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I’d gripped his hand and yelled,“It’s going to stay that way.”
“It’s cold in here.”Then, he’d pulled down the oxygen mask to yell.“Promise me you’ll take care of Marilyn.”
“No need. You’ll be taking care of her just fine.”
“Fifteen out,”the crew chief had yelled.
Freddy had squeezed my hand.“Promise me.”
“Of course I will.”
“I’m cold.”
It had been over a hundred degrees on the deck in that godforsaken desert.
His pain hadn’t lasted fifteen minutes.
I willed my eyes open again. It wasn’t a Blackhawk anymore, and we were flying over California hills. “Jordy?” I yelled through the oxygen mask.
He squeezed my hand. “Right here, Cobra.”
I liked the name. I’d always admired how deadly Cobras were. “Promise me you’ll take care of Serena.”
“I’m leaving that to you, Bro.”
“I’m cold.”
“BP’s dropping,” the paramedic said. “Push another unit of O-neg.”
“We’re out.”
Then things went dark.
CHAPTER 39
Serena
My stomach had triedto turn itself inside out all the way back home from Thousand Oaks. Sure, guys hated using or hearing the L-word, but why hadn’t I told Duke I loved him days ago when I had the chance? He probably hadn’t heard me with the noise of the helicopter.
Terry, Constance, Winston, Lucas, and I were gathered around my kitchen island with FBI Special Agents Newson and Sanchez.
The agents were listening to the recordings again, which had come from the secure locker the USB key opened.
Then the phone on the island began to ring.
Lucas pointed. “That’s Pons’s phone. Winston, your turn.”
Winston answered the call. “Hello?” After ten seconds or so, he checked the screen and put it down. “Unknown number. Didn’t want to talk.”
Jordy picked it up and started typing on his laptop. “It’s a burner.”
The agents went back to the recordings.
I turned to Lucas again. “Are you sure he’ll be okay?” Not being able to talk to Duke was driving me crazy. Every call had gone to voicemail.
“He went into surgery. No news is good news,” Lucas repeated. It was the same thing he’d told me a dozen times. Believing him was harder with every repetition.
“You’re sure that’s Leo Gambino?” Newson asked, pausing the recording.
