Page 35 of Countdown

Raina pressed a hand to her temple, the sudden stress-induced pounding there making her wince. “What am I so ashamed of?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, guys,” Penny said, bounding through the door, “what are we doing for—” She stopped, her gray eyes taking in the scene. “Oookay...,” she drew the word out, “what’s going on here?”

Holly stayed still, letting Raina handle the interruption. Raina wasn’t sure whether to thank her or not. Finally, she tossed her hands up. “Okay, you two, it’s time we had a talk.”She motioned to the conference room where she could shut the door and make sure no one else in base overheard.

Once she had her two curious and concerned friends behind the locked door, Raina clasped her hands together and faced them. “So, when I showed up here with a different name and begging for a job, you guys didn’t ask a lot of questions. Well, I didn’t know you, Holly, so you wouldn’t have known any different, but”—she drew in a deep breath—“Penny, you welcomed me right in, no questions asked.”

“You said you had a stalker and that’s why you changed your name.” Penny frowned. “I had no reason to believe otherwise.”

“I know. And it was true. I never lied. I just ... didn’t tell you the whole story.”

“And you don’t have to now if you don’t want to.” Penny reached out and squeezed Raina’s hand.

“Yes, she does,” Holly said. “I want to know.”

Penny scowled. “No, she doesn’t. As long as it doesn’t directly affect us, it’s not necessary.”

Holly’s mournful sigh was almost enough to make Raina smile. Almost. The woman was more curious than a cat, but as much as it would kill her, she wouldn’t press it if Raina was serious.

“It doesn’t directly affect you,” Raina said, “but ... you’re my friends and, in answer to Holly’s question, what I’m so ashamed of is the fact that I haven’t trusted you like you’ve trusted me. And I’m sorry for that.”

Penny frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean ... there are things in my past that I’ve never told you, and I’m ashamed that I hid those things from people who’ve trusted me and shared with me. I’m ashamed that I didn’t return that trust.” A tear slipped down her cheek and Penny gasped.

“Raina, my friend, oh, honey, it’s okay.” Penny wrapped her arms around Raina’s shoulders, and Holly joined her, the two women squeezing until she couldn’t breathe.

When they finally released her, Raina stepped back. “It’s just really hard for me to let people in, because every time I do, someone winds up getting hurt.” Or dead. She pushed that thought away, honestly confused about what she should say and how much she should share. But the truth was, her past was just that. In the past. She could start trusting again. Sharing and letting people see the real her. Couldn’t she?

Holly met her gaze with tears shimmering in her own eyes. “I didn’t mean to be pushy, Raina. You never have to talk about or say anything you don’t want to. Your past is yours. Not mine. So keep it to yourself and I promise never to say another word about it.”

Raina nearly choked on the emotion swelling in her throat. She drew in a ragged breath. “Okay, let me pull myself together, then I’ll share with you what I shared with Vince.” She glanced at the clock. She’d have to be quick. “I’m going to fix lunch while I talk because my break is almost over.” She glanced at them. “You want some too?”

“Absolutely.”

Thirty minutes later, she was done and so was her break. Penny and Holly expressed their complete support, and most of Raina’s guilt was put to rest.

Mostof it.

But not all.

????

Armed with a background report on Freddy Harper—which wasn’t anything hair raising, but still interesting—Vince left Charlie and hospital security guarding Fedorov and went to find Raina. He located her in the emergency room, but she was involved with a patient, so he waited and simply watched her work. And while he watched her, he watched her back, scanning the people in the ER, patients and staff both. They were busy—and it looked like they were short a few workers.If Raina had to take off in the chopper, the ER would be hurting.

But for now, they worked. Tirelessly. From crying babies, to screaming toddlers, to wilting parents. And then there were the car accident victims, one gunshot wound, and the heart attack.

Raina finally stopped to grab her drink from the counter and chug the contents. When she lowered the cup, her eyes landed on his and she smiled. Then tilted her head and walked over to him. “Hey. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just waiting on you to catch a break.”

“I had one a few hours ago.” She glanced at the iPad she held. “But I can take another short one.” She waved to one of the other nurses. “I’m taking a little break. I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”

The man nodded and Raina led Vince into a private room just outside the doors of the ER. She turned to him and blinked. Then rubbed her eyes and yawned. “I’m sorry. For some reason, I’m more tired than I should be.” She cleared her throat.

“You were going ninety miles an hour in there. I would have fallen over by now.”

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