Black Ops Brotherhood: Tightrope Part 10

"They're about to take her to intensive care. They told us someone drugged her," Davey said.

"Did they say with what?" Gavin asked.

"No but they're running lab work to find out. Someone saw a bruise on her neck, and when they looked closer, they saw a small puncture wound. She's severely dehydrated with full-blown heat stroke, and whatever they gave her didn't help her condition any."

Davey was scared and angry. He echoed Dan's feelings about this situation. Thankfully, Davey hadn't started to ask a whole lot of questions. He really didn't want to tell him about how he'd found Rio. He watched Davey close his eyes, and the muscles in his jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth.

"Thank G.o.d they found her when they did. She'll be all right, man. Don't worry."

Davey shot Dan a look that almost made him take a step backward. "If I ever find out who did this to my sister, I'll kill the motherf.u.c.ker, and I'll drag it out for as long as I can."

"It'll be all right, man. She's safe, now."

It was as if Davey hadn't heard him. "I'm perfectly fine doing prison over that."

Dan didn't say anything. He knew Davey was already messed up, and this situation didn't help his already risky state. Davey's experience in the Marine Corps made his threat a very real probability. Force Recon was to the Marines what SEALs were to the Navy. Davey knew all the possible scenarios of his sister's ordeal, and Dan only hoped the worst of it had already pa.s.sed. The steel doors of the emergency bay opened, and the medics wheeled out a gurney. Dan caught sight of Marissa Jensen. She walked up to Davey and joined them.

"h.e.l.lo, Mrs. Jensen."

"Danny, it's a surprise to see you here," Mrs. Jensen said, greeting him with a hug. "Let's go, Davey. I need to call Jax and let him know what happened."

"Mom, please don't. He doesn't have any business around my sister, especially right now," Davey said.

"Maybe this'll teach her a lesson, now. She's not a tomboy; she's a grown woman. She needs to get married and settle down. I agree Jax isn't very smart like Danny, but he and Rio will make pretty babies."

"Rio's a big girl, Mom, she can make her own decisions. So, leave it alone."

Dan was speechless for a moment. Did this woman know anything about her daughter? The thought horrified him, and then it p.i.s.sed him off. It would be over his dead, rotting corpse that Jax would ever have Rio, even if they didn't end up together. It occurred to him that maybe this was where Jax got the idea that Rio belonged to him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't picture Rio walking away from her job to settle down with someone like Jax Macey and having "pretty babies". She needed a man who would accept and understand her. Her naturally commanding personality didn't need to be smothered. Someone like Jax would end up frustrated and might start beating the s.h.i.+t out of her in aggravation at failing to change her. Dan knew Rio and her mom clashed, but he wondered what the h.e.l.l had come over Mrs. Jensen as she said her good-byes. He shot a concerned glance at Davey, who shook his head. Her brother didn't like this any better than he did.

"I'm taking her home in a bit and come back after she gets a clue," Davey said, nodding his head over at his mother.

"Why don't you go home and come back tomorrow. I know you have a lot to do at the ranch. I'll stay, and I'll call if there's any change."

"f.u.c.k no!" Davey countered. "We're figuring out who the h.e.l.l did this to my sister when I come back."

"You need to chill before you walk in here again," Dan insisted. "Rio needs to rest, not worry about you." Davey took a deep breath and looked at Dan. "Go home, take care of your mom, and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid like call Jax to come over here. I'll make sure Rio's safe."

"Call me if anything happens. And I will be back later tonight," Davey said.

"Go talk to the staff, so they'll tell me what's going on," Dan said. Davey looked down the hallway and nodded. Dan had to do something to defuse Davey's anger and decrease the risk of Davey drinking unsupervised right now. Davey needed to get straightened out before he came back. Dan understood Davey's hesitation about leaving. If someone had done this to his sister, he'd be beside himself, too. He was already using every ounce of self-control he had not to declare his own personal war. Dan pushed a little harder. He didn't want to get sucked into something stupid right now, so he turned on the charm and decided to use a little humor to get to Davey calmed down. "Get the f.u.c.k outta here. You've been playing matchmaker since I got here. Now let me be her hero."

. Davey busted out laughing. "About d.a.m.n time!"

"Not funny. When this is over I'm asking her to marry me."

Davey paused and gave him the once-over. "Yeah right-"

"I'm dead serious, Davey. I've already bought her a ring."

"Bulls.h.i.+t, man..." Davey laughed. "Okay, it worked, I'm cool. I'll be fine when I get back,"

Dan caught his arm as he turned to leave.

