Page 116 of Storm and Tempest
She had a jacket on, at least. A lined overcoat zipped nearly to her throat. The bump of early pregnancy would be under the big coat, at her middle. He wanted to look but wasn’t going to let cold air in right now when she’d been out here facing exposure for days. He’d keep that baby protected where she was.
He took Kenna’s hands, as icy cold as his own. Her feet in canvas shoes like his, and wearing the same white scrubs. Her toes were probably as cold as his as well.
“Hang on.” He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, shivering with the cold. Fighting back the rush of emotion at having her here, finally in his arms.Safe.“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
The chopper whipped wind and ocean salt against him, and he protected her face, because that was the only thing he could do. The sound of it swelled around him, filling his ears until he couldn’t think through the disorientation of the noise. Helicopter motor. The boat, which Bear circled around. That steady beep of the buoy he hadn’t even noticed at first.
He twisted and saw a US Coast Guard rescuer in an orange jumpsuit lowering down to them with a basket the length of a stretcher. The spin of the rotors pushed the water away from them and whipped his T-shirt against his chest.
He turned back to her, holding her cheeks with his hands. “You did it. You beat them. You’re almost home.”
Her eyes fluttered.
“Kenna, can you hear me?”
Her lips parted.
He leaned down and put his ear in front of her mouth. He heard her whisper, “Dream.” Or, at least, that’s what he thought she might’ve said. He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t want to ask her to repeat it. She needed to sleep—to heal—and that started now.
Jax took her cheeks in his hands. “This is real, it’s not a dream. You’re going home, Kenna. It’s over.”
Her eyes fluttered, and he spotted white in the open slit when her eyes rolled back in her head. Then she was unconscious again.
It felt like hours waiting while the guy loaded her on the basket, covered in blankets, and lifted her to the helicopter. He said his name was Kevin, and that Jax would be next. He said more things, asking questions, and Jax nodded or shook his head in reply.
Jax watched Kenna ascend the rope to the helicopter, then looked at Bear.
“Go,” the big man said, motioning to the helicopter. Then he yelled, “I’ll take care of everything else!”
They both knew what that meant.
Jax didn’t even care that the MSI guys could veto his idea, kill everyone on the platform, and set the place on fire. They could do whatever they wanted. The idea to keep it going and trick their enemy had been a good one, but it wasn’t the only option. Crafting a ruse so thatDominatushad no clue they’d taken over the platform would be tricky—and it wouldn’t last forever.
Kevin, the coast guard rescuer, clipped Jax roughly into a harness, and they rose, winched up to the chopper. He let them unclip him and moved the first second he was disconnected. Sliding onto a seat so he could be near her, leaning over and taking her hand. “This is Kenna. She’s my wife.”
Kevin handed him a silver blanket to put around his shoulders, and the chopper sailed over the ocean headed toward the land.
Being away from the platform and having Kenna’s hand in his felt better than even the day they’d married. Standing beside her in that small country church and saying their vows to each other meant everything to him. But having her back now? He couldn’t even process how he felt.
His head swam, and he shivered. Kevin had a stethoscope out and listened to Jax’s heartbeat. “Kind of fast.”
“I just found my wife again. She’s been missing for months.” He had to yell over the sound of the chopper, now able to see the coastline ahead of them. The tall peak of Denali, perpetually snowcapped. The spread of lights, illuminating buildings. “Where are we going?”
“Anchorage. They have trauma care.”
Jax nodded and closed his eyes so his head would stop swimming. It didn’t necessarily help. His stomach felt like it flipped over and his body flushed, oddly hot and cold at the same time. Sweat broke out on his skin.
“They can check you out as well.”
He nodded again, but it made him dizzy. Their comments about Kenna flew by his awareness, a back-and-forth exchange of medical assessment terms.
Jax leaned his head back on the seat and took long breaths while the helicopter lowered to the ground and set down on the pad beside a collection of tall buildings, another set of buildings to the right. The city surrounded them, mountains in the distance.
The door opened, and Kenna was unloaded, Jax disembarking to follow. His legs gave out, and Kevin caught him, then helped him to a wheelchair, lowering him into it whether Jax wanted to be there or not. He heard the wordwithdrawalmuttered around him, along with other words he couldn’t focus on with the noise of the chopper blades cutting through the air.
“Don’t give me drugs.” Jax gripped the handles of the chair to get up. “No narcotics.”
The guy behind him laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to sit there, and I’m going to wheel you in.”
