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CHAPTER 5

JAXSON

“Jaxson!”

Desperation vibrates off the walls as I plow through the room toward the bathroom where my name is being bellowed. Gripping the doorknob, I yank the door so hard that the frame cracks. I stop dead in my tracks and take in the scene. Willow is struggling to hold up a passed-out Aurora. I whip around and yank a sheet off the bed. I storm back into the shower, wrap her like a burrito, pick her up, and cradle her close to my chest. After I lay her gently on the bed, I flip on Willow.

“What the fuck happened?” I hit the call button for the nurse.

Willow’s face is streaked with tears. “I-I-I don’t know,” she gasps. “One minute I was washing her hair, and the next, she was out.”

I move away from Aurora and round the bed to stand in front of her friend. I grip her arms firmly but not hard. “Take a deep breath,” I encourage. “Was she tired? Were you talking about anything?”

“The tattoo!”

“What tattoo?”

Nurse April comes racing into the room. “Can I help? What happened?” She rushes to Aurora and presses a button on the wall before lowering the head of the bed.

“She fainted in the shower,” Willow sobs.

General Parks barrels into the room with my men on his heels, and he halts at the foot of the bed. Behind them are Dr. Sheppard, another doctor, and more nurses.

“What’s going on?” the general demands.

Dr. Sheppard steps forward. “Everyone out now!”

General Parks puffs out his chest. “That’s my daughter, I’m not leav?—”

“Sir.” Dr. Sheppard puts her stethoscope into her ears and bends over Aurora’s motionless body. “I can’t properly care for your daughter with all of you in here. I promise I’ll update you as soon as I have some answers.”

He deflates. “You heard the Doc, everyone out.”

We all file out of the hospital room and move toward the reception area. As soon as we’re far enough away from Aurora’s room, General Parks spins around to face Willow.

His eyes brim with unshed tears. “Was she breathing?”

Willow nods. “I swear, Victor, she just fainted.”

The general opens his arms, and she steps into them. He hugs her protectively. “She’ll be okay.”

I don’t know who the general is trying to reassure more, Willow or himself.

“Do you know what caused it?” Hudson asks, and Willow shakes her head.

“Wait,” I say. “Willow, before the nurse came in… you mentioned a tattoo. What were you talking about?”

Willow takes a deep breath. “I was washing Aurora’s hair, and I lifted the ends to rinse them and noticed something on the back of her neck.”

My eyes cut to General Parks. “Does she have a tattoo?”

“Not that I know of.” He rubs his hands over his face.

“I don’t think she knew about it,” Willow mumbles.

“What do ya mean?” I press.

“I asked her what was on the back of her neck, and she said ‘nothing’,” she explains. “She said her neck didn’t hurt and asked if Dr. Sheppard needed to look at another injury. I told her it was a tattoo.”

Thomas moves closer. “Did you get a good look at it?”

“It looked like a UPC code.” Willow snaps her fingers. “But it did say ‘Property of Krukov’.”

General Parks picks up a chair and throws it into the wall. “Son of a bitch!”

I push Willow behind me as the general continues to hurl chairs around the room. He smashes his fist into a portrait hanging on the wall before turning his wild eyes back to Willow. “What happened in there, Willow?” his voice low, daring.

Willow shakes her head vigorously and takes a step back. I step with her, using my body as a shield. The general isn’t thinking clearly right now. I understand his only daughter is laid up in a hospital bed after suffering the unimaginable, but I’ll be damned if he uses Aurora’s best friend as a verbal punching bag.

“I-I-I can’t say,” she stammers.

The general roars and lunges for another chair. Thomas yanks the seat out of General Parks’ grasp and holds up his hand. “Sir, you need to calm down before we get kicke?—”

“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 leave now .”

“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 my baby girl in 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 to imagine 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. Do not discuss 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.”

“I’ll make sure she knows,” he replies.

The men head toward the vehicles while I stay rooted in my spot. “Do you have a plan to keep her safe?”

Gen Parks crosses his arms. “I’m calling in Benson and his team. No one knew she was missing except for a handful of us. I kept it under wraps. It’ll stay that way.” His tone leaves no room for argument. “We will give her life back to her one way or another. I’ll have Benson’s team watching her if she decides to go back to Boston. I can protect her myself if she stays here. She’s like her mother, though, stubborn and independent.”

I raise my brow. “And her father, Sir?”

“Smartass,” General Parks chuckles. “Thank you all for bringing her home, Rivers.”

“Glad we found her, Sir.”

I wish it would’ve been sooner.