That was not even close to her skill set, but it was important that the men she was guarding not know it. So she answered in “Harriet” Parker’s cool voice. “With pleasure,” she said, then told Maddie as those distant sirens got louder, “An ambulance is on its way.”
It was then, as Pete knelt beside Dingo and administered first aid, that Shay’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket with her left hand—gun held in her right—to see that it was Izzy.
“We found a shorter route, and we’re out front,” he said. “I see Grunge’s truck, parked kinda willy-nilly, but other than that, the place looks quiet. What do you need us to do?”
“Izzy’s here,” Shay called to Peter.
“Tell him to come in,” he called back.
“Please come in. The door to the right is unlocked. We’ve secured this part of the garage,” she reported, “but we’ve got a man—Dingo—down, and two prisoners I could use some help guarding. Oh, and I think Nelson—the bad-guy boss—is going to show up in a few minutes.”
Izzy had already come inside. “I was gonna say, What’d we miss, but this story tells itself.”
“Z, help me carry Dingo outside,” Pete ordered. “Hans, take over for Shayla. Heads up, we have not yet searched those men for additional weapons. If they move, kill them.”
“Aye, aye, sir.” With a nod at Shay, the SEAL candidate named Hans took over for her.
She moved toward Maddie, who’d stepped back to let Izzy lift Dingo.
“Timebomb, make sure no one’s hiding in any of the back rooms.” Peter continued issuing commands as he and Izzy carried Dingo toward the front of the garage—it was clear this was not the first time they’d moved a badly wounded man together. “Seagull, stay close to Maddie and Shay.”
But despite the fact that her nose was still bleeding, Maddie strode to the bay door and pushed the button that opened it, so that Izzy and Peter could carry Dingo out more easily.
“Ambulance is here!” Izzy announced.
“Back rooms are clear. The garage is secure!” Timebomb called.
It didn’t take the paramedics long to get Dingo onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.
Maddie wanted to ride with him, but there wasn’t room. The paramedics were going to need all of the space possible to try to stabilize him—and the girl instinctively knew that wasn’t good news.
“We’ll follow in the truck, right behind them,” Peter promised her.
Shay handed him his keys. “I can stay here, wait for the police.”
But Peter shook his head. “Not a chance,” he said. “You’re coming with Maddie and me. Get into the truck. Z, tell the police we’ll talk to them at the hospital.”
Shayla didn’t argue or even ask for a please. She climbed in next to Maddie, who looked at her and said, “You risked your life for me.”
Hi, I’m Shayla seemed an inappropriate response, so Shay said, “It seemed like a no-brainer.”
Peter glanced at her.
“I had to do what I did,” she told him. “When you went to Plan B, I had to improvise.” She looked at Maddie. “I love your dad. And since he loves you…” She shrugged. “Dingo loves you, too. And he’s strong.”
Peter cleared his throat. “Shay’s right. I’ve seen men survive far worse injuries. Yeah, he’s lost a lot of blood, but…Dingo’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t really know that,” Maddie whispered.
“No, you’re right, I don’t,” he admitted. “But I hope that he’ll be okay. And I know for a fact that he’s gonna fight hard to stay alive. He’s got a lot to live for.”
“Sometimes that’s not enough,” Maddie whispered, and Shayla knew she was thinking about her mother.
“You’re right about that, too,” Peter agreed quietly. “Sometimes, it’s not enough. But loving someone—” he met Shayla’s eyes “—and being loved in return is always a good place to start.”
As the ambulance pulled away, they were right behind it, just as Peter had promised, all the way to the ER.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Pete didn’t get a chance to put his arms around Shayla for any length of time until Maddie went into the ladies’ room.
“I still can’t believe you did that,” he said as they stood there in the hospital hallway. “I guess I should’ve clarified that waiting in the truck applied to Plans A through Double-Z.”
“I had to bring you the gun—that you should’ve taken in there with you in the first place,” she told him. “And slinging bullshit? Making stuff up? That is my skill set.”
“Admiral Lisa Nakamura?” he asked, laughing despite himself. “In charge of Black Ops?”
“I had to say that—in case they decided to Google her and came up blank. I had a whole long backstory,” she explained. “You weren’t really Maddie’s father, you were her secret service protection, code name Dad.” She kissed him, her eyes soft, adding, “You okay?”
Pete knew that she was thinking about the man he’d shot and killed. “I am,” he said. “That probably seems strange to you. But he was a threat, and…I won’t lose sleep over him. I’m happy to talk about it, later, if you want.”
“I might want to,” she said.
He nodded. “Okay.” He glanced at the bathroom door. “We have maybe two minutes before Maddie comes back out, and I just wanted to say…Well, you scared the living fuck out of me, but I know why you did it, and…I love you, but Jesus, please, let’s never do that again.”
She nodded, too. “I definitely prefer limiting our hands-on action-adventure to our attempts to mythbust my love scenes.”
Pete smiled and pulled her close.
The bathroom door opened, and they sprang apart as Maddie came out, grim-faced and eager for news about Dingo. “Anything?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Shayla answered.
Maddie’s face tightened, but she didn’t cry. “How long does emergency surgery take? Is this normal? Why am I asking? You don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m…” She stomped away, but then turned back to glare at Pete. “You know, you can kiss her in front of me. She’s pretty freaking badass, and you might want to make sure she feels appreciated.”
As Maddie stomped back to the waiting area, Pete kissed Shay, as ordered.
“Come on.” She tugged him back toward the waiting room. “Maddie needs her dad.”
“Dark blue sedan—doing a pretty panicked U-turn at the sight of all those emergency vehicles and police cruisers.” Hans Schlossman’s voice came in over the speaker on Izzy’s phone. The tadpole was up on the roof of a building not far from the dilapidated garage where Maddie’d been held captive. “They’re heading to you.”
The police were still busy collecting evidence and locking down the crime scene, so Izzy had gotten permission—well, in truth it had been permission-ish—from one of the detectives to put Boat Squad John to work, watching and waiting for Bob Nelson, the scumbag druglord responsible for most of the pain of the past few days.
Grunge had reported that the man plus an unknown number of minions were on their way.
In the spirit of making sure that trouble wasn’t about to follow Maddie and Dingo back home to San Diego, Izzy and the boyz decided to put their talents to use to tie up that particular loose end.