Page 57 of Securing Samantha

He watched as she disappeared from the path. Whiskey stared at the vast valley below and sighed. What did he have to lose?

“I want to have the life Rahimi and his men stole from me. I want Ash to burn in hell for what he did to me. I want to build a good relationship with my precious son. I want to find a way for my Sunshine to return to me.” He sat down on the ground and sobbed into his hands. Whiskey felt the warmth of the early morning rays on his skin. He slowly removed his hands and tilted his face into the bright beams letting in the light. The emotions rolled inside him. He let go of the hurt, anger, and loss. The darkness left as his body filled with light. He did what Kassie told him. He listened.

The trees gently bent as the wind whistled as if the mountain spoke to him and he smiled. “I need to find her flame. I’m her flame. I need to find me,” he spoke softly.

He ran back to the vehicle and found Kassie reading a book. She placed it in her bag as he opened the door.

“Can you drop me off at Leo’s office? I need to talk to him,” he asked.

“Sure, I’m headed back home.” She put the car in drive and worked her way back around the mountain. She pulled up to the team building and he unbuckled as she rolled to a stop.

Kassie pulled the truck inside the garage. She walked through the cabin and slipped back into her and Chase’s bedroom. She pulled off her clothes and climbed into the arms of her husband.

“Was there a problem at the hospital?” he asked.

“No. I needed to provide a wake-up call,” she whispered as his lips traveled down her neck. She prayed it helped both of her friends before Chase’s hands began to roam and her thoughts turned to her husband.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Whiskey knocked on Leo’s office door.

“Open,” Leo called.

Whiskey entered and sat across from his friend and former leader’s desk.

“I apologize for the things I said. I don’t know what came over me. I took my frustrations out on you. I?—”

“Was an ass. Now let’s get on with things,” Leo addressed him.

“Let me say it. I know you came as soon as you figured out we were held there. You didn’t leave me behind,” Whiskey told his friend.

Leo took a deep breath. “I came for you the moment we locked your location in. I didn’t know what I’d find. I’m sorry it took me so damn long. You’re home now, where you belong. Now we need to find our brother, Ragu. I hate all this damn paperwork and I need to find a new corpsman. We need a full-time pilot on standby. Possibly two, and I hate interviewing people. PITA offered to help.” He shook his head.

“Why didn’t you take her up on it?” he asked.

“Because she’s got her hands full with the teen ward, infertility treatments, and when she asked me about the search for the pilot I drew the line,” Leo told him briskly.

“Why?” Whiskey asked confused.

“She wanted to ask how many hours they trained in crash flying.” Leo shot back.

Whiskey chuckled. “God bless the day ya found that one. I feel kinda bad about what the guys said about her.”

Leo sat straight up. His brow furrowed in concern. “What did they say? As far as I know, my men all love PITA.”

“Oh, they do. They said she rated an eight on the psycho meter. I gotta admit, today I thought she aimed for a nine point five. But she’s a smart cookie. Chase doesn’t realize what a helpmate she’s gonna be at the hospital. She understands people like me,” Whiskey told him.

“Yes she does. She’s a fighter. We worried about her for a while. PITA and I grew close while I watched over her. Oh no. I take it back. When she shot me in the ass,” he stated sarcastically making Whiskey laugh out loud.

“I still can’t believe that little lass shot you,” Whiskey laughed as he imagined his friend shot in the behind.

“I’d take it again if I thought it’d help her now,” Leo’s voice softened at the thought of his friend.

“You mean the infertility? She mentioned it,” Whiskey told him.

“When Roger kidnapped her, he beat her beyond recognition. She lost Chase’s baby. Now we’re afraid it’ll be hard on her watching Kit Kat pregnant. She insists she’ll be fine, but we worry about her,” Leo sounded concerned.

“I think she’s found a way to handle it. Give her some credit,” Whiskey told him confidently.

---