Page 54 of A Touch of Frost
“Stay behind me.”
Ensuring the way was clear out the room, I led Jesse toward the exit.
“We need the way to be clear,” I called into my radio.
“Sending Tink.” Lizard replied.
Close to the door, we were bombarded a couple of men who I took out with one bullet each.
“Come on out,” Tink’s voice was strong in my ears.
We hurried out the door and Kandi fell to our sides. I, ensured Jesse was covered as he brought his brother back toward the car. Lizard and Widow quickly joined us with Lizard on the phone with Tex, trying to get us out of the area before someone called law enforcement.
“Did anyone see Striker?” I asked while Jesse placed Paul on the back seat of the car.
“No.” Black Widow replied even as the engine of her motorcycle roared to life. “He is probably somewhere else.”
“Okay, we can worry about him later.” I told them. “Right now, we need to get Jesse and Paul out of here.”
Black Widow handed her helmet to Kandi. She would be our stray—ensuring if we were followed, she'd handle it. Without waiting, I sped away from where I’d parked.
A mad dash through the streets, we made our way back to our hideout. Paul had been falling in and out of consciousness, but we couldn’t exactly walk into a hospital. The amount of bodies we dropped at that adult store told me something—Striker’s reach was wider than I gave him credit for.
We had to find another way of getting Paul the help he needed.
Back at the house, Lizard took over with Paul. Jesse hovered while Lizard worked on Paul. I couldn’t fault him, and I knew there was nothing I could say to him to make him stand down. Instead, I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him.
Jesse wasn’t relaxed—every muscle in his body was in war-mode. I felt it in his stiffness, in the way he didn’t even look back at me, tried kissing me. He kept his eyes on Lizard, taking in everything Lizard was doing.
“Jes…’ Paul mumbled, his head thrashing from side to side. “Jes.”
“I’m here.” Jesse pealed himself from my arms and rushed to Paul’s side. He knelt by the bed. “Just open your eyes, Captain America.”
Lizard walked away from the bed and peeled off his gloves.
“How is he?” I asked him.
“Well, the wounds he suffered are healing nicely.” Lizard explained. “He was knocked around a few times. There aren’t any broken bones, but he’s malnourished. I don’t think they fed him much of anything.”
“Keep him hungry, keep him weak.”
Lizard nodded. “If he’s too weak, he can’t run or give them any grief. My guess is, he’s starving.”
“Want me to head out on a food run?” Black Widow asked.
“I’ll go with you.” Lizard told her. “It’s easier for me to grab what he needs than telling you. Right now, we’re going to keep him comfortable. You stay so when he wakes up, he can see his brother. He should be okay.”
I nodded and patted Lizard’s shoulder. “Thanks.”
He kissed my cheek and left with Black Widow. I left Jesse alone with his brother. I figured with the stress they’d gone through, they needed a little alone time even if Paul was so far out of it. I poured myself another mug of bad coffee and sat down to call Tex and Mozart.
“You got him?” Mozart asked.
“Yeah. Striker wasn’t on site though.” I informed them. “I’m going to get him. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Frost.” Tex’s voice held a warning. “We have the doctor back.”
Mozart leaned in to stare at me through the camera. To hide part of my face, I lifted the mug to my lips and sipped.
