Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks [136]
“Rest now, baby,” he whispered against her brow. He didn’t want to drain any of her flagging strength by speaking telepathically to her. She was so fragile and infinitely precious. So very precious to him. “We’re going home. I’m taking you home, where you’ll get better. I’ll take care of you. I’ll be with you every minute of the day, and we’ll put our demons to rest together.”
She seemed to relax and he cradled her close, tucking her head underneath his chin. Her breathing evened out, and he sensed for the first time that she was actually resting.
Donovan pushed his way through Sam and Garrett and squatted beside the chair where Nathan sat. “You’re getting this whether you want it or not. If we control your pain, we control hers. You both need rest, so don’t fight the effects.”
Nathan didn’t offer any protest. His side was screaming, and for Shea, he’d do whatever it took to make her more comfortable.
When Donovan was finished, he stood and told the others to prepare for takeoff. Nathan remained where he was while the others took their seats and belted in.
The drug didn’t take long to take effect. His muscles seemed to uncoil and he relaxed as the pain’s edge was tempered. He held Shea tightly as the jet taxied down the runway and then lifted off.
Home. To Tennessee. He was bringing Shea home. He just hoped to hell that she trusted him enough to stay.
He dozed lightly, Shea’s warmth as soothing as the drug that Donovan had given him. His eyes flew open when he heard footsteps.
Sam, Garrett, Joe and Swanny came through and sat on the couch and the other armchair.
“Is she doing any better?” Sam asked in a low voice.
“She’s resting,” Nathan said. “Really resting.” He glanced down at her eyelashes resting on her cheeks and his chest tightened all over again. “They broke her. Whatever they did, they broke her.”
“Bullshit,” Joe said. “She’s down but she’s not out. I don’t believe for a fucking minute that they completely broke her. She saw you through hell. She’s fierce. She’ll be okay.”
Nathan smiled at his brother’s staunch assessment of Shea.
“I’ve spoken to Resnick,” Sam said. “Things are a mess right now. A lot of fingerpointing. A lot of denial. He’s collecting evidence before it can be destroyed.”
“What about Grace?” Nathan asked quietly.
Sam shook his head. “No one knows. She wasn’t there. Resnick’s putting out his feelers. Rio hasn’t reported in, which means he’s turned up nothing yet. My guess is she’s lying low somewhere.”
Nathan tried to control the rise of anger. Where the fuck was Grace? How could she leave her sister when Shea needed her the most? How could she just fall out of contact when the two sisters were so deeply connected?
He knew his anger was unreasonable. There could be any number of reasons why Grace wasn’t communicating with Shea. But right now Shea needed to be surrounded with people who loved her. She needed her sister.
“Resnick feels like they’ve been unable to locate Grace and were focusing for now on Shea,” Sam continued.
“Who is they?” Joe demanded. “Do we even know who the hell is behind this? It’s pretty damn hard to fight a nameless, faceless enemy. Those bunch of damn science nerds aren’t the masterminds of this. They’re following orders. Even the security was lame. Someone is fronting the money and the manpower. The question is who and why?”
“That’s just it,” Sam said. “Everyone is denying involvement. We have to face the possibility that we’ll never know. I don’t fully trust Resnick. His ass is on the line. He won’t be completely honest with us unless it suits his purposes.”
“Do you believe that shit about why he took Shea?” Nathan asked. “Do we have any proof that he didn’t make everything up so I didn’t kill him?”
“How would we ever know differently?” Garrett asked.
“Let’s put nerd boy on it,” Joe said. “There isn’t info Van can’t find when he wants it.”
Garrett chuckled. “I wouldn’t let him hear you say that. He’ll kick your scrawny little ass. He’s got moves that I don’t think there are names for.”
“What about those two Russian scientists