Dangerous Pursuit (OSI Dark Ops #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Why is it taking so long?” Calliope paced back and forth in the waiting room of the tiny hospital. “Shouldn’t they be done by now?”

Lucas had been rushed into surgery as soon as they arrived at the ER. She, Jonathan, and Cole had loaded him into the Zodiac and gotten there as quickly as possible. The bullet had torn across his upper back and his shirt had been soaked with blood. They’d pushed the boat’s motor to its limit, but the twenty-plus-minute trip had felt like an eternity.

“He’s only been back there about an hour and a half.” Jonathan’s phone pinged in his pocket. He tugged it free, looked at the screen, and his thumbs busily tapped out a message.

“Seems like it’s been longer than that,” Calliope grumbled and went back to trying to wear a path into the terrazzo floor.

“That’s because you love him.” Jonathan’s eyes lifted from his phone, and he gave her a challenging look .

She stopped moving, ready to blast him with a denial, but it stuck in her throat.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” A corner of his mouth lifted, and he tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Sammy is trying to get a location on Triano.”

She appreciated that he didn’t press the issue of her feelings for Lucas any further. They were much too complicated to think about right now.

Before they’d even gotten Lucas onto the Zodiac, Hawk had set off on foot and followed the river in an effort to track Triano down. Unfortunately, the asshole had too much of a head start. However, he did find Marroquin—he was floating face down, his body hung up amongst some large logs near the edge of the river. Either he fell overboard or Triano shoved him off the dinghy. Triano seemed pretty pissed that Marroquin recognized Lucas, so they were going with the latter.

Eddie and Viking stayed behind to watch over the girls until Felix got there with the rescue boat. They’d arrived at the hospital with the girls a little while ago. Cole had joined them, and they were escorted to a more private section of the hospital to be checked out.

With all of those guys keeping an eye on them, they were the most well-guarded group of humans in all of South America.

The National Police of Colombia were now in charge of the scene in the jungle and would deal with the bodies and the money men. And, since her father left her behind, they’d also picked up Paloma Triano. A team went to the hotel where the buyers were staying, rounded them all up, and tossed them in jail.

They probably had high-powered lawyers already working on getting them released and extradited back to their own countries. Whether that happened or not, Triano’s days were numbered.

Calliope moved over and plopped onto a chair near the snack machine. The words Lucas said before passing out, that he’d mumbled as she’d held his head in her lap on the boat, played on repeat in her mind: “I’m sorry, Norah. I love you.”

The regret and sorrow in his voice tore Calliope apart, and her soul ached for him. It also became clear to her that there was no room in his heart for her. At least, not right now, anyway.

That truth hurt— a lot —because, dammit, she’d gone and let herself fall for a man who was still in love with his deceased wife.

A relationship between them never would’ve worked anyway. He lived in Colombia; she was in Virginia. And he’d shown through his words and actions that he had little faith in her abilities or that he didn’t respect her choices or worse, both. For God’s sake, he’d gotten shot trying to save her when she hadn’t needed saving .

Either way, it was better she found out sooner rather than later.

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.

Just as her thoughts began to wander back to their incredible night together, a wide set of elevator doors whispered open nearby. Cole stepped out and sauntered over to the waiting room.

Calliope pushed up out of the chair and stood with him and Jonathan.

“The girls are dehydrated and slightly malnourished, and they want to keep them overnight for observation. One of them has malaria, so they’ll keep her here a while longer. We’ll transport all of them to the ELC safe house about two hours from here.”

ELC was the acronym for Every Last Child, the nonprofit foundation Cole’s wife created. ELC provided support to organizations around the world working to save people trapped in the human trafficking trade. They had tons of safe houses where victims could get basic medical care, counseling, and, if appropriate, be reunited with their families.

“What about the missing girl?” Calliope already knew the answer.

“The girls said she died before they arrived in Colombia.” Cole’s jaw rippled with anger. “The bastards disposed of her body before they ever arrived at the port.”

Jonathan cursed .

The automatic doors Lucas went through earlier slowly swung open, and a woman in scrubs with a mask pulled down beneath her chin walked over to them.

