Page 104 of No Mistake

“You were pretty pissed when he deserted his team. You’ve forgiven him already?” Dex challenged, his voice calmer.

“Yeah, I was pissed because he disobeyed a direct order. He’s done nothing wrong since. He protected the hostage. Alone.”

“Fuck, Sam. He’s my brother.” Dex sat back down; Sam sat beside him.

“I know. And I’d be worried if you weren’t upset. But stop blaming yourself and feeling guilty. This is what you train for, and Ryan did exactly what he needed to do to protect Sophie. How many times do I have to tell you that you guys are the very best?”

“Not that good. Perez got away.”

Jesus, the man couldn’t even accept the praise.

“You got Sophie and the other hostages. Ali is dead, another Reborn cell network dismantled, and we secured the weapons. Mission success as far as I’m concerned.”

“I want Perez, Sam.”

“We’ll get him. He can’t hide forever.”

Dex leaned back, closing his eyes. “What did you do with Tracer?”

“I don’t have him.”

Dex looked at him. “Liam said he got on the lifeboat with Sophie.”

“I know. However he somehow managed to not make it onto the Coast Guard boat.”

Dex gave a small smile. “Once a SEAL always a SEAL. Are you worried?”

“No. We have it confirmed that both Alejandro and Luis Vitelli are dead. Hopefully the man can have some peace now. Wherever he ends up.”

“We couldn’t have done this without him,” Dex said.

“Which is why I’m letting it go. Come on, let’s go join the others.”

They reached the waiting room just as the surgeon, still in scrubs, walked toward them. The room fell silent in anticipation.

“Ryan made it through surgery. The knife caught his liver, but we were able to save it. He’s stable right now, but still unconscious. He lost a lot of blood, and when he coded, he was down for six minutes. His pulse is strong, but we’ll know more when he wakes up. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m surprised he made it through. He’s a fighter.”

“So he’s going to be OK?” Fuck, Sam hated it when doctors were vague.

“It’s too early to say. He’s not out of the woods yet.”

“Doctor, we all just want to know bottom line. Tell us.” Sam stood hands on hips trying not to lose his cool.

The two teams were staring at the surgeon. Looking between them all, he sighed.

“Bottom line, he could make a full recovery and be back in action in a few weeks. Or...” He paused. “The loss of blood, length of time he was down, there could be some brain damage.”

No one spoke as the reality of the situation hit them. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw Dex turn away into Kelly’s hug.

“How long until he wakes up?” Sam addressed the doctor again.

“A few hours at least.”

“Can we see him?”

“When we’ve settled him in ICU, I’ll have someone come and get you. But no more than two of you at a time. If there's any change, I’ll keep you informed.”

The surgeon left them and a heavy silence settled in the room once again. Fuck, he knew exactly what everyone on his teams were thinking right now. What ifs. What if we’d acted sooner. What if we cleared the deck quicker. What if the medevac got there earlier? He knew that game only too well, and it didn't do anyone any good.

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