Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

Harris

“ What do you mean there’s nothing we can do?” Harris asked edgily. “We can’t sit around and do nothing while he bleeds out.”

“ We have no choice but to allow his body to heal itself,” Jennifer said. “Other than keeping him comfortable and watching over him, we must wait. If we take him to the hospital, they’ll know something is different about him when his wounds start healing on their own.”

“ Will he be able to heal an injury as serious as this?” Brick asked as he paced the floor.

“ I’m not sure. Has he ever been so severely injured before?” Jennifer asked as she laid another cold cloth on Woodley’s forehead.

“ From his own account, the worst he’d suffered was being shot in the arm,” Spencer said.

No one could hide their concern. How much danger was Woodley in? Was he strong enough to heal himself? Harris knew his sister was right; there was nothing more they could do until Woodley began healing on his own. One good sign was the fact that he wasn’t getting any worse; the bleeding had slowed, and his breathing had evened out, but he still hadn’t regained consciousness.

“ Fuckin’ gangbangers,” Stryker growled.

“ When we tracked them down, they claimed they thought we were a rival gang moving in on their territory,” Fletcher said. “That’s what they wanted us to believe.”

They’d been in the second SUV and took off after the Lincoln as the first raced back to the rental with a wounded Woodley.

“ Pines Village has the highest rate of gang violence in the entire city,” Spencer stated.

“ Yeah, it would make sense, but upon further questioning, it became clear that they’d been hired,” Fletcher snarled.

“ It’s obvious someone from the Noah Group has eyes on Apollo. They have one of his members, and must’ve followed him to our meeting site,” Spencer said.

“ They took the opportunity to send a clear message about fucking with the group, not expecting it to backfire on them like it did.”

“ I want to burn this group to the ground,” Jennifer said, her voice vibrating with anger.

“ When will Jason be touching down with Mrs. Greer?” Harris asked, desperate to get their healer here as soon as possible to help Woodley.

“ They're still over an hour out,” Spencer said.

The second they made it back to the rental, Jason left to fly to Fire Lake to pick up Mrs. Greer from the ranch.

“ Will he make it that long?” Brick asked.

“ He’d better,” Harris stated for multiple reasons, the least of which was his plan to spend time over in Pines Village clearing out a few hot spots and make them think twice about working for the Noah Group ever again. Hell, he still might either way. They’d hurt the man he cared about. He just hoped Woodley survived so he could tell him.

Brick’s phone rang, and he looked down at the screen. “Apollo,” he mouthed at the rest of the team as he answered his cell and placed it on speaker. “This isn’t a good time,” he stated.

“ We can help,” Apollo said.

“ Help with what?” Brick asked.

“ Your man’s injuries.”

Harris frowned. How the hell did they know about the shooting? Were they involved? Did they know they were being followed? Why wouldn’t they warn us?

“ What injuries?” Brick hedged.

“ Do we really want to go down this road? I have the ability to monitor any other test subject I come in contact with. I know one of your men is hurt; I could feel Conor’s concern loud and clear.”

“ What can you do to help?” Brick said curtly.

Hell, Harris thought, they might not be ready to trust the guy completely, but if Apollo could somehow come to Woodley’s aid, he was willing to listen.

“ We too have a healer who’s saved multiple team members. She’s available right now. We need to know where to take her.”

“ I’ll send you the address,” Brick said without a moment's hesitation. “You should know, the tail was following you before taking us on.”

If their healer was anything like Mrs. Greer, they could reach the rental long before Jason could fly back. Every minute, every second right now, counted.

“ Appreciate it,” Apollo said. “We’ll keep our eyes open and arrange for an alternate safe house for our other members to be moved to.” The line went dead.

With all things considered, this was the best plan to save Woodley’s life. Harris hoped Brick wasn’t proven wrong or there’d be even more blood spilled that night.

***

Everyone was on edge when the perimeter sensors sounded, and a car pulled in. Apollo had arrived in under fifteen minutes from when Brick had sent him the address. The team didn’t bother to hide the weapons in their shoulder holsters; if this was an attack, they’d find some heavy resistance.

Harris truly hoped this was legit for Woodley’s sake. Jason and Mrs. Greer were still forty minutes away, and Woodley wasn’t healing as quickly as they’d hoped he would.

