Grabbing a set of headphones, Chase spoke to the pilot, then turned to Harper. “Chopper’s taking Michael directly to the Santa Marta hospital. It won’t take long to get there.”
Harper relaxed against Chase’s hard body, felt his arm go around her. “We made it, angel. You were amazing out there.”
She looked at him and thought how dear he had become. She thought of how close they had all come to dying. She thought about the man she had shot and that her brother and Pia were safe, and emotion welled in her chest.
“I think I’m going to cry,” she said, resting her head on Chase’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
She sniffed, and he eased her more fully into his arms. “Cry all you want, sweetheart. You’ve earned it.”
Which was all she needed to steel herself, drag in a shaky breath and suck up her courage. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I’m okay.”
“That you are, angel,” Chase said, laughing. “That you are.” Catching her chin, he leaned in and kissed her, not a soft, sweet, friendly little kiss, but a deep, demanding, grateful-to-be-alive kiss that had her toes curling in her boots and her arms going around Chase’s neck.
They were safe. And they were going home. The danger was over. But so was her time with Chase.
Her brother was going to be all right. Michael’s injury had required minimal surgery, and he had been released from Hospital Universitario late in the afternoon. Harper was finally able to stop worrying about him.
She had called her father as soon as the helicopter landed on the roof of the hospital in Santa Marta. Most of their gear had been left in the mountains, but all of them, except Michael and Pia, had managed to end up with their cell phones, their personal lifelines.
“Hi, Dad, it’s me.”
“Where are you, Harper?”
“I’m still in Colombia, Dad, but we found Michael. Rebel soldiers were holding him captive at their camp in the mountains. He was shot as we were escaping, but he’s going to be okay.”
“I never got a ransom call, Harper. If I had, you know I would have paid.”
“I know, Dad. I’m just so grateful Michael’s safe.”
“We all are. You know that, Harper. You’ve always been there for your brother. I hope he appreciates what you’ve done.”
“Of course he does.” She wished her father would show a little more concern, but it just wasn’t his way. “I’ll call you when I get back to Dallas.”
“You’ll be there for my birthday party, won’t you?”
It seemed like the wrong time to mention it, but it was always important to him. The party next week was a glamorous, no-expense-spared yearly event attended by the who’s who of Dallas, a way to bolster Knox Winston’s all-important social status. At least it was good for Harper’s business.
“I’ll be there. Bye, Dad.”
She hung up without promising her father that Michael would call him. The two had been estranged for years. Apparently that wasn’t going to change.
Her next call went to Shana. Her friend was relieved that the rescue mission was successful, that Harper was safe and on her way back home. Afterward, Pia used Harper’s phone to call Christy. Pia had cried on the phone when she talked to her friend, and Harper had a hunch Christy was crying on the other end of the line.
Pia kept her emotions in check when she spoke to her parents. Harper guessed she didn’t want them to know how bad it had really been.
While they were at the hospital, Reese Garrett had called for an update on events. The good news was the Garrett Resources jet would be arriving to pick them up first thing in the morning, returning them to Dallas after a brief stop in Miami to drop Pia off, and one in Houston for Michael.
Her brother hadn’t said much. He seemed torn between gratitude that Pia was safe and despair that she would be returning to Miami. Pia was a beautiful girl, amazingly strong and very sweet. Harper had a feeling her brother had fallen hard for the petite little brunette.
Harper had hoped Michael might stay with her in Dallas a couple of days, give his leg a chance to heal, but he declined, saying he needed to get back to work.
At the hospital, while Michael was being treated, they’d taken a cab to a department store a few blocks away to pick up some clothes and a few necessities. They planned to shower and change as soon as they reached the place Reese had arranged for them to stay, a cluster of oceanfront two-bedroom bungalows at what Santa Marta called a luxury resort on Zuana Beach.
For their last night together, Pia and Michael would be sharing the bungalow next to the one Harper was sharing with Chase. She could read the questions in her brother’s eyes when he heard the news. Since she had no idea how to answer them, no idea what sort of relationship she and Chase actually had, she was grateful he didn’t ask.
Even Killian would be staying the night, bunking with Brandon, glad for the chance to clean up and get some badly needed rest before heading back to whatever part of Colombia he had magically popped out of.
“You don’t think he’ll go after his Land Cruiser, do you?” Harper asked as she and Chase walked up on the porch of bungalow number ten, the thatch-roofed cottage they had been assigned. “If he does, the rebels might be waiting.”