“Are you folks with Mr. O’Halleran?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m his cousin,” Jonathan said.

“I’m Dr. Sanchez.” She reached over and borrowed a pen and pad of paper from the nurse. “He’s out of surgery, and everything went well.”

Thank God. Calliope crossed her arms tight over her chest and locked her knees to keep from melting to the floor.

“The bullet dug a pretty deep groove across the back of his right shoulder and upper back, so he’ll end up with one hell of a scar.” She sketched a crude rendering of his injuries. “It also nicked his shoulder blade right here.” She circled the area. “He lost some blood but not enough to require a transfusion or anything, and believe it or not, he should be able to go home tomorrow. Then he’ll need to take it easy for a couple of weeks.” She set the pad and pen on the counter behind her. “We’ve moved him up to recovery on the fifth floor, room five ten. He’s still a bit out of it from the anesthesia, but you can go up and see him. Let’s keep it to one visitor at a time, okay?”

“Will do.” Jonathan reached out his hand. “Thanks, Dr. Sanchez.”

“You’re welcome.” She shook his hand and headed back through the double doors .

Calliope’s phone vibrated. She tugged it free and saw the photo of her dad’s smiling face on the screen.

“It’s my dad.” She waggled her phone and stepped over to a quiet corner of the waiting room to take his call. “Hey, Dad. How’s it going? Did you get your test results back yet?”

She sensed Cole and Jonathan watching her. Everyone on her team was very invested in what was happening with her dad.

“Hey, honey,” he said. “I hope I’m not calling at a bad time.”

“No, not at all.” Her heart slammed against her chest in anticipation.

“Are you sure, because if you’re—”

“Dad,” she scolded.

“The results of the biopsy came back and … well … it’s cancer.” He hurried to add, “But Doc said we caught it early, before it had a chance to spread. They’re going to do the surgery over at Physicians Regional in Naples day after tomorrow. They’ll get it out of there, and after a bit of chemotherapy, I should be right as rain.”

Cancer.

Chemotherapy.

A weight dropped to the pit of her stomach as the emotional rollercoaster she’d been on since Lucas was shot was intensified by this news .

“I’m coming home.” Her mind started figuring out how to make that happen.

“Don’t be silly. You’re working.” He sounded so casual, as if he hadn’t just learned he had a cancerous growth in his lung. “The only reason I’m even calling you is because your granddad threatened to call you himself if I didn’t.”

“Good for him. I’ll figure out how to get home. In the meantime, go ahead and send me the surgeon’s name and the details for the procedure—time, place, all that good stuff.” She would have Sammy run a check on the doctor, because her dad deserved the best care possible. “As soon as my travel is worked out, I’ll let you guys know.”

“All right.” He coughed, and it sounded awful. “Calliope, honey, everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

“Of course it will, Dad.” She struggled to keep her voice light, to match his positive energy. Last thing he needed was to worry about her.

She heard her granddad’s voice in the background.

“Oh, your grandad says hi.” Her dad relayed the message.

“Tell him I said hi back and I’ll see you both soon.” They had no idea how much she wished she were already home. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, kiddo. See you soon.” He ended the call.

Those two men had always made her feel safe, protected, and like she could do anything. She sure could use a bit of that reassurance right about now. A few of their awesome hugs wouldn’t hurt, either.

Calliope swallowed back the terror threatening to knock her on her ass. Now was not the time for weakness—she needed to be strong for her dad and her granddad.

The rip of Velcro when she pulled open a pocket to put her phone away seemed loud in the solemn waiting room.

Jonathan and Cole approached her.

“Not sure how much you heard, but I need to go home.” She shared the news of her father’s diagnosis with them.

“Mason’s flying in this afternoon to pick up the team, but we’ve still got some things to take care of here.” Jonathan pulled out his phone. “I’ll give him a heads-up that he’ll be taking you home, then he can come back for the rest of us.”

“Really?” That would save her so much time and stress. “Are you sure?”

“You’re family, Calliope.” Jonathan would never know how much that meant to her. “Why don’t you go see Lucas before you have to leave.”

