Page 13 of Into Hell: Prelude (Holding Cell: Return to the Island)

C lint glanced at Cruz and Rodriguez as he walked out of the lounge, pulling his cell from his pocket. He went out back and stood on the patio while he made his call. Ardan MacNamara answered on the first ring.

“Hello?” Clint immediately sensed the tension in his voice.

“Ardan?” Clint said. “It’s Clint. We need to talk.”

“Yes, we do,” Ardan replied, the tension holding. “In fact, I was just about to call you when the phone rang. There’s something very important we need to discuss. A couple of things, actually."

Clint frowned; he had called for the same reason. His gut knotted as he sensed something unpleasant was about to come from the other end of this call. “What is it?”

“I’d rather speak to you face to face,” Ardan said. “You and Cochise.” A brief pause. “Why are you calling?”

“Like you, I’d prefer to speak in person about the matter.”

“All right,” Ardan said. “We’re having a barbecue here at The Base tomorrow. I’d planned on inviting you, Cochise, and your families so we could discuss a former matter. Now, I have a couple of things to talk about. Can you make it?”

“Yeah,” Clint drawled. “We’ll be there.”

“Bring the little ones as well,” Ardan said. “Axel and Paisley haven’t stopped talking about them since they first met. And the wild bunch have been wanting to hang out with John and Donald for a while now.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Clint said.

“Good enough. I’ll see you tomorrow. Come early. We have much to discuss, and the kids will have plenty of time to play and hang out.”

Clint nodded. “Okay.” When he ended the call, he let out a slow breath and ran his hand down his face.

“Did you contact Ardan?” Cochise asked, appearing behind him on the patio.

“Yeah.” Clint cleared his throat. “We’ll meet with him tomorrow at the Base. They’re having a barbecue. He invited our families, including Jules and the other little kids.”

Cochise looked doubtful. “Donald and the others will probably go, but I don’t know about John. He hasn’t been away from the house that much since…” The Egyptian’s face pinched as dark memories flickered through his mind.

“Maybe it will do him good to socialize.”

“Maybe,” Cochise mumbled. “I’ll have Donald talk to him. If anyone can convince him, it’ll be Donald. I just hope seeing those other kids doesn’t rekindle the nightmare.”

Clint had thought about that too. It was difficult to figure out what might help or hurt in terms of trauma. “I guess, let John decide what he wants to do.”

The Egyptian nodded.

“Ardan has a couple of things to discuss with us as well,” Clint said.

“What things?”

“He didn’t say. He wants to speak to us in person. But I don’t have a good feeling about it. There was a lot of tension in his voice. Something’s wrong.”

“Something is wrong,” Cochise muttered. “That fucking island is up and running again. That is our priority. We can’t let anything else distract us.”

“We won’t,” Clint said. “But we will hear him out and, if necessary, if possible, provide whatever help we can.”

Cochise nodded.

“I think we should invite Alvarez to the barbecue,” Clint suggested. “He was on the island. He can better explain what he saw.”

The Egyptian nodded again.

Clint rubbed his mouth and looked out across the wide backyard. “What do you think about Rodriguez coming with us?”

“I think it’s Cruz’s call.”

“Do you have an opinion on it?”

“No,” Cochise muttered. “Not my business. Rodriguez is capable. That’s all I need to know on the matter.”

Clint agreed on the kid’s abilities but worries about his mental state still lingered.

Since Greco’s death, the boy hadn’t spent much time on the job—hadn’t done much besides grieve.

Clint was the last to blame him for struggling to move on; if Axel had died on that trip, Clint would have been out of commission for the rest of his fucking life.

There wouldn’t have been any “moving on” or healing.

“Maybe we should invite Shane on the mission.”

The Egyptian narrowed his eyes at Clint. “Playing matchmaker?” An edge of skepticism pricked his voice. “Sure that’s a good idea?”

“Not playing matchmaker,” Clint stated. “But you can’t deny Shane connected with Rodriguez during the last island mission.”

“And Cruz says that was the end of it. The kid never contacted Shane after returning home.”

“Of course, he didn’t,” Clint said. “Even if he’d wanted to, he wouldn’t. When someone grieves for a lost love, they often feel guilty if they start to develop feelings for someone else. But Greco wouldn’t want him to give up like this.”

Cochise continued to look skeptical. “Talk to Cruz before you extend any invitations.”

“Planned on it.”

When the cowboy suggested bringing Shane along, Cruz didn’t dislike the idea.

While Rodriguez still mourned his loss, the young man was desperate to escape his pain and despair.

He wanted to live again… he just didn’t know how.

It broke Cruz’s heart to see him struggle every day, failing repeatedly.

