Max called me. “I just got the news. Shane has been hit?”
“He was shanked pretty deep, at least eight inches.”
“Shit…”
“He’s in pretty bad shape. I have no idea how he got that chopper running.”
“Because you made him believe he could actually do it.”
I really hadn’t thought he could. I just didn’t know what else to do.
“What should I tell Cynthia?”
“Don’t tell her anything yet. She can’t get down here anyway, so…let’s just wait it out.”
“Fuck, I hope he’s alright.”
“Me too.”
“You hit the target?” he asked.
“Yeah…” That didn’t seem important anymore. The money we would gain from this operation didn’t seem important either. I just wanted my friend to be alright.
“Vanessa is okay. She went to dinner with her parents and then hung out at her apartment for a little while. Now she’s back at your place.”
I didn’t care about Vanessa right now. I knew she could take care of herself as long as she didn’t do anything stupid. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her.”
“She’s a bit of a handful.”
“Why do you think I like her so much?”
Max didn’t chuckle. “Are you hurt?”
“A few scratches and bruises. Nothing serious.”
“Well, that’s good. Let me know when you hear anything about Shane.”
“I will.”
We hung up and I continued to sit there. Shane wasn’t just my comrade, but my friend. Losing him would cause more pain than I could handle. This hitman business was clean and simple. We took out bad guys that shouldn’t be alive anyway. But these high-level operations were too advanced for our small team. Next time I saw Max in person, I would tell him we had to stick to smaller projects because we simply didn’t have the manpower. It didn’t matter how much the job paid. Vanessa was right—it wasn’t worth it.
A few hours later, I got some news.
They stopped the bleeding and gave Shane a blood transfusion. He was stable and getting some rest.
I could return home whenever I wanted, but I wasn’t leaving until Shane came with me.
I got on the phone with Max. “The doctor says he’ll be fine. He lost a lot of blood, but they cleaned him up pretty good. He’ll need to stay still for a day or so before we can move him. So I guess you can tell Cynthia.”
“Alright…she’s gonna be pissed.”
“No surprise there.” If I’d been mortally wounded and I couldn’t move for a while, Vanessa would be pissed too.
“You want to come back now, and I’ll fly out there?”
“No,” I said quickly. “I’ll stay with him until he’s ready to move.”
“Are you sure? You must be tired.”
“I’m not leaving him behind.” I’d stay by Shane’s side until we returned together. We were partners in battle as well as out.
“I understand. Maybe you should call Vanessa. She’s been at your place for the last few days. Hasn’t gone anywhere.”
Now that I was out of danger, I didn’t see the harm. “Alright.”
“You want me to tell her you’re going to call from a private number?”
“No. She’ll know it’s me.” I hung up then dialed her number into the phone. My phone couldn’t be traced by location, and it didn’t actually have a number. The signal was connected to a group of twenty different satellites that showed my location on twenty different spots around the globe, so it was impossible to figure out exactly where I was.
It rang a few times before she answered. “Hello?”
I didn’t say anything, just treasuring the sound of her pretty voice. I hadn’t heard it in almost a week, and now that it was in my ears again, it reminded me of quiet nights when she asked me to make love to her.
She somehow knew it was me. “Bones?”
“Hey, baby,” I whispered.
She breathed a loud sigh into the phone, the relief heavy in her voice. “You’re alright…?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, thank god. I’ve been losing my mind over here.”
I got hard thinking about her concern, imagining my woman walking around my place in one of my t-shirts, counting down the hours until I was back in her arms again. Having a woman care whether I lived or died was innately sexy. It made me wish I was coming home tonight, that I would walk in the door and immediately sink between her legs.
“Will you be home tonight?”
“No…I’ll be here for a few more days.”
Her silence carried her devastation.
“Shane was stabbed. He needs to recover a bit before we travel.”
“Is he going to be okay?” she whispered.
“Yeah. He was hit pretty bad and I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it, but he pulled through.”
“Oh god…what about you?”
“Just a few bruises.”
“Good…did you finish what you were supposed to do?”
“Yes. It’s over.”
“It’s not over until you’re home.”
I loved the way she said home. Because we had a home together, even if she hadn’t officially moved in with me. “I’ll let you know when I leave.”