"Where's Aria, doc?" Nick asked, no longer willing to deny his need for her to be there.
"I think my sister's in the kitchen with Carol. Do you want me to get her for you?" He handed Nick the pills, and Nick surprised himself by being able to lift his arm to put them in his mouth without unbearable pain. Henry held a straw to his lips so he could wash the pills down, then he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, nodding.
He must have drifted off, because when he opened his eyes again, Aria sat in the chair by the bed. She had her elbows propped on her knees and her face in her hands, and he felt a tug at the sight of her. "You don't know how many times I've woken up like this and wished you were next to me." He didn't realize he'd spoken out loud until she jerked and raised her head up to look at him. He narrowed his eyes at her when he saw her face. "You've been crying," he said accusingly.
She smiled at him. "Off and on for about two hours now. I guess this whole week is finally hitting me."
"I thought I'd taken care of everything. I guess I overlooked something," he said.
"Jen told me they had Simmons and Nancy in custody."
"They do."
"Then who shot you?" she asked him.
"Probably Hecate. She never could shoot straight with a silencer."
Aria gasped. "What? But you debriefed them and gave them enough information to arrest Simmons and Nancy. She is an honorable agent, you said. She wouldn't have just tried to kill you because she could. Who would have told her to shoot you?"
"Only one person it could be, and I don't want to think about that right now." He held his hand out so she would take it and, when she did, her touch eased some of the pain, both in his heart and in his body.
"Jen took the car and left."
"I know."
"Do you know where she went?"
"Away. That's all that matters right now. She'll be back." He closed his eyes and willed his body to heal faster than it should, and gripped her hand tight. "Will you pray with me?"
"What? Of course." Aria sandwiched his hand with hers and bowed her head. "God, we need You now more than ever before. We need Your wisdom, and we need Your healing power. And God, we also need Your protection, as much for this nation as for ourselves. Please protect us. Help us do the right thing here. Amen."
She kissed his hand and raised her head. He opened his eyes, squeezed her hand, and fell asleep.
¯¯¯¯
CHARLIE Zimmerman sat back in his desk chair and stared at Kate. "How could you miss?"
"I had a bead on him even with the suppresser messing with my aim. When I fired, he moved unexpectedly. As soon as he realized he had come under fire, his training kicked in. You and I both know once I lost the element of surprise, I had nothing."
"So you didn't miss on purpose? You didn't let any feelings get in the way of your abilities?"
"What feelings? I don't know Nighthawk socially. I only know him on a professional level." She stood. "I missed. Balder missed. Simmons missed. Clearly Williams is either the better agent or else God wants him alive and sent some guardian angels."
Charlie let out a deep sigh. "You're right. My apologies." He waved a hand. "Go type your report and get Simmons to debrief you. We still need to find him."
¯¯¯¯
Chapter 32
BY Tuesday night, Jen hadn't returned to the house. Nick didn't seem concerned, so the rest of the household tried to follow his lead. Henry spent an hour with him in the bedroom that night with the door shut, and when Henry came out, he called the hospital and informed them that he had a family emergency that couldn't be ignored and he would come in again at the end of the week. Since Henry was off for the next two days anyway, all that did was take him off call, and allowed him to stay at the house without having to come and go, worrying about being followed.
When the women questioned him about the discussion he and Nick had, he told them nothing about Nick's concerns that the car could be traced to the house. The two looked like they would shatter at any moment, and he didn't want any more patients on his hands.
Nick woke up more and more regularly, partly because he wasn't taking the pain pills anymore, and partly because his body was healing quicker than Henry had thought it would. He was able to walk a short distance that night, with Henry's support. Though he fell back to sleep as soon as he laid back down, and though he was in more pain when he woke up again, Henry was amazed at the pace of his recovery.
Aria's eldest brother, John, had enlisted the help of a friend in the computer business, and had set up a secure, encrypted, private blog on the Internet, allowing his family to leave messages there that could not be traced. Henry checked messages that night in his room and discovered that Adam was with John in Atlanta, waiting to hear from Henry. Henry left a message telling them as much as he could, then answered the deluge of questions that appeared within the hour.
When Henry came down to the room Wednesday morning after a mere two hours of sleep, he found Nick sitting up in the chair and Aria asleep on the bed. He stopped short in the doorway when his tired mind registered the sight of the two of them.
Exhaustion must have finally set in because he started laughing so hard that he left the room to keep from waking her up. It took several minutes to rein in the hysterical laughter. Finally, he decided he could go back into the room.
"What happened here?" he asked Nick, putting a blood pressure cuff on his arm.
"She was about to topple over, so I told her to sit on the bed for just a minute while I sat in the chair. I think it took her about thirty seconds to fall asleep," Nick answered.
"How long ago was that?"
"About an hour."
"Do you want me to help you upstairs to another bed?" Henry asked.
Nick shook his head. "I'm fine, as long as I sit. I'll let you know when I need to move."
"Do you always heal this quickly?"
He shrugged. "A lot of it is mental, Doc. You know that. Most people lie around expecting to feel bad and be in pain, so their bodies comply."
