by Ari McKay
“Nope, I’m good.” Finn squeezed Joe’s hand in return, wanting to offer as much reassurance as he could. “The damage wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been.”
With a sigh, Joe lowered himself into the chair next to the bed. “There shouldn’t have been any damage at all, Finn. I still feel like this is my fault. I wish they’d taken me instead. I never want you to suffer because of me. Never.”
Finn paused, having to work a little harder than usual to pull his thoughts together. He understood Joe’s perspective; he would have felt the same way had their positions been reversed. Hell, he felt guilty over falling for Drew because it had caused Joe pain and doubt.
“It’s easy for me to say you shouldn’t blame yourself,” he said at last. “But I don’t blame you for what happened. Not at all. It’s not about you, personally. Those assholes would’ve come after whoever was on that mission. If it’d been Jason, Chris might be lying here instead of me. Someone would’ve had to pay no matter what.”
“But it should have been me.” Joe leaned close. He was a big enough man that even seated he could lean over to kiss Finn on the forehead. “I just wish I had kept you safe.”
“In that case, you and I are both in the wrong line of work,” Finn said with a little chuckle.
Although he might be looking for different options, depending on how the surgery on his leg went. The guy who’d worked him over knew what he was doing, and it looked like he’d tried to injure Finn’s leg in ways that would keep him out of the field for good. Not that Finn intended to tell Joe that, especially since he wouldn’t know anything for sure until after the operation and rehab.
Joe tightened his grip on Finn’s hand, his eyes straying down to the bandaging on Finn’s leg as though he suspected the direction of Finn’s thoughts. “Maybe we are. Or I am. But… you understand that I have to deal with this, don’t you? So you’ll be safe.”
“I understand,” Finn said, and he meant it. He didn’t want to convince Joe not to follow up, just that he shouldn’t do it alone. “But I want you to take backup. Charging after these guys alone is a suicide mission, and I don’t want to lose you.”
Rather than agreeing, Joe just smiled crookedly. “I wish I could be here for you while you heal, but I need to move on this while the trail is fresh. Are you good with that? Would you feel like I was abandoning you?”
“Playing nurse would bore you to death, and if I want someone to hover and fret over me, I’ll call Payne,” Finn said. “He’d do a better job than you, anyway. Go get those assholes and don’t worry about me my feelings.”
“You’re right about that,” Joe murmured, though he seemed to relax slightly. “You’ll have Drew, too. I think… I think I may have been wrong to resent him so much. I’m glad he makes you happy. You deserve to be happy.”
Joe’s admission made hope bloom within Finn, especially given he knew how difficult it was for Joe to make it. Knowing Joe wasn’t stewing in resentment helped ease a little of Finn’s own guilt, and he squeezed Joe’s hand again.
“So do you,” he said. “And when you get home and I’m healed up enough to handle it, I’m going to make you very happy.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Again, Joe lifted Finn’s hand, pressing a kiss to his palm before releasing it He rose to his feet and leaned over the bed. “I love you, Finn. I’ll always love you.”
“I love you too, Joe Morrissey, and I always will,” Finn said, reaching up for Joe with his free arm. “Now give me a kiss and get the fuck out. You’ve got bad guys to catch.”
“Yeah, I do.” With that, Joe leaned down and tenderly pressed his lips to Finn’s, kissing him as though he was afraid Finn might break.
But while Finn was injured, he wasn’t made of glass, and if they were going to be separated again, he wanted a kiss they could both carry with them. He snaked his arm around Joe’s neck and urged him closer, and he parted his lips with a soft moan, demanding more. With a sound that was almost a chuckle, Joe gave in, answering Finn’s demand with passion he rarely showed outside of the bedroom—or whichever room they were in when they got naked and desperate.
Finally, Joe pulled back. “Too much of that and I won’t be able to bring myself to leave.”
“Too much of that and we’ll have a swarm of nurses in here, wondering why my heart monitor is going wild,” Finn said with an unrepentant grin.
“Glad I can still make your heart race after all these years.” Joe laid one hand against Finn’s cheek. “I’d tell you to be good while I’m gone, but I know you.”
