They were waiting for him to lead, which would be plain stupid under the current circumstances. He could see no visible guns, knives, or anything else on their person. That did not mean they didn’t have something.
Chunky broke the standoff to take a step toward him. He felt his muscles tense in anticipation, but held his ground. Then Lanky moved to the left, lanky and muscle went to the right and muscle boy walked around him.
Surrounded.
He was dead.
*****
“Where’s your dad?”
Finn didn’t move from his vigil. “Where’s the van.” He slowly glanced over his shoulder. “This is bad.”
“Let’s go. Call your Nanna and tell her to call Beckworth and Jones.”
Glenna grabbed the keys to the 4Runner raced through the door knowing that Finn was on her heels. She pulled the door open and hesitated, did she even remember how to drive a standard?
Finn stared at her from the open door on the other side. “Do you need me to drive?”
“Do you have a license?”
“Learners permit, I know how to drive a damn stick, do you?”
She tossed him the keys and raced around the back as he went around the front. As soon as she climbed in, the engine roared and she’d barely had time to pull her door closed before he took off.
“Slow down, I can’t look for Patrick.”
“I know where to look.”
He didn’t say more, just concentrated on taking the corners without killing either of them, but faster than the speed limit. She trusted him and didn’t distract him with words.
Though she held on for dear life.
In the distance she could see a car or was that the van parked on the side of the road?
“Hurry, there’s the van.”
“Four. Where’s Dad?” Finn muttered almost too low for her to hear, worry weaving through each word.
Finn was keeping his gaze on the road, but she saw him glance to the left of the van and she saw four guys running toward the vehicle. By the time they were almost even with them, the black van gunned and pealed past them like a bat out of hell.
“Where’s Dad?” Finn repeated.
He pulled into the spot the other vehicle had just vacated and jumped out. In the distance Glenna could hear sirens. She wasn’t about to wait, and neither was Finn. He’d hopped the fence and was already racing across the field calling his dad’s name. She swallowed and climbed the fence as fast as she dared, then she was racing after the boy. No way could she catch him. He stopped and let out a yell, she couldn’t understand what he said but he was waving at her frantically.
As she drew close she realized he wanted her to call for an ambulance. Her heart stopped.
“Glenna call 911.” He bent down toward his dad.
She was too far to see how badly Patrick was hurt. She couldn’t move. What had he asked her to do?
“Glenna. What the fuck is wrong.”
The F-bomb coming from Finn jolted her out of her whatever it was and she punched in the number while racing the rest of the way.
Blood. Her first thought.
The sirens had stopped but she could hear shouts of the officers as they drew closer. And then the ambulance arrived. Everything was a blur she wasn’t sure how long they’d been with him waiting. A minute? An hour? A day?
She dropped to her knees and reached for him intending to do, what she didn’t know, Finn grabbed her arm.
“Don’t move him.”
Right. She let her hand drop and stared helplessly at Patrick’s battered body. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing. He was so still. It took her a moment to realize the pounding in her chest was her heart, like it was going to jump out. She drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. And repeated.
She glanced over her shoulder, why was it taking so long for the medics to get there? As the thought crossed her mind a kind gentleman nudged her aside but didn’t make her completely leave Patrick. There were three medics, they quickly assessed the damage and then next thing she knew they were moving him to a stretcher.
She walked with them through the fields, it was slow progress, the waving green may look pretty but it was a bitch to push something with wheels through it. She didn’t hear one complaint from the medics, no it was all her mumbled frustration.
There was a man on either side of the stretcher, about to lift him in, Patrick grabbed her hand, or rather placed his hand on top of hers. Startled she looked at him, his lips moved as if he said something.
“What?”
Again he mumbled something. She stopped the men from putting him in, they allowed her to move closer to his head so she could lean over.
“What?” she repeated.
“You should see the other guys.”
She wasn’t positive she had heard right, the words were slurred and so soft she’d barely heard it.
The men lifted him into the back of the ambulance. She wanted to go with Patrick, but they told her she needed to meet them at the hospital. She ushered Finn back to the car and let him drive again. She knew it wasn’t a good idea, but she actually wanted to arrive before the next century and she had a feeling she’d stall the car at every light.
Finn followed as best he could without breaking the speed limit. Neither of them wanted to take the time to be pulled over. Glenna was lost in her thoughts, worry nibbled and the usual roll and pitch rocked her stomach. She started when Finn broke the silence in the car.
“What did my dad say?”
“I think, but I’m not a hundred percent, he said ‘you should see the other guys.’”
Finn barked out a laugh. “He’s going to be okay.”
****
Frustrating. Glenna couldn’t get her heart under control. The pounding matched the drums in her head. Her stomach rolled, she could be in the middle of the ocean during the storm of the century the way it pitched. She did what she always did when worried. Paced the waiting room, around the perimeter like a track, then across and back again.
“Hey, sit down you’re driving me freakin’ nuts.” Finn followed his words with a smile. “I know you’re worried but he’s going to be fine. He’s a tough old bird.”
Glenna stopped and stared. “Old?”
