David grabbed the second-row chairs and pulled himself into the vehicle, wincing as pain rippled through his aching muscles.
“Good.Okay, this is going to be a rough ride, but it is what it is.”
He shut the liftgate, and as the automatic damper slowly lowered it into place, he jumped into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and pulled smoothly away from the accident.“I’m pretty sure that man’s dead,” Michael said.“Which is a problem, but less of a problem than it would be if he was alive.”
David gasped.The reality of the situation washed over him again.
He had killed a man.Technically, the corporal had killed himself by stabbing his abdomen, and Michael had helped by knocking him unconscious before he could address that injury, but this had all happened because of David.He had doggedly pursued justice for Sierra, and in that singleminded pursuit, he had created a problem that led to violence.
Now a man was dead, and David knew he wouldn’t be the first.He stared through the SUV’s enormous sunroof, processing the magnitude of what had just occurred.
Michael glanced at him, and David saw sympathy in his eyes.“Don’t beat yourself up too bad,” he advised David.“Faith would have done the same thing.So would I, I guess.”He laughed wryly.“We’re all just a bunch of crazy sons and daughters of bitches.”He looked at David again.“But we’ll get ‘em.We’ll get those motherfuckers.”
David was dealing with more emotion than he could cope with right now, but behind the storm raging in his mind was a kernel of hope.Against all odds, he was still alive.And he had good friends, capable friends.They were facing a powerful enemy, but as long as they faced that enemy together, David could believe that things would work out eventually.
He had to believe that.The other option was to accept that he was already dead and tonight had only been a stay of execution.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Faith was so emotionally overcome by the past few days that when Michael relayed the news to her, she didn’t react at first.She only nodded and replied with a numb, “Okay.”
“He’s going to be fine.He’s beaten to shit, but nothing’s permanent.No bones broken, which is a damned miracle.It seems his worst injury is a mild disc herniation in his neck, probably from when he unclipped his seatbelt and fell to the ground.He’s at the VHC Health Center in Arlington.I’m staying with him, and his two guards are on their way back now.”
Faith frowned, and a mild frustration rippled through her that would probably have been searing anger if she wasn’t so overwhelmed.“Where were they?”
“They caught a break in a RICO case.Something about records from a check cashing place that provided proof of money laundering.It was the missing link in something or other.I didn’t really follow.Anyway, they’re on their way to the hospital now.Go easy on ‘em, all right?It sounds like David kind of pushed them to leave so he could keep looking into the 93rd.”
Now there was no mistaking the anger that coursed through Faith.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.She was definitelynotgoing to be easy on her idiot husband.“Okay.I’ll be home in four hours or so.Well, I’ll be at the hospital.You know what I mean.”
She and Jessica were at their gate in Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport waiting to board their flight back to Washington, D.C.They had given their report to the various local agencies involved in the animal shelter case as soon as Caldwell was taken into custody, then packed up and headed to the airport right away.Faith wanted to get home to David as soon as possible, and now that she heard what happened over at the base annex, she was glad she’d made that decision.David had gone and gotten himself obsessed and nearly killed.She couldn’t leave him by himself.
“Take your time,” Michael said.“He’s safe for now.”
Faith could think of a thousand ways the CIA could kill David in the hospital.They could have a nurse poison his IV.A cafeteria worker could slip something into his food.An assassin could shoot him through his room’s window.A hitman could just walk into his room and smother him with a pillow.Maybe Michael could stop the last possibility, but not the others.This was the damned CIA they were dealing with.David had fallen neck deep into quicksand and dragged everyone else with him.All for a working dog he’d seen twice.
What if it was Turk?
Faith looked at her dog, who stared up at her with his big, brown, compassionate eyes.She smiled softly at him.“You’re daddy’s very brave, Turk.Even if he is an idiot.”
“Can’t say I’m not a little impressed,” Michael agreed.“He’s got some spine.Miraculously still in one piece too.”
Faith laughed.“Thank you, Michael.It means so much to me that you helped him.I owe you big time.”
“You owe me so much that you might as well just make everything out to me in your will.That still won’t be enough.But I guess you’re my friend, and I love you, and all that shit.See you soon, okay?”
“Okay.”Her smile faded a little.“How’s Ellie?”
“In the dark at the moment,” Michael replied, “but I’m going to call her after you hang up and bring her to speed.I’ll let you know how she is after that.”
Faith took a deep breath and formed an O with her mouth before softly releasing it.“Yeah.Okay.”
“It’ll be okay,” Michael reassured her again.“Just get back home, and we’ll figure out where to go from here.”
“Yeah.Sounds good.I’ll text you when I land.”
She hung up, and Jessica immediately said what Faith knew she was going to say.“I’m going with you.”
“You can’t.This is going to be a career-ender, Jessica.Maybe worse than that.”
