Page 15 of Embedded
“It’s okay, buddy. I promise I’m here. You just need to get looked at.” Nicole glanced at me with a worried expression. “Hey.” She tried to focus on me, but Chase’s cries clearly affected her.
“He needs an IV. He’s dehydrated,” the doctor said to the nurse, “and his lungs are full.” He held the stethoscope to the little guy’s chest, and my own contracted as I watched. I squinted to listen over his sobs. “My guess would be he has pneumonia, and God knows what else he may have been exposed to. Logan,” he called over his shoulder, “we should go soon. I need to do some bloodwork and get an x-ray.”
“Copy that, Doc.” Cole turned to me. “He needs care, and you need to sit down.” Before I could answer him, he said to Nicole, “You and Chili need to get scanned for trackers. Frank will take you. Go with him and get it done.”
“But if I am chipped, what am I doing here?” Nicole’s eyes were wide, and she looked nervously toward Chase.
“Everyone else, get on board.” Cole nodded at our private jet. “The entire base has scramblers, Nicole, but we can’t take any chances.” Frank waved at them to follow, but Nicole glanced at me then back toward the doctor and nurse who were already headed to the jet with Chase.
“He’s in good hands, and it won’t take long,” Frank promised Nicole, who still looked at me. I gave a slight nod so she’d leave.
Keith still stood beside me as the place emptied out. “You’re quiet.”
“Says the man who barely speaks more than three words at once,” I shot back but then felt bad. He was only checking in.
“Right, because being quiet is my thing, and you can’t have that. Just like neither of us can be the hungry, loud, flamboyant one. That’s reserved for Mark.” He lightly hit my arm. “C’mon, you’re hurtin’, and I know you want to be with your son.”
He was right; I didn’t want to let my son out of my sight, so I walked with him.
“My head just isn’t sitting right at the moment,” I confessed. “And yeah, my body aches, I’m a stranger to my son, and the woman I…” I stopped myself and let out a careful sigh, unsure what the hell Nicole really was to me. She was more than a woman I simply kissed; I knew it was more than that. Wasn’t it? Betrayal pushed to the surface, and I relished it for a moment. I physically felt shitty, and my head wanted to join it. “I just need to get back on our mountain so I can breathe.”
We crossed the tarmac and waited for Chase, who was now hooked up to an IV and on a stretcher. They began to load him onto the plane. The jet engine was loud, but Chase’s cries were louder, and it did something to my gut.
Keith ran a hand through his hair as we stood at the bottom of the steps. “He’ll be okay. He’s tough. Take it minute by minute and go easy on Nicole. She went through a lot to get him here. That counts for something. You may not like the way she did it, and I have to admit it might have been morally gray in some areas, but we’ve all been there before.” I knew he didn’t mean it as a dig about my other life, but the comment still hit hard.
“Yeah.” I headed up the stairs and joined the others on the plane.
The Gulfstream G550 was a sleek private jet the military had bought a few years back. It was a thing of beauty with its black leather seats and rich mahogany wood finish. It seated nineteen people, so there was plenty of room for the team, as well as the medical duo, Frank, Nicole, and Chase. The pilot was a good friend of Frank’s, and the staff were friendly and discreet.
Chase was in full panic mode, and I quickly moved to his side, at a loss as to what to do. His eyes were tightly shut, but tears leaked out from them as he flailed about. I took his waving hand and held it. “Remember me.” I tried to speak to him the way Nicole had shown me. “Friend, remember.” He rolled his red face and opened his eyes to see me, then he squeezed them shut again and sobbed even more. Christ, I suck at this.
“Frank, I’ve been cleared, and I’m fine. Please, I just need to make sure he’s okay.” I heard the stress in Nicole’s voice, and it made me step back from Chase. I noticed that her cheek had a fresh bruise, and she had a cut in her hairline that looked pretty nasty. So, she wasn’t totally all right.
“Nurse, please hold him.” The doctor leaned down and juggled a needle with his free hand while he tried to hold Chase still. Chase screamed harder, and I stepped forward again to block Nicole as she reached for him.
“Hang on.” My tone wasn’t friendly, and her confused, hurt look almost made me drop my guard, but then the image of her on camera as she held up my son fueled my anger again. “Let them give him the medication.”
“Of course. I just need him to know I’m here.” Her eyes became glossy, but she stepped back and folded her arms. “Are you okay?”
“A solid ten.” I looked back at Chase, who had just spotted Nicole.
“Mama!” He reached for her, and I swallowed hard at her words and thought about how much this entire thing would have hurt Talya. She was his mother.
“Maybe let her by,” Cole muttered next to me. “He’s been through so much, and he trusts her.” My fingers curled into fists. “I don’t know what’s going through your head right now, Paul, but do this for your…” He didn’t need to say it; I heard him.
I rubbed my chest, which ached with a deep burn, and moved so she could sit on the edge of the gurney.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Nicole instantly went into mother mode as she gathered his hands and smiled down at him. “I know this is scary, but I’m here.” She leaned down and kissed his head, then placed a hand on his chest as it heaved. His sobs eased off a bit.
“Mama,” he cried, and I heard her sniff as well.
“Nicole,” she corrected him gently. “Mama is with the angels, way up there.” She pointed to the roof. “Maybe when we’re up in the clouds, you can feel her.” She patted his heart, and he put his arms up to her and tried to sit up.
Everything inside me coiled into a new pain, or maybe it was an old pain I had suppressed. I didn’t realize how hard I rubbed my thighs, but it was enough to have Keith look over.
“Deep breaths, friend.” Chili was suddenly beside me. “Lose it when we’re alone. Hold it together for now.”
His familiar tone instantly calmed me. We’d been through a lot together over the years, and it wasn’t the first time he’d given me the same warning. He’d been right back then, and I knew he was right this time. I needed to chill out and get myself together for my son’s sake, if not for my own.
