She leaned closer to hear his whisper and then nodded. “He’s dead. A couple of his men are still standing. The US Marshals arrested them. Faced with federal prison, they’ve already started volunteering information on Tony’s uncle and the heavy hitters in his organization.”
Though his vision was blurry, MacGyver could see the place was crawling with law enforcement officers, cordoning off the area for their investigation and interviewing the folks whose travel plans had been irrevocably changed.
Travis appeared next to him again, looking full of himself. “Hey, Bro. These people think we’re heroes. I tried to set ’em straight, but they weren’t having it. So, hell, I figured I might as well give out a few business cards in case any of them need our private security services again. Word of mouth, man—it’s the way to go.” Travis grinned.
Okay, that hurt! Note to self—no laughing.
Kellie said something to Travis, and then she pulled her hand from MacGyver’s. He tried to snatch it back, but he was too slow, and the sudden movement reminded him why that wasn’t a good idea.
“Kellie makes one hell of a truck driver, doesn’t she?” Travis laughed, and MacGyver was having trouble following the conversation. Travis must have realized his confusion. “She talked Blake into bringing her and giving us a hand.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “The truck that took out the front of the building—that was Kellie. A diversion that got Blake and me through the back door.” He winked at Kellie. “If you ever need a job, come and see me.”
MacGyver wanted so badly to trace the slope of her cheek, committing to memory every sweet inch of translucent skin. Wisps of her satiny blonde hair had escaped from the trucker’s cap she wore, and those emerald green eyes gave the impression she could see right through him. She’d walked into the war zone without a care for herself. Part of him couldn’t help being pissed off she’d put herself in danger, but a bigger part was so damn proud of her.
He opened his mouth to form three words.I love you.She needed to know that, regardless of what she decided to do next. When no sound came from his parched lips, he frowned in frustration. He had to make her understand.I love you!
Kellie smiled sadly. “The ambulance is here. They’ll take good care of you.”
Was she crying? Don’t cry.
Paramedics pushed her aside. Even though he tried to keep her in sight through the screen of bodies, she slipped away…and so did he.
* * * *
He woke with men in blue scrubs surrounding him, poking and prodding his side. MacGyver groaned, pain spiraling to a crescendo.
“Do you remember what happened to you?” someone asked.
No.
“What’s the date?”
It’s—I don’t know.
“Get the surgeon on the floor, stat.” The voice was laced with concern. A pretty nurse jabbed a needle in his thigh, and almost immediately the agony lessened, as did the time he could hold his eyes open.
The next thing he knew, he was being wheeled down a long corridor on a gurney. Travis walked beside him, one hand on his arm. MacGyver could see it, but he couldn’t feel anything, His foggy vision swept each person they passed, looking for the one face he needed to see—though why he was so sure Kellie would be there wasn’t clear. Only that he needed her to be there.
When they finally stopped, two burly men in scrubs lifted him from the gurney to the table as though he weighed nothing. The room swam around him as someone looked down from behind. “Count backward from ten.”
Nine…
Chapter Twenty-two
Blake jerked his head from the engine compartment of his Piper Cub, a half-assed grin slowly forming as he reached for a grease rag and wiped his hands. “Well, you’ve got brass—I’ll give you that. I didn’t think you’d come.”
Kellie ducked under the nose of the plane, taking in Blake’s scruffy appearance. At least a week’s worth of whiskers covered his chin. He had serious bedhead, strands of black hair sticking up every which way. Combined with the grease-monkey jeans and tattered nowhere-near-white T-shirt, he was a total mess.
She ran an appraising glance over him and laughed. “It’s nice to see you, too, Blake. You didn’t have to get all fancied up for my visit.”
“Smart ass.” He smiled and turned back to the maze of wires, hoses and metal parts he’d been working on. “Hand me that hammer over there, would you?”
“Are you going to beat the plane into submission?” Kellie retrieved the tool from the concrete floor beneath the aircraft and handed it to him. “Coming wasmyidea, remember?” And a hard-won victory. It’d taken nearly ten days of telephone calls to convince Blake she needed to see his brother—talk to him, face-to-face. After he’d finally agreed, there was no way she’d have backed out. Seeing Christian was the last item on her redemption list. To finally face her demons. Once she’d apologized, whether he accepted it or not, she could move on.
“And probably not the best one you’ve ever had. I thought you’d at least bring MacGyver with you.”
Kellie blanched, a pang of longing stalling her breath. She cleared her throat. “We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.” A sharp pain jabbed her heart as memories of the last time she’d seen him, wounded at the airport, escaped from the compartment she’d forced them into. She hadn’t expected him to welcome her with open arms, considering his opinion of her. But the scowl that had darkened his eyes when Travis explained her role in the fight that should have been hers anyway had told her everything she’d needed to know.
Blake stopped, one hand outstretched, apparently to tap the camshaft with the hammer, and turned his disbelieving eyes on her. “You haven’t seen him since we left Spokane? Are you shittin’ me?” He pulled his arm back and tossed the hammer on a metal cart that held several other tools near his right hand. “I don’t care what the two of you argued about back there—the guy’s crazy about you. He went through hell to find you after the ambush at the golf course. That guy that took you—Martin? MacGyver wanted to kill him three more times fordaringto touch you.” He dropped his hands onto his hips. “Does he know where you are?”