Page 23 of Justified Lies (TFH Team Bravo #3)

Thirteen

“No!” Eden screamed the word, her entire world dissolving as she watched Kap’s eyes close. “Don’t you die on me, Kapone. Do you hear me?”

She was pulling off his damned bulletproof vest, her brother taking over the job when her hands started to shake too much. When he finally got it off, she noticed that blood soaked one side of his shirt. It had been the side that faced Marv when he’d fired.

Fighting back tears and nausea, she lifted his shirt and saw the bullet hole. Terror seemed to grip her lungs, and she had to force the air through them. This couldn’t be happening. She could not lose him because of something she did.

“You are not allowed to do this. Do you fucking understand me, Kapone? Don’t you leave me.”

There was so much blood. He shouldn’t be hurt. The vest should have protected him, but he had tackled her to save her life. She had been the cause of this, and she would never forgive herself for it.

He couldn’t die on her. If he did, Eden didn’t know if she would be able to go on. Fear iced her heart as she tried to stop the blood, but there was just so much of it. It gushed up through her fingers.

“EMTs are here, Eden,” El said as he dragged her away. “You need to stay out of their way.”

She knew that, and she complied, but every second that ticked by felt like hours.

Years. El held her tight as the EMT looked Kapone over before putting him on the stretcher.

As they wheeled him away, she wrenched herself away from her brother and ran after them.

They were going to take her in that ambulance.

There was no way she would wait around to be taken there.

Her brother was hot on her heels as they got onto the elevator with Kap and the EMTs.

“There’s not enough room in the ambulance for everyone,” one of them said. She looked at the man, then at her brother.

“I’m going with you.”

There was no way Eden would let him go to the hospital by himself. She would be there with him the entire way.

“I’ll get someone to take me,” El said.

She nodded. Her brother helped her into the ambulance because her knees were too weak.

She moved to the back out of the way, but she wanted to hold his hand.

Eden knew she would be in the way if she did that, so she settled in the corner and watched the EMT work.

Her gaze focused on Kap. His skin was usually dark, but it was ashen now from the loss of blood.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

She glanced at the EMT and realized he was talking to her. Of course he was. It was just Kap, Eden, and the EMT.

It seemed to take a lot of effort, but she nodded. “It’s Kap’s blood. He saved me.”

“That’s the officer’s name?”

She nodded. “Kap Hanson.”

“Are you his next of kin?”

She shook her head. “No. His family is back in Georgia.”

God, his mother would never forgive her if anything happened to Kap. She had never met the woman, but she knew she was a strong influence in his life, and he loved her. It was one of the things that drew her to him. A man who could admit he loved his mom and showed it was a treasure.

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. The sirens were blasting, but she didn’t seem to hear them. All she focused on was Kap and his chest. If it kept moving, everything would be okay. She kept repeating that to herself the entire ride.

They rushed to Tripler Army Medical Center, and she jumped out the minute the doors opened. She wanted to make sure she stayed out of their way. There was a team waiting, as if they had been alerted to a trauma case.

She watched as they wheeled him into the hospital, and she felt her head start to spin. She could not lose him. They had already lost years away from each other, and he’d said he loved her. She wanted to say it back, to see him flash that amazing smile at her.

“Ma’am,” a woman said. Eden blinked and looked at her. She was a younger woman wearing scrubs. “Are you okay?”

Eden nodded. “This is Kap’s blood.”

Understanding lit her eyes, and sympathy moved over her expression. “You want to come inside? We can get you washed up while they work on Kap.”

“Eden!”

Without turning around, she knew that was her brother.

“That’s my brother.”

The woman nodded. “You all should come inside, and we can get you some scrubs.”

“Thank you,” El said, slipping his arm around her. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms completely around her. Even in the sun, she felt cold, as if it were the middle of winter in Montana.

“He’s gonna be okay, Ed.”

She leaned back and looked up at him. “Don’t lie to me. We don’t do that, not when it comes to the important stuff. You saw all the blood. He passed out, and he said he loved me. I didn’t get a chance to tell him.”

“Tell him what?” he asked softly.

“I love him. I love him so fucking much, and I didn’t get to tell him,” she said, not caring how loud she was or what a mess she was. “I’ve loved him for years, and I wasted time. He got hurt trying to save me. It was my fault.”