“ Vehicle up on screen,” Spencer announced as the monitors homed in on their new visitors. Harris turned to look at the screen and watched an older-model Chevy pull up to the back of the rental. It moved at a slow, methodical pace that he thought was intentional so as not to alarm anyone. Four people got out of the vehicle: Apollo, Griffin, and two smaller women.

“ We’ve got four, no other heat signatures in the vicinity,” Spence said.

“ I’ve got a read on three of them. Griffin is still on the fence about us and is concerned this is a trap. One of the women is excited to be here, and the other is concerned about Woodley. Apollo is back to being a mystery,” Conor said, filling in the rest of the team.

“ Okay, we play this calm and methodical for Woodley’s sake. No snap decisions, but don’t let your guard down. If things go south, we’ll deal with them accordingly,” Brick ordered.

“ Wait, is that Ellen?” Shaw asked as he leaned in to the screen for a better look.

Spencer zoomed the monitor onto the two women.

“ Holy shit, she’s all grown up,” Spencer said. “Rick is going to be so pissed he missed this.”

It had been several years since the team had taken on the Hammon missing person’s case. In the end, Spencer and Rick set Ellen Hammon and her nanny up with a new identity so she could disappear and escape the Noah Group.

“ Well, that confirms what Apollo said at least,” Shaw said. “Ellen’s here in the flesh. Hard to deny that.”

As the four approached the house, Apollo stepped forward and knocked on the door. He strategically placed his large body in front to cover the women behind him, and Griffin scanned the area from the back.

“ They seem to be well trained,” Stryker said. “And armed.”

It was easy to make out the bulge from guns under their jackets. Harris wasn’t shocked, considering they were as well. Can’t blame them for being prepared to enter a possible hostile situation.

Brick scanned the room before opening the back door. It was natural for the Navy SEAL to get a lay of the land before any possible engagement. The rest of the team was strategically placed throughout the living room and kitchen, while Harris had placed himself in front of the door leading to the bedroom where Woodley and Jennifer were waiting.

Brick took the same position as Apollo as the door opened, and the two team leaders stood like warriors facing each other while protecting their people.

“ Apollo,” Brock said in a way of greeting.

“ Brick,” Apollo replied. “You gonna let us in?”

“ Depends. Are you planning on using the heat you’re packing?”

“ We’ve learned never to travel without protection, not specifically because we were coming here.”

“ That’s not an answer.”

“ It’s the best one you’re going to get.”

“ Holy shit. Why do men have to be so difficult,” a woman’s voice growled from behind Apollo. “Get out of my way, you big oaf. There’s an injured man in there that needs my help.”

The small woman they’d seen on screen pushed her way past Apollo, who rolled his eyes, and she stood toe-to-toe with Brick.

“ I’m here to help. Deal with it quickly so I can get started healing him,” she said without an ounce of fear.

There was laughter behind Apollo, and when Harris glanced at the screen, he could see Ellen Hammon covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle her amusement.

“ Renee, you’re amazing,” Ellen said.

“ You remind me of someone I know. Her name is Julia,” Brick said.

“ She must be one hell of a woman. I’d love to meet her, but first move so I can help your teammate,” Renee said.

Brick did the one thing Harris hadn’t expected tonight; he smiled and backed out of the way, allowing her and Ellen to enter. Apollo and Griffin hovered close by.

“ Spencer,” Ellen cheered before heading in his direction. “I never thought I’d see you again. Is Rick here?”

Spencer stood and hugged Ellen as she went to him without fear.

“ You’re a sight for sore eyes. Rick’s back in Fire Lake. He’s going to be pissed that he missed seeing you. Maybe we can call him,” Spencer suggested.

“ That’d be great,” she agreed.

“ Where is your wounded man?” Renee asked, cutting to the chase.

“ This way,” Harris said, gesturing toward the closed door behind him.

Renee crossed the room toward him, Griffin close behind, a personal guard.

She looked at Harris closely. “He is important to you. I’ll do everything I can to help, I swear.”

For the first time, Harris didn’t even bother to argue. “Thank you, ma’am.” He opened the door, and his sister immediately stood and moved protectively to the foot of the bed.

“ It’s okay, Jennifer. This is Renee and Griffin. She’s here to help heal Woodley,” Harris explained.

