It went against my nature to walk into any situation blind, but one look at Everett’s face and I knew what my answer would be. “We’re an hour outside of Arlington, Virginia. We’re turning around now. Call us with whatever airstrip Vincent decides on and we’ll meet him there.”
“Will do. Everett,” Ronan said softly.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Everett whispered. He still looked shell-shocked.
“He’s strong, Everett. He’s going to pull through this. I’ll call you as soon as I get to Missoula.”
Everett nodded, but didn’t answer. Ronan didn’t seem to be expecting a response because he addressed me next. “Take care of him, Agent Nash.”
“I will,” I responded.
With that, the call ended.
“Mr. President,” I began, but then thought better of it. “Everett…”
The use of his first name seemed to get his attention and he lifted his eyes from where he was staring at the phone in my hand.
“I don’t know what happened, but I’ll get you there, okay? No matter what.”
Everett nodded. I was about to turn back around when he said, “My boy… he saved a man’s life.”
“He’s a hero,” I said softly.
A small smile graced Everett’s mouth, even as his eyes began to fill with unshed tears. “He is.”
A few tears slipped unchecked down his face before he said, “I can’t lose him, Nash. Not him too.”
“You won’t, Everett. I promise.”
It was a promise I had no right to make, just like I didn’t have the right to reach out my hand and wrap my fingers around the ones Everett had resting on his leg. But I did both anyway. Everett managed a shaky nod, but nothing more. I quickly released his hand, then turned and got us back on the road.
I had a promise to keep.
Chapter 4
EVERETT
“He’s okay, Everett.”
I’d heard several versions of those words over the course of the painfully long flight to Montana, but none mattered more than when Ronan Grisham said them to me within moments of stepping off the plane. I’d have collapsed right there on the tarmac if Nash hadn’t been holding my elbow. Vincent was on my other side, his big body offering support as he fired off questions to Ronan.
Questions I wasn’t capable of asking at the moment.
I would have liked to say I held it together well on the plane, but I probably hadn’t fooled anyone. I’d managed to stay in my seat, despite the crazy need to keep moving, but it hadn’t been until halfway into the flight that Nash had put his hand on my shoulder to stop the rocking motion that had taken over my body at some point. He’d handed me a drink, which I’d downed without any care to the fact that I rarely drank hard liquor and that it was still too early in the day for it.
Nathan hadn’t fared much better than me. The second I’d boarded the airplane, Nathan had jumped up from his seat, though he hadn’t approached me. The younger man had just started repeating over and over how sorry he was. He’d had his armswrapped around his body and Vincent had been standing next to him, his hand on Nathan’s back, but Nathan hadn’t seemed to notice. All he’d done was apologize to me.
His guilt had made it possible for me to function like my normal self for a few minutes, and in a weird way, I’d been grateful for that. I’d wrapped my arms around Nathan and told him he had nothing to be sorry for. I’d held him for a long time until he’d stopped shaking, then I’d handed him over to Vincent’s care and found myself a seat so we could take off. After that, I hadn’t been aware of much. Vincent had tried to talk to me a couple of times, but I’d been too far gone to really listen to him.
But I hadn’t missed the fact that Nash had touched me almost nonstop from the moment we’d arrived at the airport.
It had steadied me in more ways than just physically.
Yeah, I’d still been a mess, but I’d been able to keep from completely losing it. Whenever the image of my son lying on a steel table in a darkened morgue would rattle through my brain, Nash’s warm fingers would bring me back. I had no clue how he knew when those moments happened, but I didn’t really care, either.
“He’s out of surgery and although it’s still early, they’re hopeful he’ll make a complete recovery,” Ronan explained.
Vincent peppered him with a couple more questions and then Ronan was reaching out to put his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get you to your son, okay?”