“Stop that. It is not your fault. It was Marv’s fault. He shot him. He’s the bastard who caused us so much pain. Do not blame yourself!”

She couldn’t fight it now. The welling panic took over, and she collapsed in his arms, sobbing because the one man she would always love was fighting for his life, and he didn’t even know that she loved him.

She knew it was self-centered to be worried about this when his life hung in the balance.

When he woke up, she would tell him, and she would prove it every day of their lives.

Kap felt as though he was floating in a sea of white clouds.

He knew he had to be on some major drugs…

or was he dead. No. He couldn’t be dead.

He refused to allow his declaration of love to Eden to go unanswered.

Because when he felt that bullet hit him, he had only one thought—and that was how much he loved Eden.

There would never be another woman like her in his life, and he would not accept that he had lost his chance.

He moved, and even as he floated on a drug-coated dream, pain filtered through him.

“Fuck.”

“Well. That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

That was not Eden. That was El, and Kap frowned. He thought he might have frowned. He wasn’t really sure if he had or not.

With great effort, he forced his eyes to open. Bright light hit his eyes, and he slammed them shut again.

“Fuck.”

“Is that the only word you know? This could get really embarrassing when you have to answer questions for the CIA.”

Smart ass. “Turn the light down.”

“Oh, sorry.” He heard El move. “Okay.”

This time, when he opened his eyes, there was only a soft light on in the room. He sighed in relief.

“Are you with us?”

“What?”

“You woke up a few times, but you weren’t really with us.”

“Where’s Eden?”

“She’s across the hall talking to the CIA. She refused to leave the hospital. Please talk to her about that. She’s looking rough.”

He tried to swallow, but his mouth and throat were dry. “How long?”

El walked over to a table that had some cups and water on it. He brought Kap some water. El held it as Kap took a long sip out of the straw.

“Thanks,” he said, now even more exhausted.

“No problem. I was put on Kap duty.”

“How long?”

“You’ve been out of surgery for about thirty-six hours. It was a near thing.” He sighed. “I’m glad you survived.”

“That’s two of us.”

He shook his head. “Not sure you remember what happened when it all went down, but my sister… let’s just say she wouldn’t have been okay.”

The door opened. “Kap.”

He turned in the direction of the sweetest sound he had ever heard. She rushed to his side.

“Hey, babe.”

Tears filled her eyes.

“Don’t cry.”

She shook her head. “I’ve been so worried. The doctors said you were fine, and it was normal that you weren’t coherent for a few days, but I didn’t like it.”

He tried to reach out to take her hand, but he was already feeling exhausted. She took his hand and leaned down to kiss him. He could taste the salt of her tears before she pulled back.

“Well, that was gross.”

She shook her head and looked at her brother. “Thank you for watching him. Mom and Dad should be here soon. Do you mind meeting them downstairs?”

“Gladly, this was a disgusting display.”

But Kap heard the humor in her brother’s voice.

“Glad you’re not dead,” he said before he left the room, leaving them alone. Finally.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She smiled. “Yes. Thanks to you.”

Then her smile faded.

“What?”

“I’m sorry I lied to you before. Marv had threatened Ian if I told anyone. I tried my best to leave clues.”

Relief hit him. “Don’t. Sam got them easily. I’m not mad at you.”

She sighed and leaned against his bed.

“I have something I need to say to you, though.”

“What?”

The door opened as he opened his mouth. A doctor came in—or at least he assumed it was a doctor.

“Oh, I see we’re awake,” the older man said. He appeared to be in his fifties. From the haircut and the way he held himself, Kap realized he was at Tripler.

“I know I badgered you,” Eden said. “I’m sorry.”

The doctor’s expression softened. “No worries.” Then he looked at Kap again. “I’m Dr. Adams, one of the surgeons who fixed you up. If Eden will give us a moment?”

He knew she didn’t want to go, but she nodded. “I’ll be right outside,”

“That woman loves you,” Dr. Adams said. “Hope you don’t mind me telling you that. She came in with you and hasn’t left. We’ve tried to get her to go rest, but she’s refused.”

“That’s because she’s the most amazing woman in the world.”

Eden was still jittery as she walked up and down the hallway.

She knew he was fine, and he actually looked ten times better than he had in the middle of the night.

Color had come back into his face, and she was happy to say that he seemed to have made it out of the woods.

Still, she wouldn’t get over the sight of him like that any time soon.