Page 9 of Rafe’s Future

“Thanks.” The Tac-Ops team leader glanced at the others standing close by. “And thanks to you all, too. I really appreciate you being here.”

“No thanks needed, brother.” Ethan “Apollo” McCallister spoke up from a few feet away.

Immediately following, Coulter Morgan—the newest member of the team—chimed in. “Apollo’s right. You’ve stepped up for each of us. Of course, we’re going to be here for you.”

“Not to mention . . .” Bones stepped closer, throwing himself into the ring. “Shadow’s saved our asses more times than we can count. Anything we can do for her or you, all you’ve gotta do is ask.”

When Slade’s expression grew stone cold, Rafe knew exactly what the other man was about to say.

“What I need is to find the men who did this.” Their team leader’s tone sounded lethal. “You want to help Shadow? Start with gathering all the intel you can find. Check the CCTV footage, and not just from this afternoon. If someone did target Shadow specifically, there’s a chance they’ve been watching her for a while. Maybe not, but it’s someplace to start.”

“Go through our recent ops, too,” Rafe added. “Double-check anyone we’ve helped lock up. Reach out to contacts and call in favors. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and someone out there has been running their mouths. Perhaps not, but it’s worth a shot.”

“We’re on it.” Bones nodded. To Slade, he offered a reassuring, “Don’t worry, brother. We’ve got this.”

“Mr. Garrison?” The surgeon called out from the door.

“Go on, son.” Rafe gave his daughter’s husband a friendly pat on the back. “The others will start looking into this, and I’ll be here waiting whenever you’re finished.”

Slade nodded. “I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.”

The two men shared a look before Slade left with the doctor. A short discussion with the rest of the team later, Rafe was standing in the too-quiet room alone.

He wasted no time removing his phone from his pocket and putting in that call to the warden he’d promised to make. After that, Rafe would reach out to every other contact he had. Several minutes later, he was in the middle of one such call when the door opened and Slade reappeared. His hair was mussed; his eyes were red, and the fear in his gaze was impossible to miss.

“I’ll call you back.” Rafe ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket. “How is she?”

The question was inarguably stupid, but one he asked all the same.

“She’s sleeping.” The other man swallowed hard, his tone soft and almost wooden. “There’s a tube down her throat, like the doctor said, and one of those small ones in her nose. She’s hooked up to a bunch of cords and stuff, but other than that, Shadow looks like she’s just sleeping.”

“She made it through surgery, Slade. And the doctor said he expects her to recover fully.”

“I know.”

“Then hang on to that thought,” Rafe encouraged. “The rest will work itself out. So hang onto the fact that your wife is alive, and she’s going to be okay.”

With a jerky nod, the other man tilted his head toward the door. “Come on. I’ll take you to see her.”

The two made their way along the hospital’s stark white halls to the elevators that would carry them upstairs, to the ICU. Minutes later, Rafe found himself standing outside his daughter’s room.

“Go ahead,” Slade rumbled. “I’ll wait out here.”

“I won’t be long.” He stepped up to the automatic door.

It slid open, and Rafe inched forward. He pushed the privacy curtain aside. His breath caught in his throat, tears immediately springing into his eyes when he first caught sight of his precious child.

She looked exactly as Slade had described, except he’d left out the part where she looked small. Helpless. So very unlike the woman they all knew and loved.

Only she wasn’t helpless, and her petite size had nothing on the brilliance locked away in her sleeping brain. Alice or Shadow, the name she used didn’t matter. The woman was a force to be reckoned with, so it was no surprise that she was going to be okay.

Rafe forced a deep breath to enter his lungs as he made his way over to her bed. Leaning down, he pressed a sweet kiss to the center of her forehead. He let it linger there, his eyes squeezing shut as he added to the million-and-one prayers he’d already sent up to Heaven.

Please get her through this.

A single tear escaped the corner of his eye. Leaning up, Rafe brushed it away with his shoulder. Sliding the only chair in the room closer to her bed, he lowered himself down and took her hand in both of his.