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“No chance, luv.” Heath waved to a paramedic who opened the back door of the ambulance. “You’ve got a date with the ER.”
Harper’s mouth firmed in a mutinous line. Too bad. Seth shook his head. “Cop’s orders.”
“You can travel up front if you wish.” The female paramedic offered as she readied the gurney.
“He wishes,” Harper replied, her gaze daring him to say no.
“Sure.” Seth walked up to the ambulance and gently lowered Harper to the gurney. He needed to check in with his brothers before they left, but he couldn’t ask the paramedics to wait.
“How long before you leave?” He asked the male paramedic as the guy opened one of their kits.
“We’ll do a full assessment, likely start an IV.” The first responder glanced over Seth’s shoulder to the men gathered together and back to Seth. “Don’t worry, I’ll give a shout when we’re ready.” Harper gave him a tiny wave then gave her attention to the first responders.
“Thanks.” Seth nodded.
He walked to Heath, catching his brother by the arm. “You okay? Do I need to plead your case so you don’t get your arse handed to you by your Captain?” Heath had risked his career allowing them to stage the rescue.
“No, Randall and McNally have already assured Cap we’d run out of time, and Dillon was about to play another round of roulette.” Heath’s gaze fell to the cracked pavement at his feet. “I can’t reconcile the man in that warehouse to the one we’ve considered family for the last thirteen years.”
“But he wasn’t.” Adam’s moved up beside him. “He never thought of himself as our brother. Fair enough. Doesn’t take away from the fact Aurora gave us a home, a name and loved us.”
Seth heard Adam’s words, but he also saw his brother worked hard to swallow the pain. He reached out and squeezed Adam’s shoulder.
No matter what Dillon had done today, he’d been their brother. They’d loved him. And Adam, and likely Heath, had been forced to shoot him.
“I’m guessing you have another brother who’s more than earned his place today.” Zach glanced over his shoulder at Lincoln, who was answering questions from a plainclothes officer.
“You planned for him to take the shot, didn’t you?” Seth asked Adam.
“From the moment we stormed that warehouse, one of two things was going to happen.” Adam said. “Either Dillon would kill Harper, or we’d take him out. Our best bet was either me or Lincoln taking the kill shot.” He raised one shoulder then let it drop. “Lincoln’s a sniper in the SAS. I didn’t have to ask him. He knew his mission the moment he scouted the warehouse, and he completed it without first debating if doing so would get him in your good books.”
“So you like him?” Praise from Adam? Now that was a rare commodity.
“Jesus, we shared twenty minutes. It’s not like we’re dating.”
Seth huffed a tired laugh as Zach rolled his eyes. Adam’s dry humor managed to lighten the sadness and regret that weighed over them all, if only for a few seconds.
“Adam,” a male voice called out. They all looked past a group of police to see Agent Tollison striding toward them.
“Leave this to me,” Adam cut the man off a few feet from Seth and steered him to the side.
Seth glanced back at the ambulance then to Heath. “I need to have a word with Lincoln. Can you call Nitro, let him know what’s happened?”
“Consider it done.” Heath pulled out his phone.
Lincoln was finishing up with the officer when Seth drew near. His younger brother nodded toward the ambulance. “How’s Harper?”
“Okay, considering. She’s agreed to endure a visit to the ER.” Seth’s smile dissolved as he searched for the right words. “Lincoln, you’ll never know how grateful I am for what you did today.” He cleared his throat as the last few words came out in a thicker, rougher voice.
His younger brother held out his hand. “Maybe we can have a beer sometime soon.”
And just like that, it came so easy. Seth grabbed Lincoln in a hug. His eyes burned as his brother returned the gesture. Seventeen years. Seth breathed deep as he let go of a mountain of heartache. The past needed to be exactly that, behind them both. He and Lincoln had gone too long without having each other in their lives.
With a slap on the back, Seth let go. “We’re heading to the hospital. Why don’t you follow with the guys?”
“I can do that.” Lincoln walked with him over to the rest of his brothers.
Seth gave each of them a hug, exchanged more manly slaps on the back and received promises to catch up at the hospital or by phone, depending on the red tape Heath would be swamped in. Seth ran to the ambulance and climbed in the front passenger seat. The male paramedic nodded as he closed his door.