"I'm not f.u.c.king around, and we've just had the talk. Before I leave, she'll be wearing my ring and making plans to go with me. Do I need to talk to your mom and tell her to back off about Jax or are you doing it?"

Davey's expression turned serious, and he blinked in astonishment. "You really aren't messing with me, are you?" Dan shook his head, and Davey threw his hands up. "About d.a.m.n time! If she hadn't gone back to work while we were at the hunting shack, I was about to leave for a couple of days and hope to h.e.l.l you two figured it out."

"Well, I don't think they'll be calling her back to work any time soon, so get lost and let me work my magic."

"s.h.i.+t! She sees right through that magic, and it'll only work if she wants it to," Davey said, turning away.

Dan walked Davey and his mom out, and went to find Gavin and Friday to work out a plan. The CBP posted an agent as a sentry just in case whoever had done this decided to come back.

"I need to talk to her," Gavin said, as they rode the elevator up to the ICU.

"It doesn't sound like she's in any shape to talk," Dan said.

"If there's a change, call me, no matter what time it is. We need to figure out why someone would do this to her. In a situation like this, time is the enemy," Gavin said, then turned to Dan. "When she wakes up, find out what she saw, and see if you can find out what the h.e.l.l she was drugged with. I need to know so I can add that to warrants I'll have issued. You know what kind of questions to ask."

"I will."

Dan located the intensive care unit. Davey had told the staff that Dan was her fiance and to update him on her condition, which would also make getting Gavin's information easier. He pulled up a chair and eased himself down beside her bed. As he dimmed the lights and settled in, it struck him at how small she looked in the middle of her bed. He'd turned on the TV but didn't really pay attention. Instead, he caught himself in a tense vigil willing her to wake up.

Remembering how Captain O'Malley had practically lived in an intensive care unit while his wife Anna recovered from a virus that had almost killed her, he suddenly understood the reason why his boss had stayed at a hospital day and night, refusing to leave. It was the same reason someone would have to drag his a.s.s out of here now-fear.

Rio could've been killed, and just the thought of finding her dead scared the h.e.l.l out of him all over again. Sick, evil thoughts crept into his mind as he considered what they might have done to her while she'd been missing. Did they torture her or worse...? He looked her over and saw nothing but the bruises from the restraints and the one on her neck from the injection. He ached as he looked closer at the cuts and bruises that circled her wrists where she'd been tied. He must've disturbed her with his inspection because she moved. Leaning in closer to comfort her, he gently took her hand. She s.h.i.+fted in bed and opened her eyes.

"Hey babe," he said with a rea.s.suring smile.

"Danny, you really are here," she said in a raspy voice.

"How are you?"

"Okay. I'll be okay." She squeezed his hand.

"Babe, why would someone want to do this to you? Did you see anything?"

"PJ pulled me over. I got out of my car to find out what he wanted, and someone grabbed me from behind. That's all I can remember."

"PJ?" he asked, confused.

"Schotzie!" she exclaimed, as she started to rise. "She's hurt."

"She's fine, babe. Friday, my buddy, took her to the vet. She was injured, but it wasn't bad," he said, easing her back down.

"Where is she?"

"Relax. She'll be with Alan until you get home. He's picking her up tomorrow morning from the animal hospital in Bisbee. Van sent me a text after we got you here."

Smiling weakly, she relaxed and closed her eyes. As he watched her drift off to sleep, he heard shuffling behind him, and two nurses came into the room.

"We need to examine her," one of the nurses said.

"What's going on?"

"Can I have a word with you outside?"

Not able to shake the dread that lodged in the pit of his stomach, he stood and followed the nurse out of the room.

"What's going on?" he asked, again attempting to get a handle on his fear.

"Her tox screen tested positive for flunitrazepam. By law we're required to do a rape kit."

"What! What's that drug?"

"The common name is Rohypnol. Most people know it as the date rape drug," The nurse glanced inside the room. "I need to get back in there."

Dan's knees got weak, and he grabbed the rail that ran along the length of the hallway to steady himself.

"Okay, thanks."

Dan stepped away while the SANE nurses attended Rio. It outraged him that a couple of s.e.xual a.s.sault nurses were checking to see if she'd been raped. He took out his phone and willed himself to get a grip on his mounting anger. His worst fear had become a distinct possibility, and his tenuous hold on self-control was about to slip. If she had been a.s.saulted, there was no limit to what he would do to hunt the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds down that had done it, and he'd start with PJ.

