled in Declan’s gut. Why had Sabrina downplayed her injuries? Why hadn’t she told him how badly she’d been hurt?
Because, asshole, you acted as if you didn’t give a damn.
 

“I finally got to talk to her a couple of weeks later. Just a phone call, but damn…never heard her sound so lifeless. She took what was left of your body…well, the body she thought was yours, to Scotland for burial. I got the impression she wished she had died, too.”

“Why do you say that?” He didn’t need to ask that question but, perhaps as self-punishment, did it anyway. 

“She was searching through the remains, trying to find you.” Jackson swallowed and continued, “Found an arm. Thought it was yours. Had a wedding ring just like yours. No one had any doubts that you were dead.”

Unable to just sit and listen, Declan stood and wandered over to the window. Pushing aside the horror Sabrina had endured, he said, “Somebody went to a lot of trouble to make everyone believe I was.”

“Yeah, they did. I worried about her…told her she needed to be careful since they tried to kill her, too.”

Jackson was right. Ever since Declan had gotten back, it’d been all about him. He had wanted to find the traitor. Sabrina had kept insisting they’d both been hurt, and he had assumed it was because their relationship had been destroyed. But it was a helluva lot more than that. 

“I haven’t seen her since she left the Agency,” Jackson was saying. “Hell, I don’t even know who she works for.”

Though LCR was a known organization, the identities of its operatives weren’t public knowledge. That, along with Sabrina’s natural reticence to share personal information, ensured that no one outside a few knew of her activities or whereabouts. 

The other man had paused, most likely thinking that Declan was going to reveal Sabrina’s occupation. Since that wasn’t going to happen, Declan changed the subject. “You have any issues…close calls of your own?”

Jackson snorted. “I’ve always got a couple of people gunning for me, but it has more to do with pissed-off small-time criminals these days.”

“So what does your security company do besides rescue wayward EDJE agents?”

“Almost anything we can get our hands on. Bodyguard, security services for celebs, and high-target businessmen. I’ve got four full-time employees, two part-time. If you hire us, I’ll guarantee we’ll do everything we can to find the assholes.”

“Thanks. But I don’t—”

The apartment door swung open, and Sabrina walked in. The instant she saw Jackson, her eyes lit up. They met in the middle of the room and gave each other a warm hug. 

Seeing the delight in her eyes and the smile curving her beautiful mouth helped dissolve some of the heaviness inside Declan. There was just something about Sabrina’s smile that made life seem better.

“I was thrilled when Declan told me you were coming over,” she said. “I wanted to thank you personally for what you did. If you hadn’t gotten the tip on his whereabouts and followed your instincts, he’d still be there.”

“It was my pleasure. I wished I could have let you know, but I couldn’t find you.”

She grimaced. “You know me. Staying in touch is not one of my strong points.”

Jackson glanced over at Declan. “Guess it was a shock to see his ugly mug again.”

She laughed as Jackson had intended. It didn’t surprise Declan that she didn’t tell his friend the circumstances of their reunion. That wasn’t her way.

She went over to the sofa and dropped onto it. “Declan tells me you have your own security business now. I was surprised when I heard you left the Agency.”

“Without Declan making it interesting and fun, things got boring.” He shrugged, and his eyes shadowed slightly. “Agency just wasn’t the same anymore. Too much politics. Got to the point you had to fill out a requisition before you could get a flipping toothpick.”

“And now you’re your own boss?”

He grinned. “Now I get to buy my own flipping toothpicks.”

Sabrina laughed and stood. “I’m starving. You guys had dinner?”

“Yeah. We ordered pizza. There’s some in the kitchen for you,” Declan said. 

Throwing him a grateful glance, she headed that way. “Thanks. I didn’t have lunch. Be right back.”

“She’s even more beautiful than I remember.”

Sabrina halted just inside the kitchen door. Neither man could see her as she listened shamelessly for Declan’s reply. His response was a grunt—not the least bit flattering or encouraging. How stupid and juvenile was she? Eavesdropping like some anxious teenager hoping to hear a compliment from the hottest guy in school. Stupid, because this particular hot guy, who also happened to be her husband, continued to act as if she meant nothing to him. 

They hadn’t yet talked about what happened the night before she had left for Caracas. At some point they had to address it, but she wanted to delay the inevitable as long as possible. She already knew what he would say. 

Her mood more somber than when she’d entered the apartment, Sabrina went about reheating a couple of slices of pizza. She stayed in the kitchen and ate what she could, wanting to give herself a few minutes of peace before returning to the living room. Being in Declan’s presence for very long always set up an ache in her chest. Trying to consume a meal when he was around had become somewhat difficult, as swallowing was almost impossible with a lump in her throat. 

One good thing she had learned today was that Riley should make a full and complete recovery. The young operative was now at the LCR medical facility but still had several more weeks of recuperation and rehab before she would be able to return to work in any kind of capacity. Sabrina had managed to see her for a few minutes earlier today. The small, pale woman lying on the bed had looked nothing like the energetic and focused Riley Ingram. She had looked as harmless and innocent as a child. 

Justin had been by his partner’s side almost from the moment he’d been allowed in to see her in Caracas. He had been there today, too. The worry etched on the man’s face made Sabrina wonder if his and Riley’s relationship would change once she was back on the job. It would be interesting to watch.

Sabrina’s own injury was still a little inconvenient, and Noah had pulled her off ops for a couple more weeks. She would have protested, but she had been too grateful. Since Declan had returned, she hadn’t had much downtime and was running on fumes. Also, despite his insistence that he didn’t need her help, Sabrina planned to assist him in finding out who had betrayed them.