“Yeah. He didn’t get to be his age in his profession by being a ninny. Sit. They’ll let us go in soon.”
“How is he?” A tall man strode in followed by a woman with the ginger hair she had passed on to her son, worrying the strap on her purse.
“Nanna, Móraí!” Finn jumped up and raced into their open arms for a group hug.
He’d been more worried than he’d let on. She swallowed the lump blocking her airway. She needed a hug. She needed to know he was going to be okay. Not long ago Patrick was safe and now because of her, he was in the hospital. Would they come after Finn next?
She needed to talk to Tyler. She stood intending to go somewhere private and do just that, but as she passed the group hug, Finn reach for her hand and pulled her in. Warmth encircled her and to her horror the water works started. Patrick’s mother, whom she vaguely remembered seeing browsing her store a few time before but had never actually met before this moment and here she was blubbering all over the woman’s blouse, steered Glenna to a chair and settled her in.
A moment later his father handed her a bottle of water with a gentle ‘drink’. She sniffed, and now that the worst storm was over she gratefully took a sip and then took a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry.” She sniffed again. “It’s my fault Patrick’s here.”
Then horror of horrors, she started to boob again. She couldn’t seem to stop. It was more than her guilt. She was petrified for the worst. Patrick wouldn’t make it. No one had told them what his injuries were. She couldn’t get the picture of his battered face and body, blood everywhere, out of her mind.
“Are you the McGinnis family?”
Glenna glanced up at the woman who’d entered the waiting room. She held a tablet and
seemed to be studying it, and then she smiled at Patrick’s parents.
“He’s got several cracked ribs and several contusions. Luckily there were no broken bones well except his nose, which is a wonder. He’s going to be fine.” She paused, and Glenna thought she was finished. “We’re keeping him overnight to watch him. We want to make sure there is no internal bleeding. He does have a slight concussion. He took a beating, but by the abrasions on his knuckles, he gave as good as he got.”
“There were four.” Glenna’s voice sounded weak even to herself.
The doctor’s brow rose almost to her hairline. “Four?”
Finn grinned. “Yeah, that’s my dad. Nothing can stop him.”
Apparently, Finn’s worry was over because the doctor said Patrick would be fine. But Glenna knew that things could happen in a flash. She still needed to talk to Tyler. Patrick would want to stay on the case and she couldn’t let that happen. Not when he’d been beaten within an inch of his life, and no way would she let anything happen to Finn.
The only way she could protect them would be to get out of their lives.
“Can we see our son?” Patrick’s mother asked.
“For a few minutes and only two at a time.”
So lost in her thoughts, Glenna started when Patrick’s father reached a hand toward her. “I’m Kendal McGinnis and this is my wife Caroline. You must be Glenna Beckett.”
She took his hand, his firm and warm. Then she stood and held hers out to Patrick’s mother. But the woman pulled her into a hug. Of course, that set off her emotions again. Damn, sometimes it was a pain in the ass to be such a girl. But she couldn’t help it.
“I’m so sorry Mrs. McGinnis.”
“Dear, it’s going to fine. He’s tough, always has been. And it’s Caroline.”
“He didn’t sign up for this when my brother called him for a favor.”
Patrick’s father frowned at her. Glenna was sure he was going to agree with her, but he surprised her. “I believe when he signed up for the Federal Bureau of Investigations as a special agent, he knew exactly what he was doing. He was protecting you and Finn.”
“Mr. McGinnis…”
“Kendal.”
“Kendal, he wasn’t assigned to the case until after Tyler called him and asked him to babysit me.”
“I highly doubt your brother asked that of him. Patrick had been climbing the walls on his light duty, you offered him a challenge.”
“But he’s in the hospital.”
“And your point?” Kendal raised a brow.
“He’s hurt, he could have been killed.” They were his parents, didn’t they understand she’d put him right in the middle of an international crime ring?
“Glenna, give it up. Nanna and Móraí know how much my dad loves being an agent. He’s been a bear to live with since his boss put him on pansy duty as he called it.”
“What are you talking about? Pansy duty?”
Finn grinned. “Well he was on a case and if he’d followed protocol there was a good chance…”
His grandfather snorted. “More than a good chance, that woman wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for your dad.”
“…if dad hadn’t gone rogue and rescued her and saved the day.”
Glenna was beginning to understand. Tyler had gone rogue a few times. He called it Froufrou duty though. “And I’ve got him back on a case with meat, is what you’re saying.”
Three chorused ‘yeses’ was her answer. She smiled for the first time in hours.
“Okay, you guys win. I would like to go in and see him after all of you have.”
“I’m sure he’d rather see you than my ugly mug.”
“Speak for yourself Kendal,” Caroline said. “The doctor said two could go in, why don’t you and I go first. Once I know my boy’s okay you can have some time before Finn and his Móraí visit.”
Glenna took the proffered hand and together they went to the room Patrick had been moved to for the night.
Caroline walked in, as if she was in charge, up to the side of her son. He’d been lying there dozing and she smacked him on the shoulder. Glenna cringed at the pained expression as Patrick’s eyes flew open.
