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Mac blinked. Something was running into her eye. Water? The explosion must have set off the sprinklers. Was she getting wet?
“Tac, you, okay?” Cass started taking roll call.
“Yeah. Had my bell rung pretty good, but I’m okay.”
“Cain?” As she called the roll, Cass’s voice seemed to be coming from so far away.
There was a string of curses, and then Cain appeared at the edge of Mac’s vision. He was leaning against the wall. “I’m okay.”
“Koa?”
“Yo,” came the echoey response.
“Dane?” Cass finally called.
Mac waited for the response. Her heart hammered against her ribcage. He had to be okay. He couldn’t have gotten hurt because of her. She closed her eyes for a second and said a prayer.Come on, Dane, say something.
“BP’s a little high, but she should be fine. Slight concussion.” Dane’s voice reached her ears. He sounded strong. That’s when she realized she was moving. She opened her eyes. He was walking next to her. She was on a stretcher of some kind. She tried to sit up.
“No. Stay down. You have to go to the hospital and get checked out.”
“You’re…” What did she mean to say? Concentrating was hard. Oh yeah… “You’re okay?”
He nodded. His clothes were dusty, and a blood smear marred the sharp edge of one cheek, but he seemed to be moving okay. She blinked to clear her head, but even that sent a stabbing pain through her brain. She left her eyes shut. Whoever was carrying her moved her to a gurney and then the sensation of rolling along dizzied her. Her body stopped, and she cracked one eye to find she’d reached the back doors of the ambulance. The strobing blue light was too much, and bile rose up her throat. She gave herself a stern talking-to.You arenotgoing to be sick. Don’t you flipping dare.
“What happened?”Good Christ, was that weak, limp voice hers?
“I’ll explain later. Now you’re going to the hospital. Cass is going with you.” Dane laid his hand on her arm. “We’ve alerted your people. I’m sure they will meet you there. You need to tell them that Cass isn’t leaving your side. She’s your protective detail. Got it?”
She started to nod but stopped as pain erupted like Diamond Head. “Yeah, got it.”
Cass appeared next to Dane. “I’ve got her.”
“Don’t leave her side for anything. I don’t give a shit who orders it, copy?”
“Roger that. I’ve got her.” Cass hopped in as the EMTs pushed Mac into the ambulance.
“Wait,” she said, but no one listened. She wanted to stay. What the hell had happened? Why would Probert want to blow her up? None of it made any sense. “Dane,” she called, but they closed the ambulance doors. “Shit. I need to be there.”
Cass stared at her. “You need to get checked out. You took a hell of a knock. Your head must be killing you. Don’t worry. The guys are on it. I’m here to keep you safe.” She patted her hand on Mac’s arm. “We’ve got you.”
Mac glanced up and saw the seriousness of what Cass was saying. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. Dane was okay. She was okay. It would all be okay. Cass was there to protect her.But why did she need protecting in the first place? Who would want to kill her?
* * *
Dane fisted his hands as he watched the ambulance pull out of the parking lot. He’d almost lost it when he found Mac lying under a bunch of debris with blood pouring out of a head wound and dripping into one eye. His heart stuttered as he recalled his terror at the first sight of her.
“It’s not your fault,” Koa said as he came up to stand beside Dane. “You couldn’t have known.”
“She was in the wrong spot. I should’ve moved her.”
“Bullshit. She was standing by her neighbor’s door when we got into position. She must’ve moved so she could see better. It was stupid, and a mistake, but it wasn’t yours.”
Koa could preach that all he wanted, but it didn’t make Dane feel any less responsible.
Cain walked over. “She’s gonna be fine. Come on, let’s check out what’s left of the apartment. The fire department just gave us the all-clear.”
They took the stairs two at a time. It was hard to believe he’d walked up those stairs only a few hours ago. They’d come so close to going into Mac’s apartment. They would have been dead, both of them, if they’d opened the door at that moment.
