Families also weren’t supposed to be pulled into his battles.
“I’m sorry,” he said, the words rough and rumbling from deep in his throat.
Dylan pressed his hand to Kim’s shoulder. “We need to get you ladies to the hospital. We want you all checked out.”
And the scene wasn’t safe.
Tina’s ambulance had left.
Another ambulance was waiting, its back doors open. The EMTs came forward to help his sisters.
Drew caught Dylan’s arm. “Thank you.”
Dylan inclined his head. “Man, you should know I always have your back.”
He did.
The flames were burning, raging so brightly behind them. More havoc.
The group’s name had come from the destruction they left behind.
Destruction and death.
Only this time there had been survivors, too. Innocent lives had been saved.
Devast wouldn’t hurt anyone else.
No, you bastard, you didn’t know my price.
And Devast never would.
* * *
SWEET OXYGEN FLOWED into Tina’s lungs. The ambulance rolled and bounced as it raced from the scene.
Drew’s sisters had been hugging him.
She swallowed.
They’d made it out alive. The mission was finally over.
Now it was time for her to go back to the life that waited for her.
Time for him to return to his life. His missions.
They’d see each other at the EOD.
She’d remember. How could she ever forget what they’d shared?
“Miss? Miss...are you hurting?”
A tear had dropped down her cheek. Tina shook her head. There wasn’t anything the medics could do for the pain that she felt.
* * *
“WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?” Drew demanded as he slammed his hands down on the nurses’ station desk.
“Sir, you need to calm down.”
“What I need is to find the patient who was brought in! Dr. Tina Jamison! She came in by ambulance two hours ago.”
Two of the longest hours of his life. He’d stayed on scene, needing to make sure the last arm of HAVOC was truly destroyed. He’d gone in on the bomb sweeps, checked all the nearby buildings to make sure they also weren’t set to blow.
They’d used the bomb-sniffing dogs. Gone in and out—searching every possible area. They’d found two more bombs.
The bomb squad had disarmed them with seconds to spare.
Sweat coated Drew’s body as he glared at the nurse in front of him. He’d been through hell, and he needed to see his damn angel. “Where is she?”
“We have no record of a Tina Jamison, sir. She didn’t come in here. You must have the wrong hospital.”
No, he didn’t, and Drew was perilously close to tearing the place apart with his bare hands.
“They took her back to Dallas.”
He stiffened at Gunner’s voice. Drew glanced over his shoulder.
Gunner inclined his head to the right. “Come with me.”
If Gunner was giving him information on Tina, then he’d go anyplace with the guy. His steps hurried, Drew followed Gunner to a quiet corner and, once he was sure no one could overhear him, he squared off against the sharpshooter. “Why wasn’t I told about her transfer?”
“Because you were still on scene, defusing bombs.” Gunner lifted a dark brow. “Your lady is all right. You can rest easy on that. Tina was stable when she boarded the flight.”
Your lady... Gunner had always been observant. Drew nodded and tried to calm his racing heart. “You saw her then?”
“I did. Cooper was with her. Hell...” He ran a weary hand over his face as he muttered, “That guy is a ghost. I didn’t even know he was working the Devast case until I saw him jump in the ambulance with her on scene.”
Cooper had been in the ambulance?
“Seems Mercer gave him orders. Protect Dr. Jamison at all costs.”
Drew stiffened. “Mercer didn’t think I could do the job?”
Gunner’s gaze was steady. “Mercer knows that when emotions get involved, even good agents can get compromised.”
“I wouldn’t have traded her safety for anything. I was going back in after her—”
“You dying for her wouldn’t have saved her life. And we both know that was exactly what you planned to do.” Flat, cold words.
True words. He would have traded his life for Tina in an instant. Drew didn’t look away from Gunner’s direct stare.
“Does she know?” Gunner asked quietly.
He had to get on a flight to Dallas. “Know what?”
Gunner laughed. The sound caught Drew off guard. As far as he knew, the guy never laughed.
But then, as far as the rest of the agents seemed to be concerned, Drew didn’t feel, either.
Ice in my veins.
No, he had fire in his veins right then.
“Why don’t you take some friendly advice from someone who’s been where you are...?” Gunner’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “Don’t just stand back and let the thing you want the most slip away from you.”
The fire burned ever hotter inside him. “But what if I’m not right for her? She needs someone—”
“Let her decide what she needs. Who she needs. Go for what you want.” Then Gunner turned away from him. “I’m going home. My wife is waiting for me.”
His wife. His very pregnant wife. Gunner had a wife who loved him—and twins on the way.
“How did you—?” Drew stopped.
Gunner glanced back at him.
“Weren’t you afraid? That what we do... Weren’t you scared that it would spill over on them?”
But, no, Gunner’s wife, Sydney, she was part of the EOD. She’d worked for years in the field. She knew all about danger. “Never mind,” Drew said, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have—”
“I was more afraid,” Gunner admitted, voice low, “of trying to live my life without her.”
Drew thought of his life. The missions. One after the other. Coming home.
Being alone.
He’d looked forward to his visits to the EOD office—because I knew I would see Tina.
Is that what he wanted to happen? Would he return to only seeing Tina every few months? He’d keep his emotions sealed off and try to go on with his life without her?
He’d watch life from the outside? Day in and day out, he’d long for what he couldn’t have.
I told her there would be no going back. Because he didn’t want to go back to a life that didn’t involve Tina. He needed her far too much.