Page 50 of Hollow State

Wynn's nerves were already frazzled, and nothing she did seemed to settle them. This wasn’t something she was used to. She’d experienced injuries before. And there were plenty of times members of the team walked out of the bunker, and she hadn't gone. But if there was a certain level of risk, as a combat medic, she always went with the team.

Didn't matter if she was the one hanging back on overwatch, she was there, making sure everyone was safe. Now, she felt useless. And of course, there was Darwin. She tried desperately to shove that thought from her mind.

Shifting her gaze, she watched Coulter as Neve fed him magazines across the roll cage of the second SxS, which only reminded her that Darwin was heading out on a mission.

Quinn stood by the tunnel mouth in full uniform—all crisp and clean. While he was definitely trustworthy, his badge represented devastation for Darwin. It was hard for her to stare at. Part of that was because Quinn wore his uniform proudly. He loved his job and everyone else in the bunker respected and honored his profession. Even Darwin.

Seeing Quinn reminded her that everyone else wearing that uniform wanted to put Darwin in handcuffs. Any one of those other cops would easily put a bullet in his body given the right circumstances. Those men and women were working off false information and cared only about what they believed was justice.

Zadie moved to the front of Scout's SxS and wiped her hands on her cargo pants. "Both SxS engines look good. We're ready to hit the trails."

"Just a few more things to load up," Coulter said.

"We should be ready in less than ten," Neve added.

Wynn shifted in the chair, and a burning sensation crested behind her knee, then settled into a light throb. She tried not to grimace. She'd been in worse shape before. Darwin had offered her something to take the edge off, but she was sticking with Tylenol. So far, no regrets. She'd power through. By the time Darwin got back, she'd be weight-bearing. This was just a minor inconvenience.

Darwin crossed the tunnel toward her, placed one hand on each armrest, and lowered himself to his knees. He took both her hands. His were warm. Hers weren't.

"You're being awfully quiet," he said. "Even for you."

Wynn looked past him at Scout, who was deep in conversation with Zadie. Wynn had no idea what they were discussing. Part of her wished she did. She wanted to hear their words. Get lost in their conversation and avoid all the thoughts going on in her mind. But she couldn't avoid it. That wouldn't be fair to Darwin.

"Contact's been made," Wynn said. "But you don't know what you're walking into. This could be an ambush if Liam told anyone he's meeting with you."

Darwin ran his thumb over the top of her hand. "Quinn's been listening to police chatter all day. If the cops or the government knew, or heard rumors, they'd be all over that hospital, and they'd call in Quinn."

"That's only one enemy." Wynn lifted her hand and gently touched Darwin's cheek. "I know you want to trust Liam, but we've learned that Finch's reach goes deep. We can't be certain Liam, or someone close to him, isn’t working for Finch."

"I know Liam," Darwin said. "He takes his role as a doctor seriously. He wouldn't sign on for what Finch is doing. If he's involved, it would be similar to how Finch got me and Gideon to do his dirty work. By now, that would've backfired."

"But you've got to see the problem in that." She fiddled with the collar on Darwin's shirt. "What if somebody sat down across from Liam and told him that if he doesn't comply, his wife and kids become collateral damage."

"It's not like we haven't discussed that," Darwin said. "And it's a question I need to ask him."

"People lie, and if he's setting you up, he's not going to be truthful."

"He'll find a way to be honest with me." Darwin sat back on his heels. "Are you worried this is an unnecessary risk? Like something your parents used to do?"

"No," she said. And she meant it. "My parents did risky things to prove they could be done. But there was no reason for doing them except they liked how it made them feel and they never spent one second thinking about what happened to the people they loved if something went wrong." She leaned in and kissed him. It was just a quick peck. Nothing special. But it meant something. "You, and the rest of the team, aren't doing this for fun. You're doing this to get evidence that can help put Finch behind bars." She took his hand and squeezed tight. "I'm not used to sitting on the sidelines, and I'm scared for you. I can't help how I feel about that, and I'm sorry I'm not handling it well." She let out a stifled chuckle. "I think back to how many times I walked out of this bunker with a rifle slung over my shoulder. How did you do it?"

"I spent hours pacing and my glasses were the cleanest they'd ever been." He kissed her palm. "And sometimes, I'd get angry. I'd think about how many times you all risked your lives to clear my name."

She opened her mouth.

"Let me finish my thought," he said. "I rarely have that big of an ego, but my brain focused on the idea that clearing my name was the goal. Not the by-product." He tucked some of her hair behind her ears. "There's a man in a cooler in that hospital that Finch would like to make sure no one claims. But that man still had a mother somewhere. Or maybe a wife. And I can't stop thinking about how the moment Finch filled his veins, the choice of what happened next was taken away. And that man turned it into something less than human because of something I built. Preventing that from happening again is always going to come first."

"We all know that about you."

"I want you to understand that while clearing my name is far from the highest thing on the list, it still matters to me." He gathered both her hands. "I've spent most of my adult life telling myself that all I needed was work. That my career made me happy. And then I met you." He glanced over his shoulder before catching her gaze again. "And I realized I've been walking around in a haze, barely living life. You make me feel things I didn't think were possible, and I want to be able to choose my future with you—whatever that looks like."

Wynn had spent the last six months getting to know and falling in love with a man who cared more about what happened to those around him than anyone she'd ever met. Darwin was the kind of person her grandma had told her to go out there and find. Her grandma promised her that men like her grandpa, like Darwin, did exist. They wouldn't be easy to love. They were dedicated to causes. Dedicated to making the world, or whatever it was they believed in, a better place. But loving, and being loved by them, would be worth it.

Darwin didn't need to say the words. And they might not have been intimate, yet, but she knew without a doubt, he loved her. And she loved him back.

She ran her fingers through his hair, pulled him closer, and kissed him as if they were in the privacy of one of their bedrooms. He rested his hands on her hips, squeezing gently as he fully participated in the kiss.

In the background, someone cleared their throat. Something metal hit the floor. And Wynn was positive Zadie whispered something about the compressor.