Finn laughed, even though it made his ribs ache, and he leaned into the touch. “That’s fair.” He gazed up at Joe, his expression growing somber. “Be careful. I want you to come home to me.”
“Don’t worry about me. Focus on getting better.” With that, Joe leaned in for another swift kiss and then stepped back from the bed. “I’ll send Drew in.”
“He’s here?” Finn was pleased by that news, not only because he did want to see Drew, but also because it made getting Operation: Backup Whether Stubborn-Ass Joe Morrissey Likes It or Not underway easier. “Please do.”
“He’s right outside.” Joe hesitated for a moment, looking at Finn. “Just remember that I love you.” He turned and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. Finn heard a low exchange, and then the door opened wider and Drew entered. He looked Finn over quickly before crossing to the bed with an expression of happy relief.
“I thought I told you having sex while jumping out of a moving car was a bad idea,” Drew teased him. “But no, you always have to push the limits, don’t you?”
“You know me,” Finn said lightly, holding out his hand to Drew. “I’ll try anything once.”
Drew took the offered hand, raising it to his lips and kissing it gently. “Twice if you like it, and three times just to make sure, right? My mama warned me about boys like you.”
“Your mama was right,” Finn said, warmed by the tender kiss.
“She generally is.” Drew leaned in and kissed Finn’s forehead, pushing Finn’s hair back and combing his fingers through it. “How are you doing? I imagine you’re not on your deathbed or Morrissey wouldn’t have been walking out the door.”
“Not much else would’ve kept him here.” Finn tightened his fingers around Drew’s, drawing strength and comfort from the contact. “I need to talk to Herc.”
Drew nodded. “Joe’s going off on his own, isn’t he? I figured from what he said that he was planning to go it alone.”
“He is, because he’s a stubborn dumbass who takes too fucking much onto his own shoulders,” Finn said, his concern coming out as causticness. “I told him to let Herc help, but no, he’s got to save the world alone. I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit by while he hares off on a suicide mission.”
“The Irish do have a strain of stubborn, I’ve noticed,” Drew replied, his tone dry as dust. “And he may be a dumbass, but he’s our dumbass, right? So both of us will be damned if we’ll let him kill himself out of some misguided sense of honor.”
Finn knew the smile spreading across his face was goofy and besotted, but he didn’t care. Hearing Drew speak so possessively of Joe didn’t bother him. Instead, it filled him with hope that the future would be far better than he thought it could be—assuming they got Joe back home in one piece.
“Damned right,” he said, gripping Drew’s hand as tightly as he could. “Our dumbass has no idea what he’s up against with the two of us working together.”
Drew chuckled. “Yeah, he tends to underestimate us both, and combined, well, he doesn’t stand a chance.” He grew more serious, squeezing Finn’s hand in return. “I take it you want me to go after him.”
“All I had in mind was asking Herc to organize a team to follow Joe and be there to pull his nuts out of the fire if necessary,” Finn said. “But if you’re volunteering…. Well, there’s no one I’d trust more to take care of Joe.”
Drew nodded. “He would see a whole team coming, even if it�
��s Herc’s guys. But he won’t expect me. He told me to take care of you.”
“Which would you rather do?” Finn asked, suspecting he knew the answer already. “Sit around the hospital and watch my bruises fade, or go after Joe?”
“It’s probably safer for me to remove my tempting person from your presence so you can concentrate on healing.” Drew grinned wickedly. “I know you wouldn’t be able to resist being naughty. So I’d best go after Joe and save both of you from yourselves.”
Finn chuckled and didn’t try to argue. He couldn’t, really. No doubt he’d be tempted to push himself a bit when he felt better if either Joe or Drew were around, but if they were both gone, he could—and would—wait and focus on healing.
“It might be the best thing for all three of us,” he said. “Be careful, okay?”
“Always.” This time Drew’s kiss was on Finn’s lips and he didn’t hesitate to deepen it, as though aching to savor Finn’s taste.
