Page 59 of Guarding The Phoenix: Vol. 1

Kylie shifted and sent him a tight smile. Chase assessed her neck. Stony fury lit his gaze, but he never dropped his smile for Kylie.

“The doc indicated she needs to rest her vocal cords.” I glanced down at her. “And that means no talking, Angel. It’s going to hurt too much. We’ll find you one of those whiteboards with the dry erase markers.”

Chase nodded. “The doc will take care of you. He’s helped us and I know will help you. And before you know it, you’ll be riding my—”

The doorbell rang. Kylie jolted in my arms at the loud sound, dropping the smile that had formed.

“I’ll grab it. You stay with her.” Chase pressed a kiss on the top of her head as he rose.

I jerked a nod in understanding.

“And check your phone, dude.” Chase gave me a pointed stare.

Which could only mean one thing. That he knew something and was passing it on, but in a way she wouldn’t hear it. I knew by his look, it was something I would not like. I’d ignored my phone because my concern had been Kylie.

Moving, I yanked it out of my back pocket.

Per Gideon, we’re on high alert. They hacked Mateo’s security system. He wants us ready to leave with the Phoenix before morning.

Fuck. This was bad. For Gideon to be that hell bent on leaving, there was more I hadn’t been told. Stuff that was too sensitive to discuss over the phone.

Roger that. Once the doc leaves, I’ll take her back to her bedroom and get her to change clothes and pack. But I’ll wait to tell her until after we get her some pain meds.

Chase returned to the living room with Dr. Mike Barker.

“Hey, doc, thanks for coming.” Mike had been in the army. But we didn’t hold that against him. He was a decade older. His dark hair was threaded with silver. He looked like a gentleman in his slacks and dress shirt. But I had seen this guy in an active war zone, barking orders at privates in his makeshift hospital tent, and he was a beast.

“It’s no problem. I enjoy house calls. The office can be so formal. And who do we have here?” He set his black medical bag on the coffee table. Then folded his six-foot frame onto the couch beside us.

“This is Kylie. Angel, this is Dr. Barker. I’m going to set you down so he can examine you.”

She glanced at me trustingly, but there was trepidation in her gaze as well. Needing to reassure her, I stroked her back. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be with you the entire time. Okay?”

Kylie nodded and offered me a tight smile. I would do anything to take her fear and pain away. And I hated how fragile she appeared, like a stiff wind would knock her down.

Then I shifted her off my lap. But kept a comforting hand on her back.

Mike gave her a wry grin. He might be a beast on the battlefield, but he had a compassionate bedside manner. “Kylie, I’m Doctor Barker. I’m going to examine your neck and make sure everything checks out all right. It’s best if you try not to speak too much. We don’t know how much damage to your larynx or veins was done yet. If something hurts, I want you to hold your hand up. And then I want you to tell me on a scale of one to five what your pain level is, with one being mild and five being extreme, you think you might pass out from the severity of the pain. Understand?”

Kylie nodded in agreement. And Mike flashed a grin. Then opened his medical bag and began pulling out his equipment. I recognized the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. But there were a few other things he withdrew that I didn’t know what they were for.

Over the doc’s shoulder, Chase signaled he was patrolling the house. I chin nodded in response. I wasn’t even sure exactly what happened tonight and how that fucker got past our defenses. Once Chase exited the living room, I turned my attention back to Kylie and the doc. She sat through the exam. Wincing when Mike checked her throat and signaled the number four.

“Easy, hon. I know it hurts. But good news, I don’t think there’s anything serious we need to worry about. I’m going to give you some medication for the pain. And I want you taking ibuprofen as well. That should help with the swelling. Now, you’re likely going to experience pain in the neck area, a sore throat, and some voice changes for the next week.” Mike glanced my way. “If any other symptoms crop up, you need to get her to an emergency room pronto. I want you to call me if she’s not getting any better in a couple of days.”

“Understood.” I prayed her injuries wouldn’t be worse than this. That we reached her in time, and she hadn’t sustained life-threatening injuries.

Mike withdrew two bottles of pills from his bag. “Start her on a half tablet of this. In four hours, if she’s showing no other symptoms, she can have a full one. But start her on the ibuprofen immediately too. These are eight hundred milligrams. Have her take one with food every six hours. I’ll call to check on her in the morning.”

“Great. Thanks, doc.” I started to rise to walk him to the door.

Mike shook his head as he snapped his medical bag shut. “I can see myself out and will lock the door behind me. You take care of her. Call me if anything further comes up.”

“Will do.” I nodded. Mike would report back to Dan Blumfeld, the CIA director in charge of our op. I’d bet there’d be an ass chewing. But he could yell and scream all he wanted.

A text chimed on my phone. It was a group chat between the four of us.

Mateo:

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