Gia couldn’t stop her heart from beating as hard and furious as it was. From the moment she saw Jason, wounded and in pain on the grass, to now as he was being loaded into an ambulance.
He was alive.
The moment Thane gave up the weapon, the proverbial pin in the grenade, a wave of relief coursed through everyone in the vicinity and in the next moment, the agents swarmed every inch of the cabin. Some to secure the scene, some to scour and set up a perimeter, some to tend to the wounded and Gia found she could only see one thing in front of her.
Jason.
Rushing to his side, the sudden chill of the late night making her shiver, she’d clasped his pale face in her hands as he lay silent a motionless on the ground.
She had not even spoken his name, not even taken a breath before his eyes fluttered open and the most cerulean eyes she had ever seen stared up at her.
“I love you.” It was the first thing she thought to say to him, as though in the next few seconds, he would be gone and she’d never get the chance to say it again. He’d blinked; a slow, heavy movement as if taking her words in carefully. And then his lips turned upwards slightly before he fell into unconsciousness once more.
He’d seen her. He’d heard her. He’d smiled. It had to be enough for now.
The paramedics swept in and began to stabilize his condition and she’d been eased to her feet and pulled back by gentle hands until she was a few steps away. She could still see Jason, but it gave the paramedics the room they needed to help him. The warm hands at her shoulders remained and she turned.
Marcus. She knew it was him and yet, the sight of him brought her tremendous relief and comfort. He was not hurt. His intense eyes settled on her, waiting for her to speak. This was new territory for him. He’d dealt with jerk boyfriends, smarmy boyfriends, cheating boyfriends.
He’d never dealt with this.
“You aren’t hurt?”
He shook his head and she nevertheless looked him over once, not quite believing him.
“Gee, I’m okay.” His calm reassurance snapped her from her examination and she nodded tightly, her heart hammering in her chest.
He flicked his eyes over her shoulder and gave a small sigh. “Come here,” he murmured, pulling her into one of his trademark hugs, squeezing her tight. Tears pricked her eyes as she melted into his arms.
“They’re ready to take him. You can go with them,” he said. Neither paid attention to the hitch of tightness in his voice. “Keep your phone on, okay?”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek before joining the stretcher that carried Jason to an awaiting ambulance. Marcus watched the scene with sad eyes. Of all the things he could keep his sister safe from, this was not one he’d even considered.
*~*
Thane sat in the back of the ambulance, his body barely able to move, the adrenaline surge he’d been functioning on for the last day finally depleted, leaving him with barely enough energy to keep his eyes open.
Jack paced a few feet away, his phone to his ear, murmuring in quiet tones, occasionally turning his eyes to Thane before back to the conversation at hand. Emily had been whisked away moments after the nightmare had ended and he’d not seen her since.
Bitterly, his gaze turned to see Jason on a stretcher being carefully placed into the back of another ambulance. He would survive and surely live to kill another day. Thane would go to prison. There was no justice.
“What happens to Morgan?” he asked as Jack ended his call. He glared at the ambulance that now pulled away from the scene. “What happens to him?”
“The Department of Justice and the FBI will look at things. The WSB will reach out to Hong Kong and see what they can do.” Jack’s tone sounded cautious, not confident. Thane shook his head.
“So basically nothing will happen to him. I’ll go to prison and he’ll get his life back.” He shook his head, his expression dark.
“One step at a time, Thane,” Jack replied firmly, not wanting to let his brother again get swallowed into the dark hole he’d just been pulled from.
Another agent approached. “Package is here,” he reported and Jack nodded his thanks.
Thane looked down at the ground and closed his eyes. “What happens to me?” His voice was softer.
“You start to heal.”
Thane lifted his head in disbelief, his eyes open and trained angrily on Jack. “Start to heal?” he sputtered. Was Jack serious?
Jack simply pulled Thane to his feet and began walking him down the lane, past the police cars and assorted vehicles littering the main dirt road to the cabin, nodding his head to passing uniformed personnel.
“Yes Thane. I’m going to help you get through this, the way I should have done months ago.”
He stopped abruptly and waved his hand to another officer at the entrance to the dirt road.
Thane turned and opened his mouth to issue another barbed question at his brother when his mouth dropped open.
Coming up the lane, guided by a young officer, was an older woman, barely 5ft tall. Her gait was careful, but confident as she waved away the hand of the officer as he attempted to help her past a rather large puddle in the path.
“Nainai,” Thane whispered as his grandmother drew closer, looking exactly as he remembered her. Soft, short grey and white hair, a demure grey jacket and dark pants and a steely gaze that latched onto his the moment she spotted him. Her pace quickened and he found himself wavering, his knees giving out. Jack gripped Thane and eased him against the hood of a nearby car.
Without preamble, without acknowledgment of anyone else, Thane’s grandmother, began to speak earnestly to Thane, a soft, but strong melodic voice that transfixed Jack, but seemed to enchant Thane. Weathered hands reached up to take his face in them and Thane seemed to melt at her touch. “Xiao hizu,” she murmured again and again and the bond between them seemed to shimmer as she spoke and Thane listened. The masks of grief, of anger and sorrow and fear slipped from him, one by one. Again she called to him.
“Xiao hizu,” before stroking his face in a loving and consoling gesture. The movement, so intimate, broke the last of the blocks that Thane had held up in place for so long. Thane’s face slowly crumpled and he bowed his head as he began to sob.
Nainai paid no mind to the wave of emotion that wracked through Thane and continued to hold his face, whispering words and occasionally speaking the only two words that Jack understood.
Xiao hizu.
Little tiger.
*~*
Cranky and pissed, Jerry winced as the stretcher trundled across the floor towards the front door. “Careful,” he grumped at the attendant as the wheels clattered against the uneven flooring, sending bolts of pain through Jerry’s body as he lay strapped in.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Tony relayed as he gathered the few possessions Jerry had on him in the cabin. Jerry’s wound was shallow and not severe. The knock his head had taken in the scuffle would do more to slow Jerry down than anything else. “Probably be out in a few days.” He placed each item into a large, clear Ziploc bag and handed it to one of the paramedics wheeling Jerry towards the ambulance.
Jerry frowned as he peered at the bag. “Where’s the phone?” he demanded. “We’re not going without my phone!”
As if on cue, a loud buzz filled the room. Jerry jerked his head. “Shut up!” he roared to the cabin full of agents talking and gathering evidence. Even in his state, Jerry commanded the room like few could and silence fell over the busy crowd. Finally, Tony located the phone under the kitchen table. It was still buzzing as Jerry held out his uninjured hand.
“Give it to me,” he said, waving his hand impatiently. A bemused smirk came over Tony as he raised his brows and instantly, Jerry wanted to throttle him.
“I’m sorry Jerry, but this is all part of the chain of evidence in an active investigation,” he began, parroting procedure in a cheerful voice.
“Fuck you, it is not you bloody gnat!” Jerry shouted. Tony nodded to the paramedics who began to cart Jerry away.
“Don’t you answer that phone Almeida! Whatever you do, do not answer any calls!” Jerry shouted; his voice growing fainter as he was bundled into a waiting ambulance.
Tony shrugged as he flicked the screen on the smartphone and cleared his throat. “Hello?”
“Jerry?” A cool, sultry voice purred into Tony’s ear.
“I’m sorry ma’am, Mr. Jacks is not able to take your call at this time. My name is Agent Almeida with CTU. Who am I speaking to?”
There was no reply as Tony heard a distinct click of the other side ending the call. Tony handed the phone to a nearby technician. “Run a trace on every call this phone has received in the last 24 hours.”
The technician nodded. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know,” Tony replied. “Some French woman.”
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