by S A Monk
KURT’S WIFE managed to get him permission to sleep in a recliner in Hanna’s room. She urged him to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat, but once he sat down beside Hanna’s bed, he didn’t want to leave. Trisha promised to bring him something to eat as soon as she took her break.
When she left, Nick moved the recliner as close as he could to the side of Hanna’s bed. She had a private room, and it was dimly lit. The soft illumination was enough for him to see how pale she looked. Buried beneath the bedcovers, hooked up to her monitors and IV’s, she looked so frail, so fragile.
He captured one of her hands, lifted it to his lips, turned it over, and kissed her palm. Then he placed it against his unshaven cheek and just held it there for several long moments. Even after setting it back on the bed, he didn’t release her hand. His remained warmly, reassuringly over hers.
“Come back to me, sweet Hanna,” he murmured softly as he leaned over to press gentle kisses on her forehead and cheek. “I don’t want to be here without you.”
CHAPTER 28
THE DEA, THE SEATTLE OFFICE OF THE FBI, and their Canadian counterparts were all taking credit for shutting down the biggest heroin ring in the Northwest. It was all over the local news the next day. The day after that, it was national news.
And by that point, word was out that a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, who was from Port George, had been instrumental in locating the Chinese drug cartel. It wasn’t long before Nick found himself beset by news reporters. He wasn’t happy about it. He’d been hoping to remain in Port George until Hanna recovered. Now his commander was going to know that his efforts to find and recover his brother had been successful. All the media attention was sure to reach him at Camp Pendleton.
He was sitting in Hanna’s room, where she remained unconscious, in a healing coma as her doctor called it, three days after her surgery when his cell phone rang. Caller I.D. told him instantly who it was on the other end of the connection. He stepped outside the room to answer the phone.
His commander and friend, General Robert Tyler, was calling from southern California. The first thing he did was congratulate Nick on finding his brother and rescuing him. Then he went on to tell Nick how happy he was that he had finally caught Li Chen and shut down his operation.
“We’ve been after Chen a long time. You must be pleased as hell you put him behind bars finally.”
The general had served with his father and been a mentor and friend a long time. Nick didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but he was still too worried about Hanna to feel much like being congratulated.
“The operation was ruining the community I grew up in. Chen bought off the heads of local law enforcement. Besides kidnapping my brother, he was responsible for the death of a good friend of mine. His sister helped me find Lance, and she was critically wounded during the rescue. At the moment, she’s in a coma because she took a couple of bullets for me. I shouldn’t have put her in that position, so I don’t feel too happy about being made a media hero.”
“Is she the hometown girl you’ve kept in touch with all these years?”
“Yes,” Nick confirmed. “Doctor Hanna Wallace.”
“Sounds like a pretty special lady.”
“She is, sir.”
“How’s Lance?”
“Recovering, but good.”
“And your lovely mother?”
“Relieved and immensely grateful you gave me leave to take care of matters.”
“Well,” the general continued. “I called to congratulate you, but also to see if I could reactivate you. I’ve got an assignment that only you can do properly.”
Nick sucked in a long silent breath. He knew he didn’t want to hear this, but he also knew he didn’t have a choice. Now that his CO knew he had finished what he had generously been given four weeks leave for, it was time to be reassigned.
“Yes, sir, I’m listening,” he responded with long learned patience.
“I need you to train some SPEC OPS units that have been selected for a special mission. We’ve got a few Force Recon men in the units, and I want to be sure that they are all ready for this job. It’s going to be a tough one, a highly classified one, and there isn’t anyone I’d trust to train them as well as you.”
“How long, sir?”
“One month of intensive training at Little Creek in Virginia, another month at Mac Gill Airbase in Florida, then two weeks back here, in San Diego, at Coronado,” the general explained. “Those last two weeks you’ll be doing some combat dive training and special underwater equipment training for some new SOCOM recruits, as well. There are a few SEAL personnel in the lot, too. It could stretch into a three month cycle, like usual. Then, I may need to send you back to Afghanistan. The Pentagon top brass are putting together something we might need you for.”
