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One of the five Team Guys confronted Lipori, giving him a moment’s distraction as he turned without his coconspirators behind him, and Harper took the shot. In the millisecond before he pulled the trigger, there was silence. And then they all heard it.
“One giant kill for all mankind,” he said.
Chapter 18
Lydia didn’t getto see Harper for almost a half an hour, as the Team gathered their things and made arrangements for transportation of the bodies and the patient. She would find out later that Sally had been knocked around a bit, the last blow so hard it left her unconscious. But she awakened later with a splitting headache, and they suspected a concussion. She had been bound and gagged and thrown in the same room as Gordon and Brandon, who had been chained and handcuffed. After being freed, Harper told her the worst injury was pulling the duct tape from their eyes and their mouths. Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt.
Lydia knew she was going to need to spend time with Sally. It had been such a harrowing experience, and Lydia knew how disoriented and how unstable her mental state was going to be.
When he walked through the door, Harper was sweaty and dirty from riding the ATV across the hill, over five miles. He was covered in grass stains, mud, and blood. He had cuts on his arms and fingers, having taken most of the brunt of it, being the driver. The rest of his guys were either on the miniscule flatbed in the way back or the second seat behind him.
She ran to him and swung her arms around him, sweat and all.
“I was so worried this time, but I knew you would be okay. I knew you were going to get there in time.”
Exhausted, he’d leaned into her to accept the weight of her body and shook his head, dropping his bags and equipment. Someone quickly took his M3. Still clutching her with one arm, he attempted to unload his vest and then gave up. But he was still holding her tight against him.
Greg brought him a glass of ice water, which he downed in one long swig.
“It was close. That was really close.”
The group reacted with a combination of hooyahs and favorite swear words.
“I’ll never underestimate these guys again. What was I thinking?” he said this to the entire room, not just Lydia. His heart was beating fast, and she didn’t want to cling too fiercely to him, so she let herself slip away to give him space to remove his vest.
The room suddenly became celebratory. They were gladhanding and shaking each other, slapping backs, and feeling good about the whole saga. Gordon and Brandon were welcomed as conquering heroes.
Paramedics arrived to take Sally to the hospital for a much-needed check up and asked if there was anyone else who also needed to go. Lydia asked Harper if she could accompany her. Of course, he gave his permission. She ran out to the rescue van and sat beside her neighbor.
Sally was also bloody, had a bruise above her left eye, and a cut on her forearm. She was wrapped in an orange blanket, holding a bottle of water.
“Hey there. Want some company?”
“Sure. Always room for more. You know, I thought I kind of liked doing all this. I think I’m second-guessing that now, Lydia. What do you think?”
“Let me put it this way, Sally. I don’t think any of those deadbeat dads you see in court are going to stand a chance against you now. I mean, look what you’ve done!”
Sally leaned back with a cackle. It felt so good to hear her laugh.
“You know, that man of yours, he is one in a million, Lydia. If you ever dump him, I’m going to cross my own boundary and go after him my goddamn self. Don’t you ever let that guy get out of your sight for a minute. He’s worth all the heartache and pain, anything he could ever do to you in the future.”
Lydia knew that was certainly true. She would forgive him for anything the rest of his life.
With one exception. She would never forgive him dying on the job.
The hospital x-rayedSally, and luckily, she didn’t have a skull fracture, nor did it appear she had a concussion. But she would be sore for several days. No stitches required, just some cleaning and butterfly strips. Her chest x-ray was clear as well. She’d been shoved around, but no ribs were broken. It did not appear she had any internal bleeding.
The doctor came over to Lydia and flashed his light in her eyes. She moved him aside with a frown.
“No, Doctor, I wasn’t a hostage. I was just there. I was just part of the team back home, all safe and sound.”
“Let me hear your heart,” he insisted and placed the stethoscope against her chest and whistled. “Your heart’s racing like a freight train. You sure you don’t need to be checked out further? Chest x-ray?”
“No, I’m fine. Really.”
“Humor me. I’m going to check to see what your iron counts are, because you look a little pale to me. You’ve been sick lately? Do you get anemic?”
She remembered the couple of instances of being sick to her stomach, but the last two days, she’d felt fine.
