Page 91 of A Lethal Betrayal

The EMT gave Dane the once-over. “He needs to go to the hospital for observation.”

Cain glanced at Dane. “I don’t think he’s going to argue with you.”

“What do you mean?” Dane demanded. He didn’t want to be evaluated. He was fine. He started to take off the oxygen mask.

Cain grabbed his arm. “You want to go to the hospital where Mac happens to be, don’t you? Here’s your ride. No waiting around.”

Dane blinked as he tried to understand what Cain was saying, and then his heart soared. He was going to Mac.

“Um, yeah. Hospital. Sure. Yeah. I might need some respiratory therapy after all. Let’s go get checked out.”

Koa snorted and shook his head. Sinclair grinned, and Cain just nodded at him. They put him on the stretcher and closed the back doors of the ambulance. His team was awesome, but even better, he’d managed to do his job with minimal interference from his back. But best of all, he was going to see Mac. Now he just had to convince her not to leave Hawai’i.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Mac winced when she moved. The bandage was protecting her back, but it wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world. Fortunately, both gunshots she was dealing with now were just grazes. The nurses had cleaned them and bandaged her up. The doctor had told her she could go home tomorrow. She snorted. In the hospital two times in less than forty-eight hours. Had to be some kind of record. Then of course, there was the question of home. Hers had been blown to bits. Where, exactly, was she supposed to go tomorrow?

She shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable. Maybe it was time to see her folks. She’d called them earlier just after the nurses had finished with her. Her mom was thrilled to hear from her and prattled on about them coming to visit Oahu and Mac soon. She didn’t have the heart or the stamina to break her mother’s heart and tell her the truth. Instead, she’d signed off by saying how much she was looking forward to her parents’ visit. She’d have to tell them the truth, but she could put it off for another day, couldn’t she?

She closed her eyes. Her headache had started pounding again, and it was painful. The meds they’d given her when she’d first arrived had been pretty intense but left her feeling woozy, and her wounds were starting to hurt again. Maybe she should ask the nurse if all this was normal.

She opened her eyes. “Oh, shit. You scared the life out of me. I didn’t hear you come in.”

John Bishop Cross stood beside her bed. He offered her a smile. “Sorry. I just thought I’d better check on my favorite CGIS agent. You’ve been through quite a lot these last few days.”

“Um, yeah.” She tried to pull herself up higher on the pillows, but it hurt to move. She looked around for the call button. She wanted the nurse, but it was on the far side of the table next to her bed. She couldn’t reach it.

“Could you—”

“So how are you feeling?”

“A bit sore, but I’ll live. Got a drumline rehearsal going on in my head, though.”

He nodded.

Something was off. She could feel it, but her brain was foggy. The headache and the pain, not to mention the meds and the whole events of the last twenty-four hours, had left her feeling fuzzy. What was it? What was wrong with this situation?

“Well, I’m sure once you get some rest you’ll be back on your feet in no time.” He moved so he was leaning a hip on her bed. His hand was close to hers.

“Um, I appreciate the visit, but I think I’d like to sleep.”

“I’m sure,” he said but made no move to leave. “What did Ainsley say to you out there? I had no idea about any of it. Hard to believe, I know, but he completely pulled the wool over my eyes.”

She wanted Cross gone. He was creeping her out. “Um, well, he said a lot of things. I can’t remember much at the moment. You know, it was traumatic, and I’m just not sure…” She didn’t know what to say. The whole conversation was triggering alarm bells in her gut.

She glanced around him at the door to see it was closed. He’d closed it on his way in.What the hell?“What do you want, Cross?” Her stomach knotted. The back of her hospital gown was damp with sweat.

“Want? Like I said, I came to check on you. And apologize, of course. I can’t believe Ainsley was involved in this mess. Running drugs and stealing from the Navy. It’s unbelievable.”

Suddenly, it hit her. His shirt was wrinkled, and his eyes darted all over the place, never focusing on any one thing. The typically charming, charismatic deputy director was …frazzled. Not a look she’d ever seen on him before. More than that, his brow was taut and his mouth gaped open a bit. She recognized panic, even through the fog shrouding her brain.

“Yes, it is but, you know, we rarely ever know someone, right?” She was babbling. She needed to calm down. “I’m sure Ainsley had his reasons.”

“Um, I guess. He didn’t tell you anything about it, did he?”

She shook her head and immediately regretted it. A steely ball of pain rattled around her brain. She was seeing stars as she replied, “He didn’t say much.”

“Really? I heard that you said he confessed everything to you.”

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