Clint suggested that Cruz might be the best person to contact Shane since Cruz was part of Rodriguez’s “family.” The cowboy believed that Shane would want confirmation from a family member that he was welcome on the mission. As usual, the cowboy was right.

“Cruz Santiago?” Shane said with a mix of uncertainty and hopefulness. "It... It’s been a while. How is... everyone?”

Cruz knew exactly who he was asking after. “Coping,” Cruz murmured. “Some better than others.”

“I see,” Shane whispered with genuine sorrow. “But I understand. When I lost my husband, it took a long time to figure out how to live my life without him. Sometimes... I still struggle.”

“I’m sorry,” Cruz spoke quietly. “It’s hard to watch someone you love go through that as well.”

Shane replied with a strain. “It is.”

Clearing his throat, Cruz continued, “I actually had another reason for calling.”

“What’s that?”

We might be going back to the island. It’s come to our attention that a trafficking ring—possibly more than one—has taken control of the island and is using it as a holding cell for trafficked victims. There are kids being detained there.

Clint and Cochise, along with some of their friends, are leading a mission to return to the island.

You would be a valuable addition to our team if you're interested in joining. You’re not obligated, so if you don’t—"

“Count me in,” Shane said.

“Thanks,” Cruz replied. “We can use all the capable men we can get.”

“Is…” Shane quietly cleared his throat. “Is Rodriguez going along this time?”

“He is. He was very emphatic about it.”

A brief pause from Shane’s end. “Is that why you asked me along?”

Cruz didn’t believe in bullshitting people. “It is what spurred us to ask. But we wouldn’t invite you along if we didn’t trust your skills and ability.”

“I’m not offended,” Shane murmured. “I’m glad you think my presence might be good for him. And if that was the only reason you asked me along… I would still go.”

Cruz was surprised when his throat tightened with emotion. “You care about him that much? Even after all this time of him not reaching out to you?”

“I do,” Shane whispered. “As I said, I understand grief. I think I would have been shocked if he had contacted me. Dealing with loss is a long and painful process. But if I can do anything, even in the smallest way, to lessen the pain of the process for him, I will.”

Cruz smiled small and blinked. “I think Rodriguez has a great friend in you. And I believe he knows it… even if he doesn’t know he knows it yet.”

Since parting ways with Rodriguez at the airport months ago, Shane had been hopeful that every phone call was him, reaching out, seeking connection.

As each day, week, and month passed, Shane maintained that hope, clinging to the optimism that one day he would answer the phone and the young Spaniard would be on the other end of the line.

Holding onto hope wasn’t easy, and when the phone rang this morning, Shane didn’t really expect it to be Rodriguez. Still, he answered the call with a quickened heartbeat.

It wasn’t Rodriguez.

But it was close enough.

As he spoke to Cruz Santiago, Shane’s pulse climbed, higher and higher, until it was thumping inside his head, echoing in his ears. By the time the call ended, his heart was racing so erratically he could hardly breathe. Shane had to sit down and catch his breath, or risk lightheadedness.

Cruz had called him because he saw Shane as a good thing in Rodriguez’s life. The relief of having a man like Cruz Santiago on his side was overwhelming. A man who considered Rodriguez his brother was taking measures to draw them together.

That doesn’t mean Rodriguez is ready to welcome you into his life.

Shane was prepared for that—and prepared to wait longer, however long it took. It was simply comforting to have the support of Cruz and possibly others in their family. If those who knew and loved the young man the most considered Shane a good thing for Rodriguez, maybe he had a chance, after all.

Cruz had said he would contact Shane in a day or two about the mission.

Shane understood that he should be working on getting himself in the proper mindset for the mission and what they would face on the island…

but for the time being, all he could think about was Rodriguez, and seeing him again face-to-face.

He had played the scenario over and over in his head since returning from the island the last time.

Every word crafted exquisitely to fit the moment.

Now, as the moment loomed close, all his carefully construed words fell out of place, fragmenting into incoherent syllables.

What would he say? Would he even be able to speak—or would he just stand and stare at the young man, his heart laid bare in his eyes?

For the last few months, he’d imagined entire lifetimes with Rodriguez, beginning with them reuniting…

then dating… making love every chance they got…

then their wedding… spending their lives together…

and growing old together. He imagined it so often, dreamed of it nearly every night, that the young man felt as familiar to him as if they’d actually spent those lifetimes together.

But you haven’t. You can’t expect him to feel the same as you. He needs time and patience.

Shane would give him whatever he needed.

He could wait. He had no cause to rush. He didn’t know if, after this mission, he’d be any closer to becoming a fixture in the young man’s life.

Maybe God would smile on them and give them a little boost. Maybe he wouldn’t.

Either way, all Shane could do was show up … and show that he cared.

What happened after that was at the sole discretion of Rodriguez himself.