Now, they were getting ready to land back at Ft. Bragg and freedom. Since they didn’t have their cells, she couldn’t call Jayson and give him the good news.
She’d been gone three days in total for this op. Would he and the kids come with his parents to see Bryan?
“You’re different from when you and my brother first started dating.”
Lana looked down at the man with the hoarse, crackling voice to see Bryan’s eyes were open and on her. All she could think about was that his eyes were the same as Jayson’s.
Well, what she could see of them. One eye was completely swollen shut and the other he could barely see out of.
Bryan suffered several broken ribs and various other injuries. They were currently worried about punctured lungs and internal bleeding.
Geo and a Delta Force medic were doing all they could to keep him stable until he could get to the hospital at Ft. Bragg. She prayed she hadn’t sentenced him to death by pushing them to get back to base.
“Different how?” Lana’s voice cracked.
“Harder. Tougher. Like you’ve seen the devil and barely escaped. You’re colder than I remember.”
Lana chuckled at his words. “Then I have to say you’re right. I have danced with the devil a time or two. Each time I’ve barely survived.”
“Jay still loves you…”
Lana placed her hand on Bryan’s shoulder. She smiled over at him, and his sincerity melted another ice chunk off her heart.
“And I still love him,” she admitted, with a tear sliding down her face. “We’re still finding our way back to each other.”
“You’ve seen him recently?” Bryan coughed hard.
“Easy, Bryan. Enough talking until a doctor has seen you. Yes, I have seen him. Myself, Rocky, and Cullen have been in Hellburn Falls for a couple of weeks now. We originally returned for my father’s funeral but wound up staying to assist both Jayson and Ryan with the cases their departments are dealing with.”
“Good. He needs you.” Bryan passed out after those words.
Lana panicked until Geo placed a hand on hers. “He’s okay, Ice. The meds are making him sleepy. He’s still alive.”
Lana relaxed slightly, waiting to see his chest rise, visual proof he was still alive. Then and only then was she able to relax.
She grabbed Bryan’s hand and held on for dear life as she leaned her head back against the plane wall and closed her eyes.Geo woke her up as they landed so she could help with keeping him steady as they landed.
Lana watched as the Army doctors and medical staff rushed on board to help the two most critical and got them off of the plane. Once every single person on her team and the Delta Force team unloaded from the C-130, she finally walked down the plank at the rear end of the plane and joined everyone on the tarmac.
“Ma’am, thank you for bringing them home. We may not have liked how it was done, but it got our boys home.”
Lana turned to look at the soldier speaking to her and tilted her head. God, she felt so old right now with him calling her ma’am.
“For the record, Sgt., neither did I. But in that instance, for once, Ortega was innocent. Someone used that team to cover up their crimes. Innocent men lost their lives. I don’t agree with that. They claimed human trafficking. But I know this, Ortega is guilty of many crimes, but human trafficking isn’t one of them. He would never put a woman through what his mother went through.”
“Was Trevor able to ID the caller who sent them into the ambush?”
She looked at the Delta Force team leader as he joined the growing group of people for now, surrounding her. When she turned her gaze to the team that went into the lion’s den with her, she gave a half truth to the men.
“Yes, but I’m not divulging that information at this time. We have a ticking time bomb in Hellburn Falls that needs to be defused first. When, and I promise it will be very soon, it’s time to nail them, I will call you so that you can be there with us to take them down.”
“Deal.”
Lana watched as the men walked away, hoping like hell she could deliver on her promise. She felt Team Valkyrie circling around her as if creating a barrier.
“What if we can’t follow through with nailing the person?” Cullen asked, biting her lower lip.
“We will. Because the plan we’ll be starting when we get back to Hellburn Falls will give that person no other choice but to show their faces. All of them. I can only hope that Jayson forgives me for what has to happen to get it all started.