Jennifer returned to Woodley’s side. “He hasn’t regained consciousness, but the bleeding has stopped.”

“ This is my sister, Jennifer,” Harris explained.

“ Hello, Jennifer,” Renee said. “May I approach the bed?”

“ Yes.”

Harris appreciated Renee’s approach. She may have been forceful with Brick, but the team leader respected that. With Jennifer and himself, she’d been caring and almost gentle. It was as if she knew what each person needed. Perhaps that was part of her ability as well.

Renee walked to the other side of the bed across from Jennifer while Harris stood guard at the foot. He’d never felt more useless in his entire life. Ask him to hack into the most secure server or lift a truck into the air with only his mind, that he could do, but save the man he’d fallen in love with, and he had nothing to offer.

Stop it, Jennifer’s voice drifted through his mind. No one person is capable of everything. The best we can do is be there for the people we care about and give them all of ourselves while there’s still time.

Renee placed her hand on Woodley’s chest, and her hand began to glow within moments. She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate while moving her hand from side to side as if searching. Moments later, she opened her eyes and looked at Harris.

“ We need to roll him onto his side. I want to get a better look at the wound.”

Harris moved around the bed, and Griffin came forward to assist him without saying a word. He didn’t like the other man touching Woodley but understood moving him with the extra help would be safer. Slowly and with as much care as possible, they turned Woodley, allowing Renee to pull back the bloody bandages and take a better look. He would have used his power to move the injured man, but he wasn’t certain about how gentle he could be given his heightened emotions.

He’d seen the wound left by the bullet when he’d tried to stop the bleeding, but that had been hours ago. Harris wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but the still gaping hole he saw wasn’t on the list. His hope quickly faded, and he prayed Renee could perform a miracle.

“ Okay, hold him there,” Renee said. “And try not to move.”

Woodley’s breathing became labored, causing Harris to question whether they were doing the right thing by moving him. He was about to ask when Renee’s hands began glowing again, and she placed them directly over the wound.

“ Hold him still,” she said as Woodley’s body began to shake violently.

Jennifer braced her hands on Woodley’s arm to help as he and Griffin tightened their hold. Renee’s hands glowed even brighter, and Woodley’s shaking slowed slightly. Harris could see beads of sweat forming on Renee’s forehead, and he could see the physical toll it was taking on her as she worked on Woodley.

This gave Harris the best indication of how dire Woodley’s situation was. Real fear, like he’d only ever experienced with his sister, filled him, making every breath Woodley took more important than the last.

How had he fooled himself into believing that he’d ever be able to walk away from this man? If they made it through this, Harris swore he’d stop living like a man without a future and allow himself to plan for that future. A future that included the lover currently fighting for his life.

Harris wasn’t sure how long they’d been in the bedroom working on Woodley, but the sun had risen when they emerged. Woodley’s condition was stable, and poor Renee was pale and exhausted even though Mrs. Greer had arrived and joined in the healing half way through.

Jason, and Darren had returned from Fire Lake with Mrs. Greer and were seated by the window. Harris wasn’t sure why Darren had come along; he was one of the survivors rescued along with Mrs. Greer, a young woman named Lydia, and the boy Frank that John and Stryker had adopted. He was too exhausted from worry to bother asking.

It wasn’t long before Renee and Mrs. Greer were in deep conversation about their shared abilities, and Harris didn’t miss the older woman’s glowing hands resting on Renee’s arm as color returned to the younger woman’s cheeks.

Brick and Apollo had gone to the office for a private meeting once they knew Woodley was on his way to recovery. Spencer and Ellen were on a video call with Rick, and he could hear the dude’s excitement all the way from Fire Lake. Griffin seemed to be hovering nearby, but never becoming part of the group for some unknown reason.

All Harris wanted to do was crawl back into bed with Woodley.

He quickly gave everyone a rundown on Woodley’s vastly improved condition before returning to the bedroom and taking over from his sister. Once alone with the man he now freely admitted he loved, Harris carefully crawled back into bed and held Woodley in his arms. Having the man by his side felt right, and he intended to make it permanent.

It wasn’t lost on him that it took almost losing this man for Harris to realize how much he meant to him. He should have never allowed it to get to such an extreme, but now that he knew the truth, nothing would stop him from building a future with this man. Not even Woodley himself.