Dead Centre - Andy McNab [143]
I looked at her, waiting for more.
Her hands were now gripping mine.
‘They need to make sure the baby isn’t damaged.’ Tears ran down her cheeks. ‘I’m three months pregnant, Nicholas …’
It was like I’d pulled ten Gs in a fast jet. My arse pushed down into the seat. My whole body felt like I was getting rammed through the floor.
‘Everything’s OK, Nicholas. I just have to rest, and get checked out again in a few days. It’s just that until I get the all-clear I can’t move.’
The family the other side of the partition were led away down the hall. I heard a trolley rattle into the room.
‘That’s good. That’s good …’
She kissed my cheek. Her breath was rancid. I was sure she’d thought the same when I kissed her. Her hands brought my head onto her chest. ‘I was so worried about you.’ She stroked my hair.
Eventually I summoned up the courage to put a hand on her stomach, so gently it was hardly touching. I moved it carefully, like I was expecting something to be there apart from the wound dressing. What the fuck did I know?
‘Nicholas, I’ve been really worried about how you’d take the news. I wasn’t sure how you’d react. We haven’t been together for long and—’
‘Why did you stay out here in this condition?’
‘My grandmother gave birth to all her children while working in the wheat fields.’ She tried to laugh. ‘Stupid, I know. But I guess it was because I knew this had to be my last foreign job.’ She managed a lopsided smile. ‘I’ve got responsibilities now …’
I grinned back. ‘Sounds like I have too.’
I thought of Mong, of Tracy and of Stefan. Maybe it was the end of an era after all. A new one had just begun.
She held my face in her hands and I kept on staring at her and smiling.
Then she looked at me more seriously. ‘Have you finished Crime and Punishment?’
I pulled a guilty face. ‘I’ve got to tell you – these classics are doing my head in. I keep telling everybody who asks me that I’m reading it, but you know what? I’m even having trouble with the cheat notes.’
She kissed my head and then gave it a big slap.
I stood and held her close, until long after the old woman was wheeled away and another casualty was brought in to replace her.
About the Author
Andy McNab joined the infantry as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was ‘badged’ as a member of 22 SAS Regiment and was involved in both covert and overt special operations worldwide.
During the Gulf War he commanded Bravo Two Zero, a patrol that, in the words of his commanding officer, ‘will remain in regimental history for ever’. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army’s most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He wrote about his experiences in three books: the phenomenal bestseller Bravo Two Zero, Immediate Action and Seven Troop.
He is the author of the bestselling Nick Stone thrillers. Besides his writing work, he lectures to security and intelligence agencies in both the USA and UK. He is a patron of the Help for Heroes campaign.
Also by Andy McNab
Novels featuring Nick Stone
REMOTE CONTROL
CRISIS FOUR
FIREWALL
LAST LIGHT
LIBERATION DAY
DARK WINTER
DEEP BLACK
AGGRESSOR
RECOIL
CROSSFIRE
BRUTE FORCE
EXIT WOUND
ZERO HOUR
Andy McNab with Kym Jordan
WAR TORN
Quick Reads
THE GREY MAN
LAST NIGHT ANOTHER SOLDIER
Non-fiction
BRAVO TWO ZERO
IMMEDIATE ACTION
SEVEN TROOP
SPOKEN FROM THE FRONT
For more information on Andy McNab and his books, see his website at www.andymcnab.co.uk
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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First published in Great Britain
in 2011 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Andy McNab 2011
Andy McNab has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living