Page 102 of No Mistake

“Please call me Sophie.” She gave him a small smile. “Thank you, for everything.” While she wasn’t too sure who exactly Sam was, she knew he was the team’s boss.

“You’re welcome. How are you feeling?”

Sophie shrugged. “I’m fine. I’m so sorry about Ryan, for getting you guys involved.”

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed. “You have nothing to be sorry about. And Ryan’s one of the toughest men I know. He won’t go down without a fight. The medevac just landed and he’s headed straight to surgery.”

Sophie nodded. “And the rest of the team? They’re OK?”

“They will be on their way here shortly,” Sam answered.

“Sophie, why don’t you go be with Chloe? She’s been worried sick,” Kelly suggested.

“She knows?” Sophie asked in alarm.

“She knows there was a threat against you. That’s all,” Sam said

“Can I tell her? About Ryan?”

Sam nodded. “Yes, if you want to. I will need to speak to you both when this is all over, but I know as the ER doctor here at Westside, you understand the confidential nature of what happened and the teams involved.”

“Of course. Chloe will understand, too.”

“Good,” Kelly said. “Then go be with her, and I will let you know as soon as there is news about Ryan.”

Sophie looked down, feeling torn. She wanted to see Chloe, but she also wanted to be outside the surgery door waiting for Ryan. Her uncertainty must have shown. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to meet Sam’s eyes.

“As you well know, surgery can take hours. Go be with Chloe. Kelly and I have some loose ends to clean up, and we don’t want you being alone, and neither would Ryan,” he said gently. “We will come and get you personally when there is news,”

Sophie gave him a weak smile, fighting to keep her composure. "Thank you.”

Chapter 18

Sam let out a sigh of relief as his two team leaders came into view in the hospital corridor, walking toward him. Dex, always cool and calm, impressed the hell out of Sam, considering some of the intense situations the team often found themselves in. But when Dex radioed for the medevac, the unmistakable fear and worry in his voice had been shocking. Yeah, he’d said Ryan was down bad, but his voice told him just how bad. He’d wanted to have them all airlifted out of there, but the man responsible for Ryan’s injuries was still at large. Dex being Dex had refused to leave the ship until they cleared every inch, no doubt, a burning need to find Perez. A need Sam totally understood.

The moment Kelly saw them, she ran forward and Dex caught her in his arms. While the team were a family, Sam knew Dex, Ryan, and Kelly had a longer history than the rest. The news of Ryan had hit Kelly hard, but she was keeping it together. Like all of them, she was staying positive Ryan was strong enough to make it through this.

“They look like hell,” Mira said from beside him.

“They’ve been through hell,” Sam muttered.

“Damn, it’s good to see you guys,” Sam said, looking between Dex and Liam. “Are you hurt?” His eyes drew down to Dex’s bloodied clothes.

“No. Not my blood.” Dex said, his arm now settling around Kelly’s shoulders. “What’s the news on Ryan. Is he still in surgery?”

“Yes.” Sam frowned.

“What is it?” It had been almost two hours since the medevac had picked up Ryan. Nyx and Raven had done another sweep of the boat, looking for Perez, but he was nowhere to be found. Sam finally ordered Dex to stand down and get out of there. They were exhausted and worried about their teammate. FBI could handle the cleanup and they would continue to review the drone footage.

“He coded on the way here.”

The blood drained from Dex’s face. God, he wished he had better news for him.

“They got him back, took him straight to surgery.”

“Did they say anything before taking him in?”

Sam hesitated but there was no point in trying to sugarcoat anything. Dex wouldn’t appreciate it. “The doc said the blood loss was severe, the knife hit his liver. His chances aren’t good.”

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