Page 51 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

“I think Swanson might’ve been the one who cut me up. I don’t remember. But when I woke up, the general was there, and I was in some kind of military installation.”

He covered her hand with his. “How is it that they’ve infiltrated the military? We can’t fight against that! Taking downDominatusis going to be impossible.”

“I’m guessing you also thought it was impossible that I survived the fall. But I did.” She glanced at the SUV where the operatives loaded the general into the back seat. “We succeeded.”

“Doesn’t feel like a win.”

“Because it’s one part of the puzzle. It might take a lifetime to get them all, but we will. Promise me that we’ll bring them all down.”

Ramon nodded slowly. “I can promise that.”

One of the MSI guys wandered over. “We’ll get out of your hair and take the general to our facility for questioning, so don’t worry about him.”

Ramon nodded again.

“You guys can take this vehicle, right?” The man motioned to the general’s SUV. “Might want to find a hospital and get checked out.”

Ramon chuckled, and it hurt. He groaned. “Guess I have to get off the ground sometime.”

The guy held out his hand. Zeyla supported his back, and they got him up.

“Thanks, guys.” Ramon shook the operative’s hand. “I’d love a debrief, preferably when I’m not in so much pain.”

“Gotcha.” The guy nodded at Zeyla and turned to his vehicle.

A whistle in the sky was the only warning.

Just a few seconds warning before a dark gray projectile flew through the sky, dropping down from a great height above and slamming into the SUV with the general in it. The vehicle exploded into a fireball that lifted it several feet off the ground.

Zeyla shoved Ramon to the ground, and everything washed in sunlight and flashes of pain. His head hit the pavement, and his whole world went black again.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

When he wokein the hospital, the dark-haired woman in the chair wasn’t the one he was expecting. This woman had a wedding ring on her left hand and the other hand rested on her abdomen, where her baby nestled in safety.

“Kenna.”

She sat forward on the chair. “You’re awake.”

“Where’s Zeyla?”

“They’re doing a consult with a concussion specialist.” She frowned. “Your injuries weren’t quite as straightforward, I’m afraid. They put your arm in a cast, but the soft tissue damage to your leg is going to take longer to heal. And you have twelve stitches in your shoulder.”

Ramon looked at his left arm, wrapped in solid plaster and fiberglass.

“You should have called me.”

He said, “No one wants you anywhere near any of this.”

“I’m still your boss.”

Ramon pressed his lips together.

“I can help. It’s called advice. It’s called calling your friends and filling them in on how it’s going in your life.”

“I was solving the case.”Like you do.He didn’t say it, but it was implied, and she knew it. “Zeyla and I had it handled.”