“When you’re done with him, I’ll take you by the rental house.” Cole swiped his finger down the side of her face, held it up, and showed her the smudge of greasepaint. “You’ll have time to grab a quick shower and gather your belongings before we head to the airstrip.”

Her rifle was locked in a Pelican box hidden beneath the floorboards of the minivan, which was in the hospital parking lot. Taking it with her on a commercial flight required all kinds of paperwork and would’ve caused an unacceptable delay.

“Now, go see Lucas.” Cole put his hands on her shoulders, turned her toward the elevator, and gave her a gentle push. “We’ll leave here in thirty minutes.”

Calliope got to the elevator and tapped the button. The doors swept open, and she stepped inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor. She thought about how fortunate she was to work with such incredible people.

Thank goodness her dad and granddad encouraged her to take the job with OSI.

Ding , the doors slid open, and she walked over to the wide, curved nurses’ station.

“Excuse me.” She kept her voice low. “I’m looking for room five ten.”

The nurse glanced up from her paperwork and did a double take. She gasped, the pen fell from her hand, and she bolted up from her chair. Her wide eyes traveled from Calliope’s head to her boots and back up again.

She looked down at herself and, for the first time, realized what a startling sight she must be. Tactical garb, camo face paint, mud smeared with blood on the front of her shirt and pants.

Lucas’s blood .

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t have time to clean up.” She’d been too busy pacing a groove in the floor worrying whether or not the man she loved was going to be okay.

“Um, yes, room five ten is right down there.” She pointed down the hall. “Second door on the right.”

“Thank you.” Calliope made her way past two closed doors and stopped outside his room.

She wrapped her fingers around the door handle and hesitated.

Saying goodbye to Lucas was going to be the most painful and difficult thing she’d ever had to do. She’d much rather go toe-to-toe with a grizzly bear. Leaving to be with her dad was a powerful catalyst for her to get it over with and just … rip off the bandage.

You can do this. She took a deep breath, blew it out, and swung the door inward.

The blinds were closed, and light spilled out from the open bathroom door. There was only one bed in the small room, positioned near the window. Lucas was on his side, eyes closed, facing her. A tan, elastic bandage wrapped beneath his arm and around his shoulders held a mound of gauze in place over his wound. An IV bag hung on a stand next to the bed with a tube that led to the back of his hand.

She watched him breathe in and out, reassured by the heart monitor quietly beeping out a steady rhythm in the background .

Calliope lifted a chair and set it closer to the bed, sat on the front edge, and took his hand in hers. Her chin quivered, she blinked, and a tear streamed down her cheek. She sniffled, popped a tissue from the box next to the bed, and dabbed it over her eyes.

Lucas’s eyes fluttered partially open, and his sleepy, blue gaze connected with hers.

“Hi.” She leaned closer, tilted her head sideways, and smiled.

“Hey.” His voice was little more than a raspy whisper.

“The surgery went great, and the doctor said you’ll be able to leave tomorrow.” She reached up and skimmed his bangs away from his eyes.

“Triano?”

She shook her head. “They’re still looking for him.”

“I failed her.” His eyes drooped shut for a few seconds, then opened slightly. “I failed Norah.”

And there it was. Further confirmation that Calliope’s leaving was the right decision.

Perhaps someday he would be open to love again, but now was not that time.

“Lucas, I just wanted to come say goodbye.” She had to get this over with before she fell apart. “I’m heading home today.”

“Home?” His brows creased. “Your dad?”

Partially .

“Yes, he’s having surgery, and I need to be there.” Her thumb skimmed over his rough knuckles.

“What about …” His eyes drooped shut, and his eyebrows lifted to force them open. “Us?”

He lost his battle against the effects of the anesthesia. His eyes closed all the way and remained that way.

“There is no us .” The words burned like acid in her throat, and she leaned over to whisper close to his ear. “Goodbye, Lucas.”

I love you.

She slid his hand from hers and set it on the bed. She pressed a long kiss to his cheek and locked the feel of his whiskers against her lips away in her memory.

Calliope stood and walked out of the room without looking back, because if she had, she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to leave him.