Moaning, Finn yielded and slid his arm around Drew’s broad shoulders, holding him close while he could. Drew took his time, but after several long moments he drew back, smiling ruefully. “I accuse you of not behaving, but if it weren’t for this hospital bed, I’d be the one pushing the limits. Really, I should go before Joe gets too much of a head start on me. I have no doubt I’ll be able to track him, but I don’t want to make it harder than it has to be.”
“Good idea,” Finn said, releasing Drew with reluctance. He wasn’t thrilled about both of the men he loved running headlong into a dangerous situation without him there to help, and waiting to hear from them would be excruciating, but he wasn’t in any shape to do more than that.
Drew picked up Finn’s hand again. “I love you, you know. And I like Joe, believe it or not. I’m not just doing this for you, but for all of us. Maybe if I save his ass again, he’ll finally believe I’m on his side, too.”
Finn twined his fingers with Drew’s and squeezed gently. “I love you too,” he said. “He’s thawing a little. I can tell. Just go easy on him. That mission in Pakistan shook him in ways I haven’t seen before. He needs help—more than you or I can give him. But we’ve got to get him home in one piece before he can get it.”
“Yeah, I got the idea he’s dealing with some heavy shit, butI won’t promise to go easy on him. Joe strikes me as the kind to refuse gentle efforts at persuasion. It’s gonna take some tough love to make him face up to whatever is eating at him.”
Finn’s eyebrows climbed as he listened to Drew, and he had to acknowledge the point even as he was surprised by Drew’s insight. “You’re probably right, so I’ll amend my statement to do what you need to do. I trust you.”
Drew smiled, the wry expression reminiscent of Joe’s crooked smile. “Now if I can just get Joe to trust me, maybe we’ll get somewhere.” He squeezed Finn’s hand and then released it. “You take care of yourself, and I promise I’ll take care of Joe, whether he wants me to or not.”
“That’s the spirit.” Finn gave a little fist pump as he watched Drew move away from his bedside. A small part of him wanted at least one of them to stay with him while he faced the arduous path ahead, but he couldn’t ask that of either man under the circumstances. “Hurry up every chance you get.”
“I will.” Drew stopped at the doorway, giving Finn a heated look. “You just concentrate on getting better so we can celebrate when I bring our dumbass home, okay?”
Finn couldn’t help but smile, pleased by the promise he saw in Drew’s eyes. “I’m looking forward to it already.”
Drew grinned, and then blew Finn a kiss before heading off, letting the door close softly in his wake. Finn watched him go, worried about both Joe and Drew, and what they were walking into, but he was determined to channel his worry into productive action.
He reached for the phone on the bedside table and dialed a number.
“Hey, Lexy, it’s Finn. I need to speak to Herc right away.”
17
Less than five minutes after leaving Finn’s bedside, Joe was in his SUV. For a long moment he sat, staring out the window, collecting himself for what he knew he had to do. It wasn’t just that he had to bring down Finn’s torturer; that was only a beginning. To keep Finn safe, to make sure that Finn and Drew had any kind of a chance to live their lives without constantly looking over their shoulders, he was going to have to take this all the way to the top. He was going to have to go back to Pakistan, the country he’d promised himself he’d never set foot in again.
Taking a deep breath, he keyed on his earpiece. “Talk to me, Pixel. Tell me you have a track and ID on the guy we’re chasing.”
“Copy, Morrissey,” Pixel’s voice came back over the channel. “I managed to get a clear picture of him before he slipped drone coverage. There’s no record of him entering the country, at least not under his real name, but an alert from Interpol says that he’s Jalal Emani, a Pakistani national who trained with al-Qaeda. His last known whereabouts were in Pakistan, and he’s associated with the human trafficking ring that you and I both have had run-ins with.”
The information came as no surprise to Joe. He started the SUV. “Good. Send a picture of him to my phone, would you? And where did you lose him?”
“Just north of Lake Wheeler. There was a report of a stolen car in that area about ten minutes after I lost him. Police put out an APB for it, even though they weren’t sure it was him, but it was found ditched just south of Cary.”
“Got it.”
