Page 128 of Death Wish

“Nope.” Jesse’s lips curved. “He wasn’t happy when I refused medication.”

“You need to be ready to handle White.”

“I will be. I have what I need in the mike bag.”

Sawyer shook his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing, buddy. We could have handled this without you.”

“She’s mine to protect. I’m going with you. End of discussion.”

“At the first sign of infection, extreme blood loss, or you lose consciousness, we’re dumping you at the nearest emergency room and continuing with the rescue mission.”

“Yeah, yeah. You won’t have to dump me at a hospital. I’m fine.” Mostly.

Sawyer snorted as he unlocked the vehicle. “I’ve heard that story before, my friend.”

Jesse climbed into the passenger seat while Sawyer opened the cargo hatch to retrieve the mike bag. He handed the medical kit to Jesse. “Thanks.”

“Yep.” Sawyer circled the hood and slipped behind the steering wheel. As soon as he started the engine and drove from the lot, he activated the Bluetooth system.

“Got him?” Brody said instead of a greeting.

“He’s in the passenger seat, digging through his mike bag for medication.”

Silence, then, “The doctor gave you clearance to leave the hospital, Jesse?” his team leader asked.

“I walked out. Deal with it. And save the lectures. I already got a boatload of them from the ER doc and Sawyer. How far ahead of us are you?”

“Ninety minutes. Zane sent us Simone’s GPS tracker signal.”

“Have they stopped yet?”

“Nope. White must have filled the tank before he shot you and took your woman.”

“Great.” How far could he go on one tank of gas before they stopped?

“Yeah. Zane is listening to what’s happening.”

“Is Simone all right?”

“For the moment. He thinks White is popping pills to stay awake.”

Not good. Pop enough uppers, and he would become irritable and jittery. He could hurt Simone by accident with a twitchy trigger finger or knife hand.

“Keep in touch,” Brody ordered. “And don’t be a fool, Jesse. If you need Sawyer to drop you at the nearest hospital, you better say so. Simone needs you alive.”

“I hear you.” Didn’t mean he’d obey the order. His only priority was to save Simone.

“You are one stubborn man, Phelps.”

“Like every member of Texas Team.”

“We aren’t the walking wounded, my friend. Don’t push too far or I will bench you. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

After Brody ended the call, Sawyer placed another call to Zane. “It’s Sawyer. Send Simone’s tracker signal to Jesse. We’re about 90 minutes behind the rest of the team.”

Zane whistled softly. “You should be in bed, Jesse.”

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