“Thanks. I’m returning to the house now.”
Joe made it back, heading through the front door and returning immediately to the study. He saw that Drew had removed the blindfold and was now behind the chair, dealing with Finn’s restraints. All he wanted to do was pull Finn into his arms, but he settled for dropping next to the chair on his knees, afraid to touch Finn in case he caused him any more pain.
“Hey. How bad is it?” he asked, bracing himself for the answer. Finn was a medic, so he’d know damned well how badly he was injured.
“Could be worse. Could be better, too,” Finn said with a wry smile, his eyes warming with affection as he gazed at Joe. “Ribs—cracked and possibly broken. Left leg—multiple fractures. Lower abdomen—blunt force trauma with possible internal bleeding. Pretty face, mercifully unscathed.”
Joe lifted one hand, surprised to see it was shaking, and laid his palm against Finn’s cheek. “I’m sorry it took us so long. I’m sorry they took you at all. It should have been me. This is all my fault.”
Drew finished freeing Finn’s arms, and Finn let out a sigh of relief as he rubbed his wrists, which showed signs of chafing and bruising.
“It’snotyour fault,” Finn said, reaching out to Joe in return. “They’re the bad guys, remember? You saved lives. You saved innocentkids. They didn’t have to retaliate. It was their choice. I don’t blame you. I blame them.”
Joe wasn’t going to add to Finn’s misery by arguing with him, but he knew the truth. Thiswashis fault, and he’d do anything to make it up to Finn. “I’ll get them, I promise. I’m going to make them all pay for doing this to you. I’m going to make themsuffer.”
“I don’t give a fuck about making them suffer.” Finn clasped Joe’s hand tightly and brought it to his lips. “I just want you to stay safe.”
Joe knew the chances of that were pretty low. “They wanted me, didn’t they?” he asked, holding onto Finn’s hand like a lifeline. He really wanted to pull Finn into his arms, but with his injuries it was too risky. He settled for what contact he could get. He could feel his eyes stinging, emotions rushing in to replace the adrenaline he’d been riding for too many hours. “They could have killed you, and it would have killed me, too.”
Finn gnawed on his bottom lip, his inner battle showing in his expressive eyes, and then he nodded slowly. “Yeah, they were looking for you. They don’t have a name, and I sure as hell didn’t give it to them, but it wasn’t hard to figure out they meant you. They said you killed some head honcho’s son, and he’s out for blood.”
A lump of ice formed in the pit of Joe’s stomach. He wouldn’t call any of the kills on his recent mission anything but justifiable, but he had the sinking feeling he knew exactly which of them was the one they were after him for. It was the one that had sickened him most because the man he had shot had been barely an adult, and yet he’d been brutalizing a child.
Joe closed his eyes. “If they want me, they’ll never stop,” he said softly. “And they won’t care who they have to hurt to get to me. I’m going to have to end this, or we’ll never be safe.”
“Wait,” Finn said, a flare of alarm visible in his eyes. “The guy who got away mentioned a plane private plane at RDU that was loaded up and waiting. Even though the guy threatened it as a means of taking out our headquarters, maybe it’s really his escape plan. All we have to do is catch the guy, figure out who he’s working for, then let Herc handle it. He’ll figure out a plan and throw a ton of resources behind it. Problem solved.”
Drew had remained quiet, seeming more focused on freeing Finn’s injured leg as carefully as possible than on their conversation, but he spoke up now. “I think that’s a good idea,” he said without looking up at either of them. “Use what you’ve got available.”
For a moment Joe thought about arguing, but he decided that nothing he could say would change Finn’s mind. But he wasn’t going to risk any of his cadre for this. It was a personal matter, and it was his fight, not theirs.
“We can discuss it later,” he said. He squeezed Finn’s hand and then moved back, rising to his feet and looking down at Drew. “Thank you for having my back… and saving my life. I guess I owe you one.”
Drew glanced up at last, a slight smile curving his lips. “Any time.”
Joe nodded in acknowledgement, feeling a little awkward. He knew he was guilty of letting his personal feelings interfere with his professional conduct, and he’d misjudged Drew. If Drew had wanted to get Joe out of the picture, he’d had the perfect opportunity to do so. Instead, he’d saved both Finn and Joe.
“Well, I’ll go check to see if our evac is close,” he said, moving toward the door. He owed Drew the opportunity to be with Finn and talk to him, but he wasn’t quite ready to witness it. Not yet. Maybe not ever, but definitely not now.
“I’ll go.” Drew stood up and skirted around the chair. “You can stay here and look after Finn.”
It was tempting to take the offer, but Joe knew he had to do this. He had to stop denying what was between Drew and Finn just because he didn’t want it to be happening. Especially since there was something he was going to have to do soon, and he needed to find a way to make peace with Finn and Drew’s relationship.
Reaching out, he put a hand on Drew’s arm. “No, you stay,” he said. “He needs you, too.”
Drew’s eyebrows climbed at that, but he inclined his head in acknowledgment or thanks or perhaps both. He squatted beside Finn’s chair and touched Finn’s arm gingerly. Finn smiled slightly, but his features were taut with pain, and his breathing was growing labored.
“If they aren’t here, tell them to hurry up,” Finn said. “I’m ready for some good drugs.”
“On it,” Joe said and then turned and left the room. They needed to get Finn to the hospital, needed to find the man who’d tortured him, and Joe had some hard decisions to make.
The rescue was over. The mission, however, was just beginning.