And suddenly Joe did have it. He knew where the guy was headed, knew what his plan must be. He didn’t tell Pixel, and he was sure that Finn hadn’t reported in to Herc yet. Right now he and Drew were the only ones who had the information, and Drew was safely back with Finn. That meant only Joe still had a slim chance of catching the guy before he escaped.
Without hesitation, Joe steered the SUV out onto the road and then pushed the accelerator to the floor.
Drew didn’t like leaving Finn, but he knew that Finn wouldn’t be able to concentrate on recovering from his injuries if he was worrying about Joe. Whatever the big merc was
PLANNING, Drew was going to have to figure it out and try hard to get there in time.
He left the hospital, annoyed but unsurprised that Joe had already taken off in his SUV. Since Drew had ridden with him to the hospital from where they’d found Finn, that left him without transport, at least temporarily. He tried hailing Joe on comms, but Joe didn’t answer.
It seemed it was time for a backup plan. “Pixel! Joker here. Can you have someone bring a vehicle to the hospital for me? And tell me where Morrissey is?”
There was a moment of silence before Pixel spoke up hesitantly. “Herc is en route, but the GPS in Joe’s earpiece says he’s still there. He’s maybe fifty yards north of your present position.”
Drew glanced north, where the parking lot stretched out, almost wall to wall with cars, despite the lateness of the hour. “Hang one.”
He hurried northward, covering the distance quickly. “Pixel, I don’t see him or his SUV. Are you sure you have the right location?”
“I’m positive,” Chris confirmed. “Look a couple of yards east.”
A suspicion formed in Drew’s mind, one that was confirmed a couple of minutes later when he found what he was expecting. Bending down, he picked up Joe’s discarded earpiece. “Pixel, Joe ditched his comms. Do you have GPS on the SUV?”
“Negative. It’s been turned off.” Chris sounded puzzled. “Why would he do that and toss his earpiece Do you think he was carjacked?”
“No, I think he did it on purpose.” Drew frowned down at the device in his hand. “What was the last communication you had from him?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. He asked for an update on the fugitive, and I gave him the ID of Jalal Emani, who probably stole a car and abandoned it near Cary. He acknowledged the info, and that’s the last I heard from him.”
Shit. Obviously Joe had figured something out, or at least thought he had, and he was h
eaded to where he thought Jalal Emani was going—and Joe didn’t want company.
“Joker, this is Herc.”
The voice in his earbug was much deeper than Chris’s and held a ring of command that had even a seasoned officer like Drew straightening his spine in response. “Copy, Herc. Are you almost to the hospital?”
“Two minutes out. Stay where you are. Pixel sent me your location, and I’m headed to you.”
Drew chafed a bit at the delay, but mostly it was because he needed to be moving, even if he didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know the Raleigh area as well as Joe did, so he wracked his brain trying to figure out what must be driving Joe on.
Almost precisely two minutes later Cade Thornton pulled up in one of the big SUVs that was virtually identical to the one Joe was in. Drew opened the passenger door and got in.
“What’s the status?” Cade asked, as he headed back toward the hospital entrance. “Finn called and reported that he thought Joe was planning to bug out, and it looks like he was right. But where could he have gone? We lost the guy.”
“I don’t know.” Drew frowned in thought. “Pixel said he told Joe about the abandoned car and that’s when he must have ditched his GPS. South of Cary, he said. What’s up that way?”
“A bunch of high tech firms, a lot of very expensive houses. Maybe they’ve got some kind of safe house,” Cade replied.
“Finn didn’t say anything about another location being mentioned, at least not to me.” Drew ground his teeth. “What else?”
“North of that is the Umstead State Park, then the airport.”
Suddenly a light dawned. “That’s it! The airport! Finn said the guy claimed they had a private plane at the airport, and threatened to ditch it right on top of Hercules Security HQ. What if that was a lie, but the plane is real? Maybe that’s how these guys got into the country to begin with, or at least got to Raleigh.”
Cade nodded. “I think you’re right.” He stopped the SUV at the front of the hospital and unfastened his seatbelt. He reached into a pocket and tossed Drew a key fob. “You go, I’ll send reinforcements. And I need to debrief Finn completely and see what other information he has that might be critical.”
