Page 12 of The Deadly Shallows

Her thoughts tracked to Molly. The comms said she was arriving soon.

Zeke set the copter down. “Clear.”

The shooter moaned as she slid the bay door open. Kent’s jump team rushed forward.

“Vitals?” he asked as she raced with them for the hospital doors.

“Blood pressure is eighty over sixty, blood oxygen is stable, and heart rate sixty-seven,” she said, continuing to relay the treatment she’d performed as they rolled toward the glass sliding doors, where another rolling gurney waited. They had to make the transfer as quickly as possible to allow the other Medevacs to land.

A hand clutched her shirt before they rolled inside. She looked down at the shooter, straining to raise his head. He struggled to form words. His terror-filled eyes latched on hers, silently pleading for her to lower her head.

She leaned down.

“Gator,” he uttered barely above a choked whisper.

“What?”

“Gator,” he wheezed, then flopped back onto the stretcher.

She frowned. What on earth did gator mean?

“We need to get him into the OR stat,” Kent said, rolling him inside and making the transfer to the hospital gurney in rapid fashion.

Before she could ask the shooter what he was trying to say, what the word meant to him, Kent’s team was vanishing through the inner set of doors.

Turning, she headed back for the copter.

Zeke signaled for her to hurry. “Medevac Two’s ETA is one minute,” he said as she climbed into the copter, closing the bay door.

Medevac Two. Molly.

Dwayne’s cell rang. He looked down at the number. Saul. Everything had gone according to plan, with the notable exception of Connor’s survival. “Yeah,” he answered, hoping for the good news Connor was dead.

“He talked,” Saul said in a quiet muffle.

“I thought he was nearly dead?” he asked between gritted teeth.

“So did I, but they’re wheeling him into surgery.”

He gripped the phone tight. “Who did he talk to and what did he say?”

“To the female medic who brought him in.”

“What did he say?” he asked again, his muscles coiled tight.

“I don’t know.” Saul cleared his throat. “They were on the helipad, and I was staying out of sight as instructed, watching from the tinted window of an empty room. What do you want me to do?”

“Take the medic,” he ordered. “We need to know what Connor told her. The entire operation could be compromised. Grab her when you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Once you have her, bring her to the black site. We’ll dispose of her after we get what we need.”

In what seemed like mere minutes to Noah, the ambulance arrived at Wilmington General. He wondered how long ago Brooke had lifted back off.

Please, Father, carry Brooke through her duty today. Her heart must be breaking for her friend’s critical state. I pray for Molly, that you will be with her, and if she doesn’t pull through, welcome her home in your loving arms.

He’d barely finished his prayer when the rear ambulance doors opened. Blotny and her head surgical nurse, Mandy, stood waiting. Clearly, he spent far too much time at the hospital, being on a first-name basis with the majority of the staff.