Carefully he slit the tape binding her wrists and dragged the hood from her head. She had her eyes squeezed shut as if expecting to be hit. Tossing aside the hood, he placed his gloved hand against her face. “Sugar, look at me.”
At the sound of his voice, her eyelids fluttered open. Dazed and disoriented from the concussive blast, she blinked and inhaled shaky breaths. Tears soaked her long lashes and made them clump together. With a ragged sob, she flung her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. “Venom!”
“Honey, you’re all right. I’ve got you.”
“Please don’t let go.”
“I won’t, sugar. Not yet.” He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
Jerking back, she glanced around frantically. “Hopper!”
“I’m okay.” The young woman in question sat against a wall while Fierce knelt next to her and cut the tape binding her wrists. “My ears are ringing like crazy.”
“It will fade. We’ll have the medics check you, just in case.” Venom rubbed Dizzy’s earlobes between his fingers. “How are your ears, baby?”
“Ringing.” She winced. “I’ve got a headache too.”
“As soon as we get back to Valiant I’ll have Risk check you over.” He was very concerned about the effect of the flash-bangs on her delicate ears, especially after having surgery so recently.
“Oh Venom, what about Pierce?” She looked absolutely stricken. “He fell so hard. I don’t how he could have survived hitting the concrete that hard.”
“He’s alive.” Torment stepped into the room. His mouth was fixed in a grim line as he surveyed the scene. “They’re about to evacuate him on a dart. One of the support teams—the SRU beta squad—got to him a few minutes after I made chase to catch you two.”
Though Venom had a million questions that needed answers, this absolutely was not the time to ask them. “We need to move these prisoners and get Dizzy and her friend out of here immediately. One of these cases is leaking and the women aren’t immunized.”
“Go.” Torment stepped aside to clear the way. “I’ve already given the hazardous materials team the green light.”
Venom scooped up Dizzy and carried her out of the room. He ran her down the hall to a safe distance and gently deposited her on the ground. Fierce carried Hopper to the same spot. Venom unzipped one of his pockets and retrieved one of the compactly folded and super-thin warming sheets used for treating shock.
“You and your pockets,” Dizzy said with a laugh. Her teeth chattered as adrenaline saturated her bloodstream and caused havoc inside her body.
Venom snapped open the thin foil-like sheet and wrapped it around shoulders. He tucked it under her bottom and around her legs. “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“I don’t think I could walk even if I wanted to,” she said choppily, her teeth continuing to knock.
Pressing a loving kiss to her forehead, Venom forced himself to leave her behind. Back in the room, he found Cipher and Threat assessing and treating the prisoner they had uncovered. His hopes that it might be Terror were dashed. Moving closer for a better look, he nearly tripped over his boots. “Shit. That’s Dizzy’s father.”
Cipher glanced up at him. “You’re sure?”
Venom nodded and studied the bruised face of his father-in-law. “I saw his picture the morning Torment and Pierce dragged her in for questioning. That’s Jack Lane.”
“We’re taking him into custody.” Torment gave the order without his usual edge of coldness. “We need his intel and he needs our protection.”
“Yes, he does,” Venom murmured. There would be no going back for Jack. Whatever had happened here had forever changed the course of his life. Venom could only hope it was for the better.
“The hazardous materials crew is here.” Raze stepped away from the prisoners who lined the wall. “They’re bringing in a prisoner transport ship. Let’s get these guys loaded and get the hell out of here before half The City comes down on us.”
Venom didn’t think he’d ever heard an order he wanted to follow more. He wanted to get Dizzy safely back on the Valiant and put this entire mess behind them.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dizzy couldn’t believe she was back in the hospital wing of the Valiant so soon. The minutes following her rescue were still such a blur. More soldiers and medics had swarmed the tunnel. After the line of prisoners had been marched down the hall, two medics carted her father out on a stretcher. She had been shocked by the sight of his battered face but he was breathing and alive.