Nick wanted to groan. The Spec Ops teams that he had been commanding in Afghanistan had just wrapped up their last mission when he had been granted leave. He’d been hoping for some easy stateside deployment for a while, and while General Tyler was offering that, he was also planning on sending him back to the same part of the world he seemed to have been stuck in forever. Shit! He’d wanted a new assignment that would allow him to see Hanna more often and resolve this unfinished business between them! The military was a cruel taskmaster at times, a greedy mistress.
“When do you need me, sir?” he forced himself to finally reply.
“As soon as possible. Come down and pick up your orders from me.” General Tyler thoroughly surprised him with his next statement, though. “Wait until your lady friend comes out of her coma, though, Nick. I’m sure that’ll be any day now.”
That was at least something, Nick allowed as he hung up and returned to Hanna’s bedside. He’d been fantasizing about asking her to marry him. He’d been hoping to ask her to return to San Diego or Camp Pendleton with him. But how was he going to do that when he had to leave for Virginia as soon as possible? And then what? Marry her on a weekend, then leave her when he got reinserted into Afghanistan or some other godforsaken part of the world? He could just envision the proposal. Marry me, love of my life, then, oh yeah, wait to see me again for a year or more. Shit, maybe he ought to seriously consider retirement! Even though he’d already re-enlisted, it might not be too late to change his mind.
At dinnertime the next day, Nick was seated in the recliner, footrest up, head back, eyes closed, thinking about going down to the cafeteria to get something to eat before the family came for a visit. They had come every day to see Hanna and check on him. And each time his mother visited, she fussed with him about going home to get some real sleep in a real bed. Today he thought he needed to face all that fussing on a full stomach. He hadn’t told the family yet about his imminent reassignment, and he wasn’t looking forward to seeing how disappointed they’d all be. Except for Dylan’s death and Lance’s kidnapping, it had been a good visit. He hadn’t spent this much time with his family and friends in years.
He was pushing stiffly out of chair when he saw Hanna’s eyelids flicker. A second later, her body moved, really moved, not just twitched. In the next suspended heartbeat, her eyes opened slowly, but fully, revealing a confused green gaze. Nick shoved out of the chair and hurried to her side. Her eyes narrowed on him, like she always did when she couldn’t see well. For the first time in four days, he finally realized she’d be all right. He found her glasses and slipped them on her face, letting his two big hands rest on either side of her beautiful face.
Grinning with relief, he leaned down to kiss her forehead, then her nose, then her lips. She lifted her hand to his rough cheek and stroked it.
“Nick.” His name emerged from her unused vocal cords in a raspy, hoarse croak.
His eyes watered as he stared at her beloved features. The last time he remembered crying had been when his dad had died. He’d been a young boy. He was a grown man now, and the tears that filled his eyes were tears of joy and gratitude.
“How do you feel, sweethe
art?” he murmured, too moved to say anything else.
She blinked in wonder. “Like I’ve traveled a long way and come back.” She squeezed the big hand that held hers. “Are you for real?”
“You bet!” He blinked a couple of times to dispel his tears.
“Are you okay?” Her eyes wandered all over him. “You got shot.”
“It was just a flesh wound. They patched me up.”
“Thank God!” she breathed. “Lance and Kurt? Are they all right, too.” He nodded, bracing one hand on her headboard and one beside her head, on her pillow. “And Chen?”
“Who gives a shit!”
She tried to laugh and started coughing. Nick straightened and immediately pushed the button that raised her electric bed. Then he adjusted her pillows so she could sit up and breathe easier.
“Are you in pain?” He stroked her hair, concern lining his handsome face.
“Probably, but at the moment, I’m too happy to care.” She groaned as she tried to scoot up against the elevated bed and pillows. Nick slipped an arm behind her to assist her. The effort made her cough again.
