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“I didn’t fucking protect her!” General Parks shouts, reaching for a side table.
Hudson and Bennett rush General Parks and restrain his arms behind his back. The waiting room is destroyed. Chairs are overturned, pictures are ripped from their hooks, and there are several new holes in the wall courtesy of the general’s fists.
“I’m calling the police,” the receptionist shouts.
Fuck, the last thing the general needs is the military police showing up.
“Shit,” Carver mutters. “I’ll take care of it.”
The receptionist places her hands on her hips. “You all need to leavenow.”
“We apologize for the disturbance,” Carver says placatingly. “The general’s daughter is here, and as you can see, it’s been rough on him.” He gestures around the room. “We’re more than willing to pay for the damages, ma’am.”
She harrumphs. “See that you do, but if you can’t keep him under control, we’re going to have to ask you to leave. We have other patients here to worry about.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. The hospital can try to remove us, but at the end of the day, they wouldn’t get very far. I’m not about to tell her that, and neither is Carver. He gives her a toothy grin and returns to our group.
Hudson and Bennett release the general, who falls back into the only chair remaining upright. Thomas and Carver start picking up the overturned furniture and putting the room back in order.
Willow moves to crouch in front of General Parks. “I’m sorry, Victor.”
“No, Willow.” He brushes the tears off her face. “You’re like another daughter to me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I would never hurt you, and it was never my intention to scare you. Please forgive me.”
She places a kiss on his cheek and stands up as Dr. Sheppard rounds the corner and comes to a grinding halt when she sees the destruction before her.
Dr. Sheppard’s brows pinch in confusion. “What the hell happened in here?”
General Parks stands and clears his throat. “I’ll take care of the damages and make sure that the hospital receives a sizable donation this year.”
“Yes… well, okay,” she says, flabbergasted. “General, may we speak privately?”
The two walk out of earshot behind the nurse's station. The longer the doctor speaks to him, the more the general’s shoulders slump in defeat. I keep a close eye on the situation, ready to jump in if he loses his temper again. Dr. Sheppard places her hand on his shoulder before she spins on her heel and hurries back down the hall.
“Willow,” General Parks calls.
Willow hurries over to where he’s waiting. He says something to her before she disappears back toward Aurora’s room. General Parks makes his way toward the exit and gestures for us to follow him outside.
“Is Aurora okay?” I blurt the moment the fresh air hits my face.
Ever since we were rushed out of her room, all I can see is her lying so still on that bed, wondering if she was truly alright or not.
General Parks’ gaze pierces mine. “She fainted. Aurora will be fine, physically, anyway. Mentally, I don't know.” He clenches his jaw. “Those fuckers grabbed mybaby girlin front of her home with no thought about the consequence of being seen by anyone. They think they are untouchable.”
“What do you want to do, Sir?” Hudson asks.
General Parks faces me. “Rivers, you and your men are going to find these assholes and put them in the fucking ground. Every last one of them. Recover any and all victims and return them to their families.”
This… this I understand. I need something to kill, maim, torture. After what we rescued Aurora from, I can’t even begin toimagine what horrors are out there that others are experiencing right now.
I cross my arms. “When do we leave?”
“We’ll have an Operations Order Brief at zero seven hundred at my home. Donotdiscuss this with anyone outside of this group. This remains a Black Op covert mission. I’m not taking this up the chain of command. Are you all with me?”
None of us even hesitate as we all shout, “Oorah.”
“I’m going to go see my daughter.” General Parks heads back to the entrance.
“Sir,” I call, and he looks over his shoulder. “Will you let Aurora know we’re being sent back to our stations?” He whips around, but I hold up my hand before he can interrupt. “Don’t tell her what’s really going on, but let her know we had to get back to our assignments now that she’s with you. I promised her we’d be around to make sure she felt safe.”