The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [2]
And now Drake was dying a slow, agonizing death. He had finally gotten his death wish, but Ashton refused to give up on his trusted friend, a man who had been there for him in some of the toughest times. A man who, on more than one occasion, had saved his life. He, Drake and Trevor were as close as any blood brothers could be.
Ashton checked his watch. Trevor had left to go take a shower and would return in about an hour or so. Both he and Trevor had decided that no matter what, they would remain with Sir Drake until the end. Knowing what doctors said about comatose patients retaining their ability to hear in some situations, Ashton sat down in the chair next to the bed and started off by talking in the only way he knew how to the rough and tough former marine-straightforward, blunt and to the point.
"Damn you, Sir Drake, you jaded ass, what the hell were you trying to prove in Tikrit? You should have waited for backup instead of doing your own thing. It's a wonder you didn't get your damn head blown off instead of just a few bullets in your hide. What if I hadn't had a vision and knew just where to find you?" he asked harshly, thanking God for the special gift he had inherited from his blend of Cherokee Indian and African-American heritages.
Ashton's voice then softened. "If I didn't know better I'd take things personal and believe you're trying to get out of being godfather to my sons-trying to pass the responsibility off on Trev."
Ashton smiled when he thought of his wife Nettie who was back in Houston and presently pregnant with triplets. It had been two months since he'd left her to go to Iraq to join the Special Forces. Instead of flying out of Baghdad to return to Texas, he had flown to D.C. to check on Drake.
"Nettie is doing fine with three more months before delivery time. You ought to see how beautiful and radiant she is, pregnant with my sons. And she'll expect you at the christening a couple of months after the babies are born, so you'd better get yourself together."
He shifted in his seat. "I guess I'll bring you up to date on all the babies that were born since we last spoke. Clayton and Syneda had a daughter who they named Remington. Jake and Diamond had a son who they named Granite. Kyle and Kimara had what everyone hopes is their final child, another son; and Dex and Caitlin had a son who they named Gregory Jonathan Halston Madaris, which I thought was a hell of a lot of names for one kid."
He smiled and shrugged. "Then I remembered Trev's son's-Rio Maurice Nathan Grant-is quite a mouthful. And speaking of Trev, he's also here. He went back to die hotel to shower, but will be back soon. Oh, and his sister Gina got back with her ex-husband Mitch, and they're expecting so Trev's parents are excited at the idea of becoming grandparents again. And I may as well hit you with this shocker," he said chuckling. "Corinthians's brother, yeah, Senator Joshua Avery, the pain in everybody's ass, finally did something right when he used his connections to have you flown immediately back to the States instead of being treated in an Iraqi hospital. So remember mat bit of redeeming quality the next time you see Avery and want to beat the crap out of him. But that act of kindness doesn't change anything with Trev. Joshua is still on his shit list."
Ashton settled comfortably in the chair and continued talking, hoping mat Sir Drake was listening and praying that somehow, he was being pulled back into the land of me living.
The mysterious figure hesitated just out of reach of Drake Warren's door, not expecting to find a marine sentry posted there. The marine quickly glanced at the name tag on the doctor's jacket and snapped to attention as he stepped aside. "Colonel Chadwick."
"At ease. I'm here to see the patient." "Yes, Colonel, but he has a visitor." Dr. Chadwick raised a brow. "At this hour?" "Colonel Ashton Sinclair has been in the room for over four hours."
Colonel Ashton Sinclair? He was supposed to be in Baghdad! This bit of news