Chapter Forty-Four

Safiya

M y head was swimming, and my ears were humming.

Voices sounded in the distance.

"What's the damage, doc?"

"Through and throughs, like ya said. I stitched him up, and he'll be sore as shit for six to eight weeks, but judgin' by the number of scars he's got, it ain't nothin' new for him. He'll wanna rehab that shoulder, though, before he gets in another firefight."

"He'll ignore orders to rehab."

"Shut the fuck up, Ares. I'm right goddamn here."

Someone chuckled. "There's Sun God Blondie. What up, Helios? Nice of ya to fuckin' join us."

"Fuck off, Talerco. You did the stitches too tight."

The chuckle sounded again. "Didn't see you doin' 'em."

"If you didn't shoot me up with fucking painkillers, I would have."

"Morphine and antibiotics, the elixir of the battlefield gods. You're welcome. And enjoy that ride, cuz in 'bout four hours, you're really gonna be feelin' those stitches."

"Like I said, fuck off."

"He always like this?"

"Worse."

"Fuck off, Ares. Go hover over Ghost. You too, Talerco."

"Already ahead of ya."

Ghost.

Grayson.

Grayson.

My breath hitched, my eyes opened, and then I saw and heard it.

Telltale shaped windows, enclosed cabin, low ceiling, the sound of the engines.

Airplane.

I was on an airplane.

And there was a needle in my arm attached to tubing that ran to a bag of something clear hanging from the ceiling, and this was not right—they were drugging me. They were drugging me.

Terror struck.

Pushing up, I yanked on the tubing where it connected to the bag, and I lost it. "Where is he?" Where was Grayson? "Why is this in me? What did you do to me? Stop the plane! We are going to crash! Where is Grayson? " The panic escalating, my breaths retreating, the plane closing in around me, I reached to rip out the plastic tubing going into the crease of my arm.

"Hey, hey, darlin'." A hand clamped over my mine as the smell of coconuts swamped me. "You're all good. It's IV fluids. We're just hydratin' you. That's all. I need you to leave—"

"Where is he? Where is he? "

"I'm sorry, darlin', I'm not catchin' that." The man switched to Arabic and said something I did not understand.

I lost all composure. "STOP DRUGGING ME!"

"Wrong fucking language, dipshit. She's speaking Turkish." Shirtless, lying on a padded bench across from me, one arm over his face, plastic tubing coming out of the top of his hand, his left shoulder an angry mess of bloody, stitched-together holes, Helios turned his head. Opening one eye, he looked at me and spoke in Turkish. "Grayson is fine. You are fine. The asshole in front of you is a doctor. He is helping you. You are not being drugged. This plane does not have any bullet holes. We are not going to crash."

I did not believe him. "Stop the plane! Remove the drugs!" I ordered. "Where is Grayson? I need to see him! "

Helios looked from me to the blond man standing over me and switched back to English. "She said take the fucking IV out."

It was then I realized I had been speaking in my native language, but more questions came bleeding out before I could think to use English. "Who are you?" I demanded of the injured man named after a Greek god. "Why should I trust you?" Grayson had seemed angry with him before.

Helios spoke in his accented but fluent Turkish again. "I do not give a damn if you trust me. Ask Grayson who I am when he wakes up."

Wakes up? "Why is he not awake?"

Helios raised an eyebrow at me, but he did not answer.

My heart pounding, my panic not abating, I tried again. "I am asking you. Who are you? Who are these men?" I tried to look past the muscular man still clamping his hand over mine where the IV was inserted into my arm as be looked between me and Helios. "Where is Grayson? Why should I trust any of you?"

Helios closed his eye and turned his head away. Then he switched to English. "Like I said, I don't give a damn if you trust me. Grayson's out cold because he's a fucking idiot. Me and Ares are his brothers. Talon is a combat medic. Blade carried you on the plane. Zulu is piloting. Ask Ghost whatever the fuck else you want to know after Talon patches him up."

His brothers? I looked up at the blond man still holding my arm and spoke in English. "Where is Grayson?"

The combat medic smiled wide, but it did not reach his eyes. "Hey, darlin'. There ya are. Nice to meet ya. I'm Talon, and I'm just fixin' ya up some. Gettin' ya a little hydrated after what I hear has been a tough coupla days for ya." His expression turned serious. "I'd like to keep this IV in while I go check on Ghost. Then I'll come back and remove it. Good?"

Just then, I heard his voice.

Rough, hoarse, but fierce and demanding, it carried like the sweetest sound I had ever heard. "Where is she? Safiya ."

He rose from a seat in the front of the plane, and ferocious blue-gray eyes met mine.

Air filled my lungs, and I was on my feet. " Grayson ."

"Wait, wait, wait, darlin'." A heavy hand clamped over my shoulder and gently pushed me back down. "Need ya to sit a minute." The blond man called over his shoulder. "Ares."

"On it." Ares was already out of his seat and urging Grayson back down into his.

The blond man with green eyes put his face right in front of mine and lowered his voice as if he did not want Grayson to hear him. "Darlin', you need to give me a minute to get Ghost patched up, then you'll see him. But right now, you're stayin' put. You hearin' me?"

The panic, the alarm, the acute fear, it all came rushing back in a new wave. "Grayson is injured."

The combat medic's accent disappeared. "I understand that, and it's not critical right this minute. But I need to suture his wound, and you're going to stay here while I do that."

I fought tears. "I-I need this removed from my arm. I need to see him."

His accent came back. "I gotcha, darlin'." He reached into a black bag next to him. Then, so quickly I almost did not feel it, he pulled out the IV before pressing a small square of gauze to where the needle had been and bent my arm up. "Give me a little breathin' room to fix Ghost up, then he's all yours." He looked back at me. "Deal?"

No choice, I nodded.

"Good, darlin'. Real good." He grabbed his bag and walked toward the front of the plane.