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As soon as the ramp closed, a deafening noise exploded against her ear drums. She quickly put in the plugs.
“Seatbelt,” he growled, but she looked at him like she was submerged in a pool of water, and everything was muffled. With an exasperated look on his face, he reached over and buckled it for her.
Not a moment too soon. There was more roaring, and the plane shot down the runway, then lifted into the air. She leaned into Shark to keep herself steady as acceleration tossed her sideways. The smell of jet fuel filled the air, and she felt queasy.
She swallowed hard, clenching her teeth. Once they were in the air and hit their cruising altitude, the engine noise abated a bit, and a steady flow of cool, clean air purged the last of the fuel vapor from the fuselage.
“Good job not throwing up,” Twister said, holding in his hands a barf bag, a small kit, and another bottle of water. “The takeoffs can be a little rough in one of these.” He crouched down in front of her. “How are you feeling?”
She smiled. “A little embarrassed, but better. Thank you.” She looked over at Easy, who was now resting comfortably. His breathing was even and ice packs were on his face and over his ravaged knuckles.
Twister smiled. “Never be embarrassed by strong emotions for someone, ma’am. He’s worth it.” He handed her another bottle of water and a tablet. “Something to help with sleeping, and the pain. I’m going to be Captain Obvious here: you need rest,” he said wryly.
She smiled.
When she didn’t move, he said pointedly, “Fluids…”
She blinked back tears and nodded, unscrewing the cap and taking the pill with a swallow of water.
“May I?” he asked as he held up a small flashlight.
She nodded and he flashed the light in and out of her eyes. Seemingly satisfied with those results, he took a blood pressure cuff from the kit and fit it to her arm, pumped, inserted a stethoscope against the crook of her elbow, and listened intently. “Still elevated, but I’ll check again later. That pill will help to calm you.”
He prepared the tools he needed to treat her. He gave her an injection. She stared at Easy the whole time Twister put the stitches in her arm. She barely felt them.
Tex and a bald man with shoulders broader than Easy’s released their seatbelts and walked over to her. “Ma’am, let me formally introduce myself. I’m Lieutenant Michael Penn, Easy’s CO as you know. This is Senior Master Chief Angelo Zane.”
“Ma’am,” Bondo said with a nod. “We’re happy to have you both back.”
“How is he?” she asked hoarsely, her focus going to Twister, then back to them. It was the only question she wanted answered right now. She blinked as her eyes stung. She straightened away from Shark. God, she was getting so fed up with herself. She hated women who cried over everything, and she hated the fact that she had become one of those women. She’d been reduced to tears more times in the past week than she had in her entire life.
“Stable. Twister is keeping him unconscious. He has cracked ribs, a gunshot wound, and some contusions, lacerations, and most likely a concussion.”
She nodded, taking the information in. “Where are we going?”
“To Washington DC. Easy is going to Walter Reed and you are going to the State Department.”
Shark undid his belt and said, “Can I get you more power bars?” There was some tension in him. It seemed to radiate between him and Twister. She wondered about that.
She nodded. “Yes, two please. Thank you.”
He disappeared. She faced Tex. “State Department?”
“Yes, once we found out that you were kidnapped under false pretenses, perpetuated by three of your company executives, the State Department wanted to talk to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your executives conspired with foreign nationals, putting Navy SEALs in jeopardy and interfering with our mission to extract you from Venezuela. In the course of that extraction, a DSS agent, Brian Cole was murdered.” He glanced at the coffin and her throat got even tighter. All these men had risked their lives for her, and Brian Cole had made the final sacrifice. She was overwhelmed by not only her deep gratitude, but by her patriotism. She couldn’t believe what Mitchum, Kyle, and Ray had done—playing with lives with no consideration for the consequences of their actions, as if they were above the law. They disgusted her. “They will be facing many federal charges, least of which is conspiring to kidnap, attempted rape, and murder of a US civilian. The attorney general would like to talk to you.”
“And my family?”
“You can contact them as soon as we get you to DC. There will be a rep and she’ll take care of you and get you to some comfortable accommodations, connect you with your family, and get you to your meeting.”
Shark came back with several power bars. Bondo said, “Get some sleep, Miss. Devers.”
“Oh, please, call me Astraea.” She was shocked that those words had come out of her mouth, but her first name sounded so good. ShewasAstraea.
* * *