"And you, what?"
"I tell myself I don't have time to feel puny and fight the pain back."
"People like you could put me out of business. You took a bullet in the gut and swallowed a total of three pain pills, now thirty hours later, you're sitting in a chair." He removed the cuff. "Your blood pressure's good in case you were wondering. Want me to check your cholesterol?" he joked.
"When can I take a shower?"
"Tomorrow. I want to keep the wound dry for a little bit longer." He put the blood pressure cuff back in his bag. "I can help you to the bathroom if you want to shave. I have an extra razor with me."
"Oh, man. That sounds like a great idea."
"I'll just add it to my bill."
Nick wanted to laugh, but though he was putting up a good front, the pain was still making a strong presence, so he stood very slowly and started the long walk to the bathroom. "I have some things I need you to do, Henry," he said.
¯¯¯¯
ARIA woke up stiff and disoriented. She lay still and let her mind come into focus. As soon as she remembered what was going on, she sat up in a panic, wondering where Nick was. She found him in the living room, asleep on the couch, the television muted on a news channel. His eyes opened as soon as she walked into the room and he held his hand out for her to take.
She sat on the floor next to him, holding his hand, and rested her head on the edge of the couch. "How long did I sleep?" she asked.
"About four hours. Do you feel any better?" He gently ran his fingers through her hair.
"Let me get a shower and some coffee, then ask me that." She raised her head and looked at him closely. "You feel better." He nodded. "Good. Where is everyone?"
"Henry had to run an errand. I think Carol's in the kitchen."
"What about Jen? I'm starting to get worried about her, Nick."
"She won't be back for at least another day." He squeezed her hand and let it go, then slowly sat u
p. "Listen to me. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble."
Aria nodded. "Psalm 46."
"That's right. Quit worrying. It adds stress, and stress causes mistakes. When you feel like your worry is overwhelming you, I want you to quote that Bible verse out loud. Say it as often as you need to in order to steady yourself."
Already feeling the worry dissipate, Aria smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, go take your shower and get your coffee, then you can come back and we can watch some silly action movie. I'll tell you all the technical mistakes they make with the firearms," he offered. Aria laughed and kissed him, then left the room.
¯¯¯¯
NICK convinced Aria to go up to her room to sleep that night. She wanted to protest but she was too tired, so she complied as soon as she saw him settled back asleep in his bed. It took her a while to fall asleep, because she laid there worrying about Jen and where she was, and then about Henry. He hadn't returned yet from whatever errand occupied him, and though Nick didn't seem concerned, she couldn't help wondering if something had happened to him.
Eventually, her mind gave in to her body's demands and she fell into a fitful sleep that was filled with confusing dreams. She dreamed about armed nuclear devices in small cases that would keep them from being detected. They were planted in every city she could find her family.
She finally jerked herself awake and lay there in the bed, afraid to go back to sleep. She didn't know how long she'd slept, but she knew she didn't want to be alone in the dark, so she put some clothes on and left the room. When she was putting on her watch she saw that it was four o'clock, and realized that she'd slept longer than she thought.
The door to Nick's room was shut and the light was off, so she decided to make some coffee before she disturbed him, knowing as soon as she opened his door, he would wake up. As she neared the kitchen, she saw the light was on in there and thought perhaps Nick was already up. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw who was there and stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth falling open.
John, Adam, Henry, and Nick were all seated at the table, papers and laptops strewn around between them. All four men stopped speaking and stared at her, until Adam finally broke the silence. "Good morning, Aria. Sleep well?"
John said, "Don't tease, her, man. You know she's not exactly a morning person."
It took a while for her brain to acknowledge that her brothers really were standing there. The second it did, she squealed and launched herself one after the other into her brothers' arms. For a small moment, the exhaustion, the worry, and the fear seemed to fade away as she allowed herself to be passed around. When she'd hugged and kissed all of them at least once, she pulled out a chair next to Nick and sat down, squeezing his hand in her excitement.
"When did you guys get here?" she asked.
"An hour ago," John said.
"How?" She was suddenly worried that the them out there would learn her brothers were here.
"John asked James Montgomery if we could use his jet. Nick needed us to run a couple of errands for him," Adam said.
John had worked a case in Atlanta at the first of the year that had become very personal for him, and ended up becoming friends with the people who had been involved. Billionaire James Montgomery, the Montgomery in Montgomery-Lawson Incorporated, was one of those people. His continuing generosity toward John and their family seemed inexhaustible.
The kitchen door opened again and a very tired looking Jennifer Thorne came into the room. John stood and held out his chair. She practically collapsed into it without even looking at him. Aria took one look at the other woman, and got up to fix her a cup of coffee.
"How'd it go?" Nick asked.
Jen glared at him. "The next time you ask me to do the European tour in forty-eight hours, remind me of this moment in time, will you?" She accepted the cup from Aria with a nod and took a sip. "They're all shocked and appalled, and will do anything in their power to help us out. Meanwhile, 'stiff upper lip and all that sort what-what' was their best advice," she said. "Nick, please reassure me that you're absolutely certain about this, because I just opened a huge can of worms, and I want to make sure that it wasn't for nothing."
