The ‘here’ Zade referred to was a private medical facility owned and operated by Homeland. Kept secret from the general public, the place was staffed by some of the best doctors and nurses in the country.
“How did Ryker know to send a chopper?”
Gabe gave him a look. “You’re shittin’ me, right? The guy heads up a covert unit for Homeland, Carter. He has eyes and ears everywhere. A member of R.I.S.C. gets shot, you’d better believe Jason Ryker’s gonna know about it.”
“There’s something else.” Zade looked as though he felt sorry for him. “They broke into your apartment the other night. Your neighbor was out of town when you left, but came back the day you were shot. She reported it to the landlord, who then called the police. Derek’s brother got wind of it and gave Jake a heads up.”
“We got your place secured,” Matt assured him. “Jake got a guy to come fix the door and we installed a new system. Yours had been hacked and destroyed.”
Shit. Walker and Akmar were better than Nate had given them credit for. “Thanks.”
He appreciated what his team had done for him, but the only thing that mattered to him now was finding his woman.
Getting them all back on track, Nate spun around until his legs were dangling over the side of the mattress. “I need to be out there. We have to find Gracie. Christ, Gabe,” he looked up at his friend and teammate. “You know what they’ll do to her.”
“We’re going to find her before that happens, Nate,” the other man vowed. “But you’ll be no good to her if you’re lying in a goddamn coma because you refused to follow doctor’s orders.”
“Fuck the doctors!” Nate yelled.
Didn’t they get it? His soul was being ripped to shreds and they were worried about a damn bump on his head.
Sliding off the bed, the bottoms of his bare feet slapped against the cold-as-ice tiled floor. A wave of dizziness hit and his hand flew down to the mattress for support.Fuck me.
He stood there a moment, trying to steady himself.
“See, you stubborn ass?” Zade stepped a little closer to the bed. “That’s exactly what we’re talking about.”
“I’m fine,” he mumbled back, blinking rapidly. Okay, maybefinewas a stretch, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stay around here while Gracie was going through only God knows what.
Walking slower than he cared to, Nate shuffled his feet until he’d reached the plastic bag sitting on the floor, next to an empty chair. Careful not to move too quickly for fear his teammates would start nagging him again, he bent over to pick it up.
“Jesus, man.” Matt exclaimed from behind him. “Cover that shit up, will ya? No one wants to see your ass and balls hanging out like that.”
Not giving a flying fuck about the opening in his paper-thin gown, Nate stood up and sat the bag down into the chair. With his back still to his friends, he used his good hand to clumsily open its drawstring.
“Where are my clothes?” he grumbled.
“We had to cut them off.”
The soft, feminine voice left him startled. Turning around, Nate saw that Olivia McQueen had entered the room.
Shit.
His boss’s wife was dressed in a set of form-fitting, black scrubs and her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. With a tablet and stylus in her hands, she began tapping the screen.
Being the consummate professional she was, Olivia made no comment about seeing his bare ass—and everything else—on display. Instead, she gave him a sweet smile of relief.
“Hi, Nate.”
Nate cleared his dry throat. “Hey, Olivia.”
Matt coughed to keep from laughing and Zade was trying hard not smile, looking everywhere but Liv’s direction.
Nate wanted to punch the shit-eatin’ grins off both assholes’ faces.
Olivia smiled bigger, deepening her dimples. “It’s good to see you awake and alert.”
Normally, he would have been embarrassed as hell by the situation, but there were much more important things to worry about right now.
