The SEAL's Secret Heirs(56)
“If you’ve got concerns, I’ve got concerns,” Kyle said as his senses tingled again. “I know a guy in the CIA. Owes me a favor. I’ll have him poke around, see what Samson Oil is up to.”
The offer was out of his mouth before he’d thought better of it. He didn’t owe these people anything. It wasn’t as if they’d rolled out the red carpet for the returning war veteran. Or acknowledged that Kyle Wade owned half a cattle ranch and wasn’t even a member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club.
Royal clearly wasn’t where Kyle fit, any more than he had ten years ago.
“I knew you’d come in handy.” Liam fairly beamed.
“That would be great,” Mac threw in. “The more information we have, the better. The last thing we need is to find out they’re looking for a site to house a new strip mall after it’s too late.”
The expectant faces of the men surrounding him settled Kyle’s resolve. He couldn’t take it back now. And for better or worse, this was his home, and he had a responsibility to it. He shrugged.
“Consider it done.” Kyle sat back and let the members of the club do their thing, which didn’t include him. If he kept his mouth shut, maybe everyone would forget about him. It wasn’t as if he wanted to be a member of their exclusive club anyway.
But then Liam’s phone beeped, and he glanced at it, frowning. When his grave and troubled gaze met Kyle’s, every nerve in Kyle’s body stood on end.
“We have to go,” Liam announced. “Sorry.”
Liam hustled Kyle out of the club and into his truck, ignoring Kyle’s rapid-fire questions about the nature of the emergency. Because of course there was one. Liam’s face only looked like that when something bad happened to one of his prized horses.
Liam started the truck and tore out of the lot before finally finding his voice. “It’s Maddie.”
All the blood drained from Kyle’s head and his chest squeezed so tight, it was a wonder his heart didn’t push through two ribs. “What? What do you mean, it’s Maddie? What happened?”
Not a horse. His daughter. Maddie.
“Hadley’s not sure,” Liam hedged. Kyle gripped his forearm, growling. “Driving here. Causing me to have a wreck won’t get you the information any faster. I’m taking you to Royal Memorial. Hadley said Maddie wouldn’t wake up and had a really high fever. With Maddie’s heart problems, that’s a really bad sign because she might have an infection. Hadley called an ambulance and left Maggie in Candace’s capable hands. We’re meeting them there.”
The drive couldn’t have taken more than five minutes. But it took five years off Kyle’s life to be trapped in the cab of Liam’s truck when his poor defenseless Maddie was suffering. The baby was fragile, and while she’d been growing steadily, obviously her insides weren’t as strong as they should be. His mind leaped ahead to all the ugly possibilities, and he wished his heart had fallen out earlier, because the thought of losing one of his daughters—it was far worse than losing Grace. Worse than losing his place on his SEAL team.
Liam screeched into the lot, but Kyle had the door open before he’d fully rolled to a stop, hitting the pavement at a run. It was a much different technique from jumping out of a plane, and his leg hadn’t been busted on his last HALO mission.
Pain knifed up his knee and clear into his chest cavity, which didn’t need any more stress. The leg nearly crumpled underneath him, but he ignored it and stormed into the emergency room, looking for a doctor to unleash his anxiety on.
The waiting room receptionist met him halfway across the room. “Mr. Wade. Hadley requested that you be brought to the pediatric ICU immediately. Follow me.”
ICU? Shades of the tiny room in Germany where Kyle had lain in a stupor for months filtered back through his consciousness, and his stomach rolled involuntarily, threatening to expel the beer he’d been happily drinking while his daughter was being subjected to any number of frightening people and procedures. The elevator dinged but he barely registered it above the numbness. Liam and the receptionist flanked him, both poor wingmen in a dire situation. But all he had.
Finally, they emerged onto the second floor and set off down the hall. Hadley rushed into Liam’s arms, tears streaming down her face. They murmured to each other, but Kyle skirted them, seeking his little pink bundle, to assure himself she was okay and Maggie wouldn’t have to grow up without her sister. The girls had already been through so much, so many hits that Kyle had already missed.
But he was here now. Ready to fight back against whatever was threatening his family. And that included his brother. The adoption business needed to be put to rest. Immediately.