"I'm absolutely sure."
"It's hard to believe, then it's not hard to believe. How horrible is that?"
Aria looked at Nick then Jen then back at Nick. "What are you two talking about?"
"I needed some help from the powers that be, and had to call in a few favors to get that help. Don't worry, Aria. This is all almost over," Nick said.
Jen suddenly looked up at John who stood dutifully behind the chair he had abandoned for her with a half grin plastered on his face. "Of course," she said, almost to herself. With a surprised and curious look between John and Aria, she gasped. "Suarez."
"Small world, Thorne." John smirked. "Almost like God was orchestrating something with us."
"Indeed." She held out her hand and he took it. "Good to see you again, Detective."
"Likewise," John said, releasing her hand. "I take it you are no longer in the private consulting business?"
Jen shook her head. "Too dangerous. People get shot."
"You don't say?" John grinned. "Well, sorry it didn't work out."
Jen shrugged. "No big deal. Sorry things didn't work out with your girlfriend. I heard the breakup was a real trial."
John barked a laugh and with an appreciative smile of chagrin said, "Now you're just being mean."
Adam, who had been watching the private interplay between them since Jen first sat down, demanded, "Okay, you guys have got to tell me what's behind all this."
"Long story," John hedged with a secretive grin.
With a half grin on her own face, Jen took a cellular phone out of her pocket and slid it across the table to Nick. "Everyone has this number. I'd give it about twelve hours before the music starts."
"Thanks, Jen." Nick turned back to the papers in front of him. "We need to compile all of this into a simple report, with backups and attachments. I need at least five copies of everything. Adam, there's a printer in Carol's office. Did your friend Montgomery have what we needed to convert this video I took?" Adam nodded, so Nick slid the camera across the table to him. "Go ahead and transfer it, and print as many clear pictures as you can from what's there." Adam took the camera and left the room. John took the chair that he'd vacated.
"Nick, what's going on?" Aria asked.
"I'm calling in some favors." He gave her a very, very quick summary, then said, "I need you to try to summarize that report you e-mailed to me, giving as many details and names as you can, then make five copies of it. Start at the beginning, from the day you started the project for the shielding, and try to be as specific as possible. Don't worry about getting too technical or about classified information, but you do need to watch the clock. I need it done by this afternoon."
"Who is this going to?" she asked.
"Whoever shows up. Start now. The longer you sit here and ask questions, the less details you can give." He dismissed her by turning back to his computer and speaking to Jen while he started typing. "Go sleep, Jen. We don't know what kind of backup we're going to need, and I need you on your toes." Aria watched while Jen merely nodded and left the room.
"What kind of detail do you want out of this?" John asked, holding up a sheaf of papers.
Nick glanced quickly at what he was holding then handed it back to John. "I need to know the dates and times of each flight, where they went, and where and when their paths crossed. I need to get an estimated amount of money spent on this on the government's side, if you can possibly figure that out, and the amount of money that was transferred into everyone's accounts."
Aria went back to her bedroom, where she found her reading glasses and her laptop. Not wanting to be away from Nick anymore than necessary, she went back to the kitchen to work on her report.
They worked in silence for several hours, stopping only to fill
coffee cups and to make more coffee. Aria worked hard at remembering the timing of everything. Thankfully, she had so many records on her computer that it was just a matter of transferring information.
When her stomach growled, she grabbed an apple out of the bowl on the table and munched on that, not wanting to break her pace. At one point, Carol came into the room and made a breakfast that no one ate. She was in and out, giving Nick printouts of things, taking flash drives to her office to print, and binding things already printed into folders.
Nick came and went, going to his room and lying down, returning to work for an hour, then lying down again. Around noon, he received the first call on his cellular phone. Aria couldn't hear the other end of the conversation, but she stopped what she was doing while she listened to Nick's end, hearing a respect in his voice she had never heard him use when addressing someone before.
"Yes, sir," he said, then paused to listen to the other end. "I appreciate all of the inconvenience you're going through." Pause. "Well, sir, that was part of my job. This isn't part of yours." Nick sat perfectly still while he listened. "Yes, sir. If you just arrive at the time that Special Agent Thorne instructed, I will have any information you feel you may need. We are working on compiling it right now." Another pause, this one longer. "I appreciate your concern, Mr. Ambassador, but I can assure you I am on the mend, so to speak." Pause. "Thank you, sir. I look forward to seeing you again as well."
She watched him hang up the phone and set it down. Without even breaking stride he went back to work. She looked at John and Henry, who were also staring at him, and then they all shrugged and went back to their reports. Ten minutes later, he received a call nearly identical to the first, referring to the caller as senator rather than ambassador, and once again hung the phone up and went back to work. Two more came through within the hour, both ambassadors.
An Aria for Nick (Christian Romantic Suspense) (Song of Suspense) Page 29
