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"That's fine. I usually wear it up when I'm working. What about the bug?"
Jonah handed her a tiny silver piece of metal about the size of a quarter with an adhesive back that would attach to any surface. "You can put this anywhere," he told her. "It will pick up sound within six to eight feet of its placement, which should cover a medical office."
"Sounds easy enough." She slipped the transmitter into the pocket of her black slacks and stood up. "If we're done, I should get to work."
"Let's go."
After dropping Rachel at her car and then following her to the hospital and watching her get safely inside, Tyler drove to the safe house in Brooklyn. When he entered, he was shocked to see more than one member of his former team sitting in the living room with Jack. Along with Gary, who had spent the night with Jack, and Evan, who had come back for his shift, was TJ, who was a real surprise.
"What is going on here?" he asked.
"We're supporting Jack," Evan said with an easy smile.
"I can see that." He could also see that Jack was looking better. In fact, his hair was damp, suggesting that he'd recently had a shower. He had on different clothes, too, which he assumed belonged to one of the other guys. "The location of this safe house is supposed to be a secret."
"We won't tell anyone," Gary said with a grin. "Man, it's good to have us all in one place again. Still missing Josh and Connor, but this was our core group."
"I don't know why you're all here," Jack cut in, his gaze moving to TJ. "I don't really deserve this kind of support."
The group fell quiet at his words. Then TJ leaned forward and said, "I came because you're my brother, Jack. And I've been holding a grudge against you for a long time. But when Evan told me what was happening to you, I couldn't not come. What happened the last time I was with you does not define our entire relationship, and to be honest, I'm not completely sure that what happened that day was all your fault. I probably should have said that a long time ago, but I've been angry for so long that I needed someone to put the blame on."
"I get it," Jack said with a nod. "I made mistakes that day. You paid the price. And you don't need to be here."
"I want to be here," TJ said. "There is a slight chance that I also made a mistake that day. Or maybe we just had bad luck. What's important now is that someone is trying to hurt one of us, and we have never stood by and let that happen without a fight. I'm here for the battle, one leg and all."
Jack looked as emotional as Tyler had ever seen him, and he had a lot of feelings about what TJ had said as well. He'd been holding a grudge, too. And now that seemed not just wrong but ridiculous. They had had far more good days than bad, and they were brothers. They had always protected each other as best they could. Maybe Jack had been the wrong choice for a leader, but he hadn't deliberately tried to get anyone hurt; he just hadn't had the same instincts that Evan had had.
"The question is how do we fight?" Gary asked. "What can we do to help?"
"I don't know. We're trying to compile enough evidence to get a search warrant for Waverly Health, but we don't have enough yet. We're hoping to get more today."
"What happened with Megan?" Jack asked, his voice sounding stronger.
It was that strength that made him decide to tell the truth. Hopefully, Jack was stable enough to hear bad news. If not, he had his team around him.
"Megan was stabbed yesterday in her apartment. Rachel and I got there right after it happened. We didn't see who did it. Rachel probably saved Megan's life, but she's still in critical condition."
"She's alive then," Jack said, his eyes grim.
"So far. She asked if you were alive. She said if you were, she wanted you to know she was sorry. She didn't know how far they were going with the intensive treatment. When she started to figure out what was going on, she tried to warn you."
"But I wouldn’t listen, because I was desperate to get better." Jack turned to Evan. "You always told me never to make a decision out of fear. I certainly didn't follow that advice."
"You had your reasons," Evan said quietly. "I also told all of you that the only way we survive is to keep moving forward. That's what we need to do now."
"I agree," he said. "Hopefully, Megan will wake up and give us the evidence we need. In the meantime, we're trying to find it elsewhere."
"What can we do?" TJ asked.
He thought for a moment. "Talk to as many veterans as we can. See if anyone else has been to Waverly."
"I have some contacts through my work at West Point," Evan said.
"And I play basketball with some vets," Gary put in. "I can reach out."
"I know a lot of people at the federal VA," TJ interjected. "I've done some treatment there since moving to New York. I'll ask around."
"Good. We also need to figure out where Jack was taken." He turned to Jack. "You said it was a warehouse by the river, but that doesn't narrow it down much. You also told me you walked for hours before ending up at the laundromat where I found you. That could mean you went in circles or walked a long distance."