“Fu…” his mouth snapped shut when he saw who it was. “Mum, what was that for?”
“For worrying us. You said you’d be fine on the back way.”
“Well, hell. I thought I would be. And I didn’t know there were four of them.” He gave a lopsided grin that looked pretty painful from where Glenna stood. “I did pretty damn good against four. I’m alive to talk about it. Doesn’t that count?”
Caroline McGinnis who’d been so stoic through the entire wait and speaking with the doctor bent over and kissed her son on the head and then burst into tears.
“What would I do if you hadn’t have been able to handle four?”
Glenna slipped out the door to give mother and son some time. As she was shutting the door behind her, a tall redhead nearly bowled her over going to the room, and her words could be heard throughout Napa Valley, Glenna was sure.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Paddy?”
Glenna grinned at the nurse who had been about to enter if she hadn’t been pushed out of the way by Patrick sister, Margaret Kathleen.
Family came first. She’d take the time to go check in with Tyler.
Chapter Thirteen
Glenna found a quiet spot in front of the hospital. She didn’t want anyone sneaking up on her. She may feel better knowing Patrick’s family didn’t hold her responsible, but in her mind, that didn’t let her off the hook.
She calculated the time, it was going on midnight in Brooklyn. She figured that was better than two or three in the morning. Could it wait until morning? Yes, but she needed to talk to her brother.
Family.
After several rings, a sleepy Keira answered the phone. She was instantly worried when Glenna asked for Tyler. She reassured her sister-in-law that all was well, now. A moment later Tyler came on the phone.
“Glenna what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She paused, she wasn’t sure what to say now she had him on the phone.
“Glenna?”
“I don’t know Tyler. I’m worried. Can you ask for someone else to take on the case?”
“What? I know Patrick, he’s good. Where is this coming from?”
Glenna took a deep breath and filled her brother in on what had been going on, some of which he knew from Reagan.
“I can’t have him hurt.”
“Why Glenna? This is his case, he needs to finish it. Especially now.”
“What do you mean especially now?”
“It will look bad to his fellow agents if he turns tail because four guys got the best of him…”
“Four is the key word. He could have been killed.”
“Yes, he could have. Have you ever heard the expression that if you fall off a horse the best thing to do is to climb right back on?”
Glenna closed her eyes and counted to ten. Her brother was taking this too lightly. “Yes, dammit I know that cliché. But you’re missing the point. Patrick is a single dad he has responsibilities. He needs to stay safe.”
“He’s an agent, it’s his career. What kind of dad would he be if the example he gave his son was one of taking the safe road.”
There was a pause and she could hear Keira in the background but couldn’t make out the words.
“Glenna, I know you and Tyler are close, but he’s missing the point.” Her sister-in-law repeated her earlier words to her brother. “He’s looking at this from Patrick’s point of view, and I get it. I get it because I feel about my career as strongly as Tyler. I may not have planned to be an agent. But the rewards of helping people and the thrill of a catching the bad guys, getting them off the streets and making those streets safe for kids and my Lucy to walk on makes the danger worth it.”
“I…”
“Let me finish, I’ve been where you are. When Tyler was shot I thought
half my soul was taken from me. I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t know if I could move on. There was one thing I knew. I was going to get the bastards who hurt my baby. Partners, spouses, friends, family all react differently to the dangers of the career. Your mom cooks and mothers, your dad gets all gruff and protective. I get fierce.”
There was a pause, and Glenna let the words sink in. Tyler had known she needed a woman’s prospective. Maybe she should have called Reagan, but she’d have reacted like Tyler. And she highly doubted her new brother in law Paco would have been able to understand any better. But Keira did, and better, she belonged to the club of agents. She knew it from both sides.
“If you’re going to love Patrick, Glenna, you’re going to have to find a way to cope.”
“Whoa, right there. What do you mean love? No one said anything about the L word. I care about him, he’s a good man, a good dad, and he’s been wonderful taking care of the break in, the death of my assistant who was also my friend. But love? No, I’m worried that he’s going to get hurt again on my behalf. I need you guys to get someone else to take over. Patrick needs to recover. Finn needs his dad and the McGinnis’ need their son. How could I have brought these terrible criminals to their door? What kind of a person would I be if I pretended everything was fine?
“Let him get out of the hospital and step in harm’s way again.”
Glenna waited for the response. She swiped a hand across her eyes to get whatever was blurring her vision away only to find she’d been crying. She swallowed and her stomach tightened. No, she was not in love with Patrick. She barely knew the man. She couldn’t let herself. What would she do if she had to worry about his safety every day? Every single minute of that day? No.
“Glenna?”
She pulled in a breath. “Yes?”
“You care. Don’t argue, you can call it what you like, but you care. You’re scared. Again, this is me on the other side I get it. Don’t you think I worry about Tyler? We’re not always together on a case. Gabe is his partner and I have Monica as my partner. We worry every day about Lucy losing one of her parents. But have you ever thought what this world would be without the policemen? The firefighters? All the people who defend our country? All the people who put their life on the line every day.
Abandoned (The Beckett Series Book 6) Page 13