Nick stepped back, alarmed. “I’ll get the nurse in here.”
Making a little protesting noise, Hanna grabbed him by the front of his knit shirt and yanked him close to her. “Oh no, you don’t! Come here and kiss me properly, Colonel.”
He hesitated. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’ll manage. I need your lips on mine.”
He leaned carefully over the bed again, bracing himself so he wouldn’t put any of his weight on her. His lips were the only point of contact, but he made full use of them for as long as she wanted them.
“Oh, Hanna, I’ve been so worried!” he breathed against her wet, pliant mouth. “I’m so sorry I got you hurt.”
She heard the anguish in his voice. “You didn’t get me hurt, Nicholas Kelly,” she insisted softly, hooking an arm around his neck and pulling him closer until their noses touched. “I’m sure I owe you my life because of your quick and knowledgeable intervention.”
“You shouldn’t have slowed down for me,” he chastised her. “They wouldn’t have shot Chen.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Nick. I think Thomas was hoping Chen would get killed in the crossfire so he could take over the operation.”
“That’s why I think he was the one who killed Yancy.”
But he didn’t want to talk about that now. All he wanted was to love her and say prayers of gratitude for her recovery. His mouth descended to hers again. It moved over her parted lips in a lover’s kiss, a sweet and tender mating. His tongue slid past her teeth, found hers, and made slow intoxicating love to her.
Hanna moaned and tried to pull Nick onto the bed with her, but he wasn’t about to rest even half of his two hundred and forty pounds on her injured body. He pulled his tongue from her mouth and rubbed his lips over her cheek.
“Aw, Hanna, we have to talk....”
He wanted to tell her that he had to leave, that he wanted her to marry him, that he never wanted to be apart from her again. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, so many overwhelming emotions and logistics to work through. He wasn’t sure where to start. And she kept tugging on him to get his mouth back on hers. Satisfying her overrode every other need for the moment.
Behind them, Lance stepped through the open door and silently watched the passionate exchange for several moments before he cleared his throat and alerted them of his presence.
Nick straightened and took a step back from Hanna’s bedside, turning away slightly to hide his arousal and his aggravation. Hanna looked toward the doorway and greeted Lance happily. He walked up to the bed, bent over, and kissed her, though not on the lips as his brother had.
“Oh, Hanna, it’s so damn good to see you awake and smiling! We’ve all been worried sick about you. How are you feeling?”
Her smile was so brilliant, it lit up her green eyes until they sparkled. “Pretty darn good, considering.” She laughed carefully this time. “Just a little sore.”
They spoke for a few minutes more. Then Colleen knocked on her open door. Christine and Jessie were right behind her. Nick wanted to groan. Instead, he managed a smile and motioned them into the room, resigned to waiting until later to talk to Hanna.
“We’ll get booted out if we all come in,” Christine protested.
“Hey, I’m an administrator here,” Hanna argued. “I think I’m allowed a little special treatment.”
Colleen immediately walked over to the bed and gave her granddaughter a gentle hug and big kiss on the cheek. There were tears in both their eyes by the time the old woman straightened.
Colleen glanced over her shoulder. Nick returned the old woman’s secret watery smile, then excused himself so there would be more room. “I’m going down to the cafeteria to get some coffee and a sandwich.” Hanna immediately looked crestfallen. He smiled at her reassuringly. “I’ll be back in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“I’ll let the ladies visit and go with you, bro,” Lance said as he followed Nick to the door. “I could use a cup of coffee.”
Inside the elevator that took them downstairs, Nick noticed Lance looked like he had something to say. He figured he knew what it was. In the cafeteria, they each ordered coffee, but Nick added a sandwich. After paying the cashier, they found a quiet table at the back of the room and sat down across from one another.
Nick stared at Lance with one raised eyebrow. “Okay, spit it out, little brother,” he began. “You’ve got that we need to talk look all over your face.”
Lance stirred cream into his coffee slowly and thoughtfully, but made no attempt to initiate any conversation.
