“Tate, get yourself and everyone else checked out. I’ll postpone my trip and get there as soon as I can,” Ian said.
Hunter turned in his seat. “You need to go?”
Ian looked down at Cassie. “No.” He picked up his cell to call his dad.
* * *
The radiology office was empty except for a vetted radiology technician and sonographer. Tucker administered Propofol, ensuring Cassie slept through the testing.
In the waiting area, Ian and Kieran stayed in contact with Declan and Tate. Thankfully, no civilians were severely hurt, just scrapes and scratches. The Eagle’s Talon personnel suffered smoke inhalation, ringing in their ears, a few burst eardrums, and some lacerations.
Hunter joined Kieran and Ian in the waiting room. “Glad we came. It’s a deep, dangerous blood clot. If I went in blind, I don’t want to think about what could happen.”
“Can we head back? I don’t want to be here too long.” Ian scanned the room again.
“We need to do it here. I need guidance during the procedure and a post-procedure. We are short some hands, so I need your help.” Kieran and Ian followed Hunter to the treatment area.
“Hi, sweetheart, you’re doing so well.” Ian sat beside her
She gave him a woozy smile. “What’s wrong? That cute little dimple is twitching.”
Ian kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Just worried about my girl.”
“What’s her name?”
“You, sweetheart. You’re my beautiful girl.” He held her cheeks between his palms. Their lips met. Unable to resist, he took a soft nibble of her full bottom lip. Pulling back, she looked at him in a haze.So sweet,Ian thought.
“Honey, we need to fix a tiny problem,” Hunter explained to her. Ian slid behind her for support, and Kieran took her left hand. Tucker cleaned and draped her shoulder after injecting some lidocaine to numb it. With the help of a sonogram, Hunter inserted a long needle into the overfilled area. Blood backed up into the syringe. With a slow, firm pull, he was able to suction the clot. In spite of the medication, Cassie cried out in pain.
“Cassie, break my hand,” Kieran said. “You can do better than that.” She squeezed a bit harder. Kieran continued the distraction technique until Hunter finished.
The ride back to the estate was uneventful. Cassie slept through most of it. Rather than using the wheelchair, Ian scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs.
“Ian, did you take over a private clinic? Is this one of those places where people get fancy plastic surgery?”
“No, sweetheart. Kieran, Monique, and I live in the main house. This is our pool house.” Luxurious furniture dotted the patio, and the cut borders were decorated with lush, colorful flowers.
“Wait, you have a hospital at your house?” Cassie crunched her brows.
Ian deposited her into a comfortable reclining chair inside her room. “I built it for you.”
“You built this for me?” Her eyes widened. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me you still want that chance.” When Ian kissed her forehead, Tucker passed him a look. “Sweetheart, Tuck and Pete want to put all your bells and whistles back on. I will be back soon.”
* * *
Ian was on an emotional rollercoaster with Cassie, and now he faced the worried faces of her family. “The procedure went well. Christian, we will go to San Diego tomorrow to retrieve the baby’s DNA at 1800. Kieran and I need to get to the building and make an appearance for the media. In the meantime, Mike will equip each of you with a weapon and an encrypted sat phone. I want you to give him anything electronic you have. If you need a tablet or laptop, we will get you one on our secured network.
“There’s a leak somewhere. Whoever is behind this wants something bad—and they think Cassie has it. As far as Cassie goes, business as usual. No one is to mention the situation at the building. I’ve already limited her TV to music or movie channels.”
* * *
Ian and Kieran arrived at the building to find an exhausted Martin; his eyes darkened with bruises. He wobbled on his crutches. “You shouldn’t be here,” Kieran said.
“Tell me another time. I got some samples before the locals, ATF and FBI locked down the scene. It was a remote blast. I have pictures of what looks like scraps of a cell phone. I’m hoping we can ID something unique. I also managed a few swabs. According to our lab, it was RDX. They policed their brass, but Link found a bullet lodged in the ambulance radiator block—7.62 by 39 millimeter rounds.”
“Russian,” Ian said. “Thanks, Martin. Get Julian to take you back to the house. I want you tucked in bed when I get back.”
