Renegade: The Alliance Chronicles, Book Six

Chapter 28

Mark

"I missed the signs. My love for you makes me blind to everything else."

—from "It Happens: When Friendship Turns to Love," by Dr. E. Rich

White sterile walls and harsh lights assault my eyes. An incessant beeping hits my ears. The intense stench of chlorine burns my nose and makes me want to puke.

"Hey, Mark." The female voice comes from my side.

Squeezing my eyes together, I try to make sense of my surroundings. When I come up empty, I look to my right and find Kapernecki. Man, even worn out the woman is a pleasant sight.

"Where am I?"

"In a hospital." She rubs my arm. "Do you remember anything?"

"No. What the fuck happened?"

"We were attacked on our way back from Porto Velho."

"Did we find the missing team? Ko?"

Kapernecki averts her eyes.

I reach over and grasp her hand. "Leslie, don't lie to me."

She exhales. "The revolutionaries killed everyone but Ko."

"So, where is she?"

"Let me finish." The bed dips as she sits down. "She was in terrible shape, Mark."

"She just had amnesia. Right?"

"It was more than that. She had some internal bleeding. I couldn't stop it." She squeezes my hand. "I'm sorry, Mark."

Gripping the sheets, I swallow hard. Ko can't be gone. She just can't be. "Why am I in the hospital?"

"Oliveira's men shot you. I got the bullet out, but you developed an infection. We got you back here just in time."

"Where?" One side of my body is numb. No matter how hard I try, I can't move my left leg. Quickly, I poke around with my right hand. The limb is still there, so why can't I feel it? My eyes snap to Kapernecki's face. "What's wrong with my leg?"

"They shot your left leg. The bullet damaged the muscle. We saved the limb, but you'll need extensive rehab. I'm afraid you're out of commission for a while."

Racking my brain, I try to remember the events but only draw a blank. "I don't remember being shot or losing Ko."

Kapernecki's fingers curl around mine. "The memories may return. We expected some memory loss since you had such a high fever."

"Why?"

"The Brazilians used a type of bullet we'd never seen. The ammo had a biological component."

Squinting at her, I ask, "How?"

"The team is analyzing it. For now, we only know the element was embedded within the propellant. We don't know what the composition of the agent or anything else useful."

"We have to find out. That kind of ammo could be a game changer in the wrong hands."

"Tell me about it."

"You mentioned team. How are they?"

Kapernecki holds her head back and glances at the ceiling. "We lost Niang in the battle. Fletcher had a superficial wound, but he's fine."

I know I shouldn't care, but I want to know. "Liam?"

"Don't know. Don't care. We left him in Brazil with Oliveira."

Good. Maybe Liam will get whatever hell is coming to him.

"How long was I out?"

"Three days."

Kapernecki stands, but I grab her hand. Squeezing it, I say, "Thanks for saving me."

A flicker of an emotion I don't want to define flashes in her eyes. "How could I not?"

The door opens, and Asher walks in.