Beginning to truly feel the full impact of his weeklong ordeal, Nick felt his patience evaporate. Exhaustion swept over him in a huge wave. He took a long drink of his coffee and gathered the minuscule patience he had left. “I know Hanna is what’s on your mind, Lance, so let’s hear it.”
His brother looked up from his preoccupation with his coffee and nodded. “I’d like to know what’s going on between the two of you this time.”
Nick shook his head tiredly. “I’m really not ready to discuss this now, bro.”
“So you said the other day. But I want to know, nevertheless. Mom says the two of you have been pretty tight for four weeks. Are you going to stick around this time? You’ve put your twenty years in. Do you intend to retire and come home? We’d all like you to, you know.”
Nick met his brother’s eyes solemnly. “I would prefer not to retire. I’m not ready yet. The Corps is my life. It’s all I know, and I’ve got a lot of good years left.” He grinned to ease the tension between them and the disappointment that settled over Lance’s face. “Hell, I might even make general someday.”
Lance didn’t laugh with him. “I believe you will, big brother. And I’ll be damn proud of you, too. I’m glad you’re happy, Nick, although I would have loved to run Sean’s business with you.”
“Aw, hell, Lance, I’d make a lousy businessman.”
“I doubt that. But what are you going to do about Hanna?”
Nick sighed. He’d known he’d have to tell his brother sooner or later. He hadn’t looked forward to it, knowing how Lance had always felt about Hanna. “I’ve been thinking about asking her to marry me.”
“Marry her!” His brother’s eyes widened in surprise. “And?”
“Take her with me to wherever I’m stationed next. We might be base hopping for a while. I’ve got a couple of duty assignments coming up. At least they’re in the U.S.” He didn’t add that they would be short-lived.
“Christ, Nick! Do you even know where you’re going next?”
Nick raked one hand through the longer hair on top of his head. “I’ll be in Virginia, then Florida for eight weeks, then I’ll be in San Diego for a month. After that...” He really didn’t want to tell Lance about the possibility of returning to the Middle East. Besides a lot could happen in three months. Gene
ral Tyler could change his mind about sending him back there. Peace could settle over the Middle East.
“And after that, what? Back to Afghanistan?” Lance astutely guessed. “Or maybe now Syria or Iran or Korea or some other hot spot? You never draw any lengthy stateside deployments, for christsakes! What do you expect Hanna to do? Sit in God- knows-where while she waits for you? Worrying about you?”
Nick looked away mutely and scrubbed a hand over his face. Everything his brother said was true, and he heard the resentment in Lance’s voice. His family had missed him the past twenty years. Hell, he had missed them, too. But this was his life. The real question was, Did it have to be for the next twenty years?
“Have you asked her to marry you yet?”
“No. Not yet. Hell, she just came out of her coma.”
“Yeah, and what about her recovery? You gonna marry her in a hospital bed?”
“Lance....” Nick shot him a look that said back off, but his brother seemed oblivious to the entreaty.
“And what about her career?” His brother was building steam, becoming angrier by the moment. “She’s head of ER here, for crying out loud. That’s a damn prestigious position. And she teaches at the University Medical School in Seattle. Are you going to ask her to give all that up for the life of a military wife?”
“They’ve got hospitals and medical schools in other places in the country. There’s a great one in San Diego, for christsakes!”
“Maybe, if you end up in San Diego for more than a month. Then there’s your lifestyle to consider. You lead a dangerous life— more so than most military men. You’re part of MARSOC; Special Forces for heaven’s sake!” he stated as if Nick didn’t already know that. “Are you going to put her through what Mom went through with Dad? You, of all people, should remember what that was like; how much pain she suffered when he died; how long it took her to get past it.” Lance sent Nick a hard, accusing stare. “How can you ask Hanna to live like that, to risk that? Just waiting to hear if you died on one of your covert missions halfway around the world? Hell, some of them are so secret, the military probably wouldn’t even tell her how and where you died.”
