Page 141 of Last Chance
“Enough with the mushy stuff,” Max complained. “Get a move on already. If we don’t leave soon, I’ll be late for a date with my wife.”
Laughter sounded over the comm device. Sawyer smiled. “Max is complaining that we’re taking too long. He has a date with Willow.”
“Not to mention the law enforcement officials about to descend on us,” Brody said dryly. “I’d rather skip that part of the program. We’ll have to deal with the feds eventually, but I want to do it on our turf, not here.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re moving.” Sawyer helped Janie to her feet and swept her into his arms.
“I can walk,” she protested. “You must hurt after being shot.”
Jesse stopped him. “Where were you hit?”
“Vest. Only a bruise. I’ll live.” Janie was hurting and there was no need for her to suffer if he could prevent it. “I need to hold you, Janie. Let me.”
Her arms tightened around his neck. “I love you, Sawyer.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“Get a move on,” Logan groused. “Save the mush for later.”
First step was to get Janie out of these woods before law enforcement stopped them. Second, Sawyer needed to have her checked out by a doctor he trusted. That meant a trip to Nashville. “Brody, have the helo pilot meet us at the landing zone. I want the doc on duty at Fortress to check Janie.”
“Jesse?”
“I agree. We need to make sure she doesn’t have internal injuries or fractures. Reyes was rough on her.”
“I’m fine,” Janie protested. “But Sawyer should see a doctor.”
“I’ll see the doctor if you will,” Sawyer said.
“Dirty pool, Chapman.”
“Deal with it, Moran. Besides, we need to do as much as we can to reduce the swelling and bruising on your face before your brother sees you. Otherwise, he’ll think I’m responsible for your injuries.”
“David,” she murmured. “How will I tell him Maria is responsible for his injuries and mine?”
“Lead off with ‘you’re a lucky man, David,’” he suggested. If Maria had roamed free for much longer, she would have asked someone to finish the job of making her a widow.
“Good plan.” She kissed his jaw. “David will need help to recover, love.”
“Let’s make sure you’re all right first, then we’ll tackle the rest of it, one step at a time. We’ll handle everything together.”
CHAPTER 33
FBI AGENT LAYTON Saunders glared at Sawyer and the rest of the Texas Team. “You should have waited for us to arrive on scene before you left. You used to be cops and know how law enforcement works. We have to interview witnesses and victims as soon as possible or they lose details.” He jabbed a finger at Sawyer. “You’re lucky I don’t arrest you for interfering with an investigation.”
“You’d have to arrest all of us,” Brody said. “We put Janie’s health and safety above everything else.”
“If you arrest my team, you’ll make an enemy of Fortress.” Brent’s eyes blazed with fury. “Do you really want that?”
Saunders’s partner, Heath Lowell, frowned at Saunders. “You’re wasting your breath, Layton. You know as well as I do Fortress is President Martin’s choice for off-the-books missions. If you want to go through all the channels to bring this to his attention, you’re on your own.”
“They broke the law,” Saunders fumed. “They’re cowboys.”
“Maybe. They also gave us Diego Hernandez wrapped in a bow along with his whole inner circle, and more information and proof is coming in every hour. We have enough to shut down the entire organization.”
“We don’t even know how they got their information.”
“Do you care? I don’t.” Lowell turned back to Sawyer. “Start from the top. Once we finish with you and your team, you’re free to go. We’ll interview Ms. Moran as soon as the doctor is finished with her.”