Where the hell is my team?
The unyielding silence that had loomed around him had been replaced by an annoying, steady beep and murmuring coming from somewhere nearby.
He turned his head to one side to identify the source, and a stabbing pain sliced through his brain. He moaned, and bile burned his throat. He squeezed his eyes tight and swallowed back the urge to puke. When he reached up to touch his head, he felt a tugging sensation at the back of his hand.
Warm, delicate fingers guided his arm gently down onto something soft, and he risked opening his eyes a little at a time. The room was somewhat dark and his vision was fuzzy, but he could tell the person over him had long hair because he felt it brush against his arm.
“Careful. You don’t want to pull out your IV.” Her familiar voice instantly soothed him.
He blinked a few times, and Luna’s beautiful face came into focus above him. But … how was that possible? She was only a voice in his ear, an angel conjured up by his battered mind to comfort him as he floated between life and death.
“There you are.” Her soft lips brushed his forehead, and he recognized her scent. “You had us worried.”
“You’re real?” Boone sounded like he’d swallowed rocks.Maybe I did.“You’re actually here?” He lifted his hand and dragged his fingertips over her cheek in disbelief.
“I’m really here, and I’m not the only one.” She turned, and he followed her gaze.
A few feet away, Cole was in deep conversation with a man in a white coat, holding an electronic tablet.
“Here, have a sip of water.” Luna lifted a plastic cup with a bent straw from the side table and held it while he took a couple of long swallows.
The cool liquid felt amazing on his ravaged throat and helped clear some of the grogginess from his mind.
“How do you feel?” She set the cup down and rested her hand on his arm.
Howdidhe feel? He did a quick mental assessment.
“Let’s see … my head feels like someone hit me with a baseball bat, and my body’s not feeling too great either.” He glanced around the room. “Where am I?”
“You’re at Carillon Roanoke Memorial Hospital.” She took his hand and sat in a chair next to the bed.
“Virginia?” Now he recognized the beeping sound was coming from a heart monitor by the head of the bed. Next to it, anIV bag hung from a metal stand. He frowned. “How long have I been here?”
“Almost a week,” she said. “Do you remember what happened?”
Boone dug deep, searching for something, anything. A memory flickered just out of reach. He closed his eyes, concentrated, and the floodgates flew open with flashes of what happened rushing back to him.
Pakistan. Udall. Sheep? Missing girls. Tunnels.
“The last thing I remember is … is someone … running into me.” Damn, his head hurt like a son of a bitch. “What am I missing?”
“You’re missing the part where you almost got blown up.” Cole strolled over and stood on the other side of the bed. “Welcome back.”
Blown up?How could he have no memory of that?
“There was an explosion, and it triggered a cave-in.” His boss went on to detail everything that happened.
Boone’s brows pinched together in frustration.
Cole might as well be telling someone else’s story, because he still couldn’t remember anything after the girl plowing into him.
“Well, that explains why it feels like I got hit by a truck.” He shifted his position and tried to sit up.
“Hang on.” Luna put her hand on his shoulder and gently pressed him back down. “Let me help you.” She grabbed a remote from a pocket on the side of the bed and pressed a button. There was a humming sound. The head of the bed tilted upward, then stopped. “Is that better?”
“Yeah, thanks.” God, it was so fucking good to see her.
“Boone, I’m Dr. Ellis, but call me Mike.” The guy in the white coat walked over to the foot of the bed. “You’re a lucky man. If you hadn’t been wearing your protective gear, things could’ve ended much differently for you.” He swiped and tapped the tablet screen.