Despite her protests, Venom had swept her up into his arms and carried her out to the waiting dart. He had reluctantly left her in the care of the medics but not until he’d kissed her so long and hard the medics thought her racing heart was a medical issue.
Somewhere in the ensuing chaos of their rescue, Hopper had sneaked away unnoticed. Dizzy suspected she wanted nothing to do with the Shadow Force interrogators or the Splinters who were probably watching the place. She worried about Hopper but trusted her friend knew what she was doing. Hopper had been on her own since childhood and clearly knew how to survive in a rough and dangerous world.
After being poked and prodded and tested for exposure to the fuel rods, Dizzy had been given a pair of papery-thin hospital pajamas and small white socks to wear. With her legs curled underneath her, she sat in one of the waiting-room chairs and fidgeted anxiously. Risk had promised to deliver news of her dad as soon as possible.
Her emotions vacillated from extreme relief that he was safe here with her and absolute dread at the prospect of dredging up the ancient history that concerned her mother. The idea of hurting him by forcing the discussion made her sick to her stomach.
“Sugar?” Venom stepped out of the elevator and rushed to her side. Sliding into the chair next to her, he scooped her right up and deposited her on his lap. She didn’t even try to stop him from kissing her in such a public place. After the dangerous night they had both survived, she would never again turn down the chance to lock lips with the man she loved.
As she gazed into his gorgeous blue eyes, Dizzy stroked her fingertips along the back of his shaved head. “How was the debriefing?”
“Fine.” He combed his fingers through her damp hair. “You showered?”
She nodded. “Risk said it would help me feel better.”
“Was he right?”
“Yes.”
“How’s your head?”
“It’s okay. He gave me a mild painkiller to help with the discomfort.” She shot him an annoyed look. “You guys are really loud when you bust in doors.”
“It was the concussive grenades or tear gas,” he explained. “We went with the least dangerous option.”
“And the noisiest.”
He smiled. “And the noisiest.”
Her thoughts turned more serious. “Did they find Terror?”
Venom’s eyes darkened with sadness. “No. The trail is cold. We hope that one of the double agents the Shadow Force has undercover will reveal him to us but it’s a long shot.”
Dizzy hadn’t spent much time at all with Terror but she sensed he was an incredibly complex, complicated yet well-liked man. His loss would be felt by so many of the men Venom called friends.
“Have you heard anything about Pierce? Risk told me they took him to a ship called the Mercy.”
“He’s in good hands there. The trauma surgeons know their stuff.” Venom traced the neckline of the loose-fitting shirt. “I saw Torment on the way up here. He said Pierce is expected to make a full recovery. He broke both legs and an arm and had a major concussion. Somehow the lucky bastard managed not to crack and scramble his egg.”
She ignored Venom’s rather crass way of putting it. “I can’t believe that. There’s no way he didn’t fracture his skull when he hit the ground. I watched some guy kick him in the back of the head!”
“He must have gotten his arm caught up in the ladder when he fell. It probably slowed his speed and tilted him in a strange enough angle that he hit feet first.”
“I guess,” she said skeptically. “I won’t believe it until I see him.” She shook her head. “He took two bullets protecting me too.”
“So I heard,” Venom said, his voice unnaturally tight. Cupping her face, he vowed, “You are never leaving this ship without me again. Is that understood?”
“Yes…Master,” she added with a teasing grin.
“If you knew what hearing that name does to me…” he said with a low growl.
Wiggling her bottom, she blushed at the sensation of his stiff erection jutting against her. “I can tell what it does to you.”
He chuckled softly and kissed her neck. “I can’t wait to get you home.”
Dizzy stifled a yawn as she snuggled up to her husband. “I may need a nap first.”
“We’ll see.” He caressed her arm and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Is there any word on your father?”
“Risk said he’s extremely dehydrated and has a broken cheek and nose but he’s in good condition otherwise. When he comes around they’re supposed to tell me.”