Page 54 of Her Faithful Protector

“He was wrecked. He needs to sleep. He’d been up almost the entire time I was missing. I need to be here and see how Jan is doing,” the kid said emphatically. Nic couldn’t blame him. He looked down at his watch again. Cami had been in surgery for three hours now, what in the hell was taking so long?

“Nic Hale?” A tall blond man walked into the waiting room. Nic looked over at him. He didn’t know him, but he knew him. He’d bet his next paycheck that the man was Special Operations.

Nic nodded. “That’s me,” he said cautiously.

The man smiled easily. “The name’s Jack Preston. I flew over from my ranch in Texas to keep you company. Your lieutenant called my lieutenant.” He spoke with a Texas drawl and there was compassion in his voice.

Paul gave them both the side-eye. “I’m going to the nurses’ station,” he said before he left the room.

Nic nodded toward the chairs in the corner and Jack followed him. They sat down.

“So Max called who and why?” Nic asked.

“I’m pretty sure I’m here to babysit you.” Jack grinned. “Don’t take it bad, I’ve had members of my team sit on me like they planned to hatch an egg, so I know what this is like.”

Nic shook his head. “Look, I’m running on too little sleep, the chicken references are confusing me. Can you be more specific?”

“Your woman is hurt and in surgery, right?” Jack asked kindly.

Nic nodded.

“Your lieutenant, Max Hogan, called my lieutenant, Mason Gault, and asked if he had anybody close by who could come sit with you, that’s all.”

Nic pressed his thumb and forefinger into the bridge of his nose, trying to comprehend everything. He looked up and Jack was just sitting there, looking comfortable in the visitors’ chair with an easygoing expression on his face, waiting for Nic to make up his mind about him. Nic felt some of the tension drain out of his body.

“No disrespect, but Texas isn’t exactly close by.”

“I have a plane, it wasn’t a problem. Never mind about me. Let’s focus on you and your lady.”

“You ever been in a situation like this before?” he asked Jack.

“I’ve been in a Texas hospital before, waiting to see if my woman would live or die.” Jack looked grim for a moment.

“And?”

“She’s my wife now. We’ve got two beautiful little girls.”

“That’s good. That’s real good.” Nic smiled. “This isn’t life or death; her shoulder is all sorts of fucked-up. Our medic said they were going to have to spend a lot of time repairing torn muscles and ligaments. He told me to expect a long surgery.” Nic shook his head, still trying to understand. “If you’re from Texas, why are you here in Florida?”

“Disney World. We’re here on a family vacation. So, when did the surgery start?” Jack asked.

“A little over three hours ago.”

“Have you eaten?”

Nic shook his head.

“Then I’ll go get you something to eat, and not something from the hospital cafeteria, either.”

Paul walked back into the waiting room, muttering to himself.

“Paul,” Nic said, getting the young man’s attention. “This is Jack. He’s offered to get us some food. You in?”

Paul looked up, his face brightening. “Absolutely I’m in.”

Jack stood up. “Anything else that you two need?” Jack asked.

“Yeah,” Nic said. “My computer guru is still in Mexico finishing some things up. From what I’m hearing the authorities are having a hard time locating any family members for Lisa Garcia; she’s the tour guide on the bus. She’s here in the hospital and will be for a couple of days. Do you have someone who could do a search?”