Page 112 of Shadow Redemption

“Enough that I’ll be off work rotation until Ruth is finished with her contracts.” He grinned. “Relax, Sam. Rio’s patch job held. You can work on me once we’re wheels up.”

When they reached the vehicles, Nate tucked Maren into an SUV with him and a couple of his teammates after glancing at Ben for permission. As Ruth slid into the backseat of another SUV hidden in the woods surrounding the compound, emergency vehicles raced past their location with sirens blaring and lights flashing. Nico and the other drivers cranked the engines and drove in the opposite direction of the compound.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Ben asked Ruth, voice low as he held her tight against his side. “Buckner hit you pretty hard.”

“My stomach is tender, but it’s nothing compared to what he did to you.” She turned her head to look at him. “Why did you tell me not to say anything when Buckner beat you?”

Ben brushed her lips with his own. “If I didn’t make it and Fortress failed to free you, Davidson would have hurt you for rebelling against him. Asking you to keep silent was the only way I could protect you if something went wrong.”

Tears stung her eyes. “But you could have freed yourself.”

“I would never leave you in that place to save myself.”

“I love you, Ben.”

Another kiss from her wounded warrior. “You are my life, Ruth Monihan. Without you, my life has no purpose.”

A loud sigh came from the front of the SUV. “Do you mind?” Nico groused. “You make me miss Mercy more than I already do. Have a heart and knock off the sappy romance until you’re alone.”

With a grin, Ruth lapsed into silence and rested her head against Ben’s shoulder, about the only place she figured Buckner hadn’t hurt.

Ben laughed at his teammate. “Suck it up, Rivera.”

Nico growled although his eyes twinkled with amusement when he glanced into the rearview mirror. “Call Maddox. He’s waiting for an update.”

“Yes, sir.” Ben grunted as he slid his phone from his pocket. He hit speed dial and put the phone on speaker.

“Maddox.”

“It’s Ben. You’re on speaker with Nico and Ruth. We’re away from Eden and headed for the jet.”

“Davidson?”

“Dead. We rescued my mother as well, sir. She agreed to come home with me.”

“Excellent. Injuries?”

Nico answered before Ben could speak. “Bullet kissed Quinn’s side. Ruth has bruises from rough treatment. Ben got the worst of it. One of Davidson’s guards worked him over before we got to him.”

“Ben, how bad?”

“Enough to keep me sidelined for a while,” he admitted. “Cracked ribs, bruised kidneys, and popped most of the stitches Sam used to close a knife wound.”

“I want an updated report from one of the medics when you’re on the jet.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ruth?”

“I’m here.”

“How are you?”

“I’m fine. What I experienced is nothing a few days of rest won’t cure. I’m more concerned about Ben.”

“He’s tough and so are you. You’ll both heal. Ben, you’re off rotation until you have a clean bill of health from one of our docs. The jet pilot has instructions to fly you into Bayside, Texas to be checked out by Sorenson.”

Ben groaned. “Aww, sir. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? He’s a sadist.”

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