Page 78 of Whisper
“He will never make it!”
David grabbed three units of blood, a transfusion kit, and a wad of gauze and dressings. He prepped a line for Zahawi and slid a unit of blood into the transfusion port on his arm. “I’ll watch him during the flight.”
The doctor threw his blood-soaked surgery apron on the ground. “He will never live! Never!”
David hovered over Zahawi the entire helicopter flight. Kris cradled Zahawi’s head in his lap, keeping him still while David fed all three bags of blood into his body. Pools of blood formed beneath him, saturating Kris’s pants and the helo’s deck. He pressed where David told him to, held pressure over Zahawi’s wounds for the hour-long flight.
A medical team met them at the air base, a full Pakistani military trauma team and an ambulance. Kris and David climbed into the back with them. Kris ended up perched on David’s lap for the drive across the base.
After the medical team whisked Zahawi into the Pakistani military hospital, Kris turned in to David, folding into his arms outside the doors of the emergency department. For the moment, they were alone. Ryan, Dan, and Jackson had stayed behind with the helo and were on their way back to Islamabad and the CIA station.
“You did great,” David breathed. He pressed a quick kiss to Kris’s hair, as fast as he dared.
“I shot our target. The one man we wanted to capture alive. I shot him, and he’s nearly dead.”
“You planned this entire takedown. The coordination, the operation, everything. You did that.” Pride shone from David’s gaze. “I think George is starting to believe in you.”
“The CIA way is to ride competent people until they break.”
“I thought that was what you did to me.” David winked.
“Let’s get out of here. I want to change, shower, and get in bed with you for a whole day.”
David’s eyes gleamed, that look he got when he wanted to lay Kris down, spend hours devouring him, tracing his skin, the contours and curves of his muscles, until he finally brought their bodies together. David could turn him inside out, make love to him until his bones wept. He’d never thought his soul could ignite, but when David’s hands cradled his hips, ran up his back, drew him close until they merged…
Some days, he thought David was the fire he needed to live.
Kris’s phone trilled. He groaned.
It was George.
“Caldera.”
“Kris, Langley has sent orders for Zahawi. He’s twenty-four-seven, CIA-only eyes on. You’ve gotta stay at the hospital with him.”
Fuck. Of course. “What’s the plan?”
“Langley is picking up the top trauma surgeon from Johns Hopkins tonight and putting him on a plane. He’ll be there tomorrow to patch up Zahawi. Then you’re off to Site Green.”
“Me?” A chill slithered down his spine. Site Green was their newest, darkest black site. Exclusively for interrogating high-value al-Qaeda prisoners.
“He’syourtarget, Kris. You know him better than anyone else alive, probably better than he knows himself. And… out of everyone here, you’re the best I’ve got.”
“Sounds like that was difficult for you to say, George.”
“Only because you make liking you difficult, Caldera.” There was a ghost of a smile in George’s voice, though. “You’re a Goddamn pain in the ass.”
“That’s my charm. It’s my appeal.”
“You’re luckyheseems to like it.”
Kris’s gaze flicked to David. “Request permission for Haddad to remain assigned to Zahawi? We’ll need a qualified medic if anything goes sideways. Here, or at Site Green.”
George’s sigh could have toppled Tora Bora, could have blown away the Hindu Kush. “Caldera, I swear tofuckingGod, if it comes out that you’ve manipulated us all into covering for your bordello…”
Kris, for once, kept his mouth shut.
“Haddad can remain. You’ll need a backup Arabic translator anyway. Send him back for supplies before you leave for Site Green.”
