It had been three years since anyone worried about me, and I didn’t need anyone to start now when I was heading out completely alone.
His brows shot up, disbelief etched onto his handsome face. “Isn’t that why you’re here? For me to worry?”
I heard the challenge in his voice, and I let out a long, tired sigh because it was easier than arguing with him. “No. I’m here because I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to TJ. I tried to do it on my own, tried to raise TJ while on the run, but it didn’t work. I’m here because somehow the Russians always know where I am and I can’t bear the thought of something happening to him.” My throat tightened but I swallowed those emotions down deep and forced the words out on a calm breath. “I realized that I couldn’t do it anymore. But you can.”
His jaw clenched tight as if he was angry. “You ever think about how TJ will feel if he finds out you died?”
I nodded. “Every damn day.” My voice cracked, the words burned my throat. I worried about that constantly but when it was all said and done, I came to one conclusion always. “Better me than him.”
Falcon swore under his breath, shaking his head while anger radiated off his broad shoulders. “Easy to say when you’re not the one left behind.”
There was a story there, a deep pain that had never gone away, but I brushed it aside. His life and his story were none of my business, he’d made that clear. “Yeah well, I’d rather TJ get the chance to live long enough to hate me,” I whispered. “The alternative is that he gets robbed of his life too soon. Just…” I paused and shook off the tears that threatened. “Just don’t let him think that I didn’t love or want him. Spare him the details but let him know that I loved him more than anything. Please.”
His nostrils flared, and for a long moment Falcon just watched me. His breathing was labored as if he’d just run a fewmiles before he finally looked away. “You could stay,” he said eventually.
It was hard to believe those words when he couldn’t even meet my gaze. I shook my head, refusing to even let myself believe those words because I knewhedidn’t believe them. “None of your people want me here. My presence here puts them all in danger and I took an oath to do no harm, and that still matters to me, even if I can’t practice medicine anymore.”
His eyes locked on mine, never wavering as the silence stretched between us, filled in by all the things we never said to one another.
And then the building shook.
At first, I thought it was an earthquake, but it was more violent, more destructive than Mother Nature. It was an explosion, a big one followed by a smaller one that rattled the windows, shattering a few in the distance. Dust and plaster fell from the ceiling and my heart lurched in my throat.
An explosion.
A bomb.
“What the fuck!” Falcon exclaimed, brushing bits of ceiling from his hair.
I never heard what he said next because I got to my feet. “TJ!” Instinct took over as I yanked the door open and rushed into the smoky hallway. My ears rang and the shouts in the air sounded like they came from underwater, but I didn’t care, my gaze flicked over every face I passed in search of my son. I coughed, blinking smoke from my eyes while I searched for TJ.
I spotted him second later with tear-streaked cheeks and a red face as he clutched the bulldog that belonged to the MC.
“I got him,” Falcon called out, brushing past me quickly to scoop TJ in his arms. He held our son close as if he was precious to him, relaxing the slightest amount when TJ buried his face in his chest. “He’s okay,” he said to me before turning to TJ. “You’re okay, just scared.”
My heart rate hadn’t even settled before the door smacked open, letting smoky sunlight in as two men entered, one holding the other up. A woman screamed but I didn’t look to see the reason as my gaze focused on the long gash down his arm, the way the blood flowed from the wound, dark and too fast. “Falcon, keep TJ close,” I called out as I prepared myself for the worst. Despite my time out of the OR I felt all my training coming back to me.
I could do this.
“Dr. Grant!” A woman who introduced herself yesterday as Laura, rushed up to me with a medical bag clutched in one hand. “Laura, remember?”
I nodded.
“I’m a nurse. We have supplies. Do you want me to assist you or should we triage?”
I blinked, absorbing her words. “Where is Dr. Blake?”
Laura frowned before understanding dawned. “Katey is at her ultrasound appointment, thank god.”
Right. “Okay, I need to assess this laceration. I don’t think there’s any arterial trauma, but it’s deep.”
Laura nodded and set the bag down on the nearest table, busying herself with laying the necessary tools out to assist me.
I turned my attention to the man with long blond hair. His face was pale, and his eyes squinted in anguish. “What’s your name,” I asked as I examined him.
“Hollywood,” he grunted. “Doesn’t hurt too bad but I’m gettin’ woozy, Doc.”
“Blood loss will do that. So will shock.” His pulse was racing, but other than that, his vitals were okay. “Do we have any IV fluids?” I called out to Laura. “Grab whatever you’ve got. If he needs a transfusion, we’ll have to get him to the ER, but I can stabilize him here.” I turned to the man, he was shocked, but he wasn’t in shock. Hopefully, the injury wasn’t as bad as it looked. “We need to get you hydrated, and you need to lie down until the dizziness passes.”
