Page 4 of Soldier, Tailor, Spy

“I was out the door of my place without thinking. I had my gun in my hand, and I was shooting them while Wyatt came up in the company SUV.” He hitched his thumb at the vehicle. “Guess I got shot too.” He glanced down at the red stain on his shirt. “Hurts like hell. The kid should call home. He’s got a mom and little brother.”

“Bet it does. Rae, we have a second victim.” Asher tried to keep his tone even so not to scare Ginger, Declan, or Fawn. Hell, all three of them were already traumatized, not to mention Wyatt, who was completely out of his element.

Rae’s hard stare landed on Jake before she glanced down. “Right. I’ll have Johnathan scrub in and help. This is going to be a long night.”

“What? Jake? You got shot?” Ginger looked up from where she’d been holding the towel to Oscar’s chest, just like he told her to do. “When? How? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You have enough on your plate.” He frowned as the elevator came to a stop on the medical floor. “Couldn’t let you worry about me, too.”

“Shut the fuck up, Jake O’Malley. I am so tired of you being the martyr.” Ginger’s eyes blazed with anger. “You’re such a fucking idiot sometimes.” She followed Rae down the hall while he took his time, giving them space when they needed it.

Yeah, he supposed he was, too. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“I see some things haven’t changed.” Asher put his finger to his ear. “Good, put them in a holding cell. Once Jake has been cleared by medical, he’ll want to talk to the asshole. Call Thomas as well, let him know what’s going on. Also, there’s a kid here.” Asher looked at the Wyatt. “Name, kid.”

“Wyatt Sharpe,” Wyatt said, still too wide-eyed for Jake’s liking.

“Wyatt Sharpe. We’ll need to do a notification for him as well. Can’t have people worrying about him.” Asher frowned. “What’s that?” Asher glanced at the boy. “Do you know a Justin Simmons?”

Wyatt nodded. “He’s dating my mom.”

“Well, touch me in the morning,” Asher muttered. “Let Wyatt’s mom know where he is and bring her in too, with the youngest child. Not sure what the fuck is going on yet, but I bet Ginger and the kid can fill us in.”

“Don’t worry, Wyatt. Asher is one of the good guys.” Jake’s head started swimming while his vision darkened. “He’ll protect you.”

Wyatt nodded and teased, “You better not die on me.”

He didn’t think he would, but shit happened sometimes. “Try not to.”

Asher hoisted Jake a little higher. “Put on weight, didn’t you?” He pressed the comms button in his ear. “Right. I’ll be in medical for the time being.” Asher clicked off the comms. “We have two of them in the cells waiting for you, asshole. Once you get the okay from Rae and Johnathan, you can go ask your questions.”

“Thank you,” Jake said. “I appreciate this.”

Asher lifted his shoulder a little. “It’s what a family does for one another. Now that you’re back, I hope you take advantage of that, and you learn to lean on us.”

Jake blew out a breath. The weight of the world was on his shoulders as the pain seeped past the adrenaline. “Yeah, maybe this time I can.” He slipped out of Asher and Wyatt’s hold and crumpled to the floor. The last thing he saw was Johnathan Franks, along with a few people he didn’t know, racing toward him with a stretcher.Damn, lot’s changed since I was last here,was the last thought he had, before the world around him went dark.

Chapter 1

“You are such an asshole, Jake O’Malley. Don’t you dare die on me...”Ginger’s words echoed through Jake’s head as he lay somewhere between dead to the world and consciousness. There was no pain where he was. His side didn’t burn. His mind didn’t race. He was relaxed. Free. The emotion should have scared him, yet after so many years of fighting and clawing for everything, he had then to watch it swirl around the basin, disappearing before his eyes, gave him an ounce of peace.

Jake led a fast-paced life. Down time was for the weak. Rest could wait. Sleep came in the form of cat naps and when they could be fit into mission flights. He lived off of caffeine and alcohol. Food comprised whatever he could get from a drive through or cook in a microwave. He knew nothing else outside of a chow hall. He relied so long on Good ‘ol Uncle Sam to tell him when to get up in the morning and when to go to bed.

This though... This was nice.

So why did it feel all wrong? Why did he feel like he was missing something important? He tried to replay the events of how he’d fallen asleep so hard, but couldn’t even remember going to bed. None of it made any sense. One minute he was at home, taking a day off and the next...Fuck... Why won’t my brain engage?The niggle at the back of his mind told him that nasty shit went down. What had been the million dollar question? Frustrated, Jake clenched his hand into a fist. The sensation of being poked and stung at the same time radiated from the middle of the back of his hand up his arm toward his elbow.

What the fuck?

He tried to move his other arm and was met with resistance as well. Again, the notion of him missing something big floated along his subconsciousness. Had he been in an accident? Been arrested? Or worse, kidnapped? He shuddered at the thought. No one would take his ass without him putting up a fight, and he damn well would have killed whoever believed they could get the drop on him.

“Open your eyes, sleeping beauty.” Asher’s rough voice brought Jake to the surface. The loud beep of a heart monitor along with the din of the room allowed the memories of how he got to where he was replayed in his mind. “Can’t play opossum with me.”

“Shit,” Jake croaked. He had been in a fight with a bunch of assholes who shot Oscar and burned down Ginger’s home. He’d driven them all back to the base, then he passed the fuck out like a pussy. “How long?”

“Have you been out?” Asher sighed as he stood. “About four days.”

Jake jerked, prying his eyes open slowly. The room was semi-darkened, allowing him to adjust to the light rather easily. Asher stood next to the side of his bed. The pain in his side slowly crawled back into his body the more he became aware of his surroundings. Four days. Shit. He never slept so long in his life. Worse part, he felt like he could go back to sleep and knock out for another four days. “Ginger.”

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