No country, no boundary, no law would keep him from finding and killing them. He considered how he and Davey could team up and hunt down the motherf.u.c.kers who'd done this to his girl. Slow down and breathe, he urged himself when he heard the wooden handrail along the wall creak as he gripped it. He took a deep breath and reined in his anger. He reminded himself that he was one of the good guys and had a team that could do this the right way. If anyone could find these people out, it was Bada.s.s.

"Who the h.e.l.l is PJ?" Gavin asked after Dan gave him the details.

"f.u.c.k PJ! They think she might've been raped," he said angrily.

"Rape kit is standard procedure in a lot of states when the tox screen is positive for Rohypnol. That would've definitely knocked the fight out of her. Would this guy PJ do something like that to her? And I need a name, not initials, if you want me to bring his a.s.s in."

"PJ is Paul James. He's a deputy sheriff with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. If that motherf.u.c.ker laid a finger on her, I'll skin his a.s.s myself. Come get me, Bada.s.s. I'll know how to ask him the right questions."

"I watched you the whole time she went M.I.A. I don't need you f.u.c.king up my suspects over your new girlfriend."

"What the f.u.c.k would you do? I remember you calling out half the unit over your girlfriend. I want to know what he did to her and why the h.e.l.l he had her stuffed in an attic."

"Stand down and let me work on doing this the right way. I think this goes deeper than this PJ. You stay there, and make sure no one comes back to finish the job."

Chapter 10.

Cochise County Sheriff's Office Bisbee, Arizona June 25, 2010/1319 Zulu Gavin stepped into the office of the Cochise County Sheriff Mason Wright. He'd contacted the Phoenix FBI field office as soon as he hung up with Dan and got the ball rolling on his investigation. Time was critical in this situation. He and Friday returned to Bisbee as soon as he was able so that he could get local CBP help. They mapped out a strategy, divided up the work, and set up a war room at the CBP. He and three other FBI agents then went to the sheriff's office. It was always risky seeing local law enforcement, and this would be especially touchy because one of their deputies would be under investigation. The sheriff greeted him and showed Gavin into his office.

"What can I do for you, Special Agent Walsh?"

"I need to talk with you about an incident involving one of your deputies two nights ago. Deputy Paul James initiated a traffic stop, and I'd like to talk to him about it."

"He's on sick leave. He called in yesterday and said he needed a couple of days off-at least according to the duty sheet after roll call," the sheriff said.

"Is his vehicle here?"

"I believe so. I can check." Wright picked up the phone. After a brief conversation he looked at Gavin. "Yeah, it's down in the yard."

"Is it equipped with a dash camera?"

"Yes, all the vehicles are."

"Can we get the footage from that night?"

"Do I need to ask you for a warrant?"

"I hope you don't. But if you want it, I've got one with one of my agents who's waiting to review the footage."

Danny helped a weak, unsteady Rio walk into her house. They'd been arguing since she'd moved out of intensive care and into a room. She wanted to leave the hospital and recover at home. Her family and Danny disagreed, telling her four days was too soon, especially after having been close to dying. She threatened to check herself out if they didn't let her go, and they relented knowing that she must be better if she was that stubborn.

The CBP gave her a mandatory two weeks off, and even then, she could return only if a doctor cleared her. She called Alan and asked him to bring Schotzie to the house as soon as he got off duty. Plopping down on the couch, she breathed a sigh of relief with a big yawn. The short drive from Sierra Vista had been exhausting, and getting settled at home had knocked her to her knees.

"Pad Thai?"

"How did you find out one of the cooks at Chinaland makes Pad Thai?"

"I asked."

She giggled and shook her head. "When's your leave over?"

"Is that important right now?"

"It is to me."

"I still have fifteen days," he said and kissed her. "I'll be back in a little while."

Rio lay on the couch to catch her breath and relax. She dozed off and woke to a warm, soft, very wet tongue licking her hand. She opened her eyes to the most affectionate, loving brown puppy eyes she'd ever seen.

"Schotzie," she whispered as she ran her hands over the big dog's soft fur.

Leaning forward, she buried her face in the soft fur of Schotzie's coat. Thankful, emotional tears stung her eyes. Her best friend was okay. She swallowed the lump in her throat and sat up to inspect what kind of damage had been done. Looking over the wound, she saw the st.i.tches and a wave of relief washed over her because it was only superficial.

"It looks like a bad flesh wound. Thank G.o.d whoever did this was a bad shot. Where's Alan?" she asked.