Page 4 of Her Steadfast Hero

Chapter Two

Almost two days without sleep and he was delirious. It was the only thing made any sense.

“I can’t be put in charge, Governor. I’m a member of the United States Army. I can’t be your chief of police.” David gave up trying to stand, and dropped into the chair in front of the lieutenant governor’s desk.

“I’m commanding you.”

The man had lost his ever loving mind. The ‘I’m commanding you’ line cinched it.

His island was literally a disaster area. The relief workers were due to land in two hours. Las Flores didn’t have an army, they barely had fire and rescue, one hospital, two clinics, and their corrupt police force. The cherry on top was that the prison had suffered major damage, and fifty-three prisoners had escaped.

“Sir–”

“Call me Bernardo,” the man interrupted.

David looked at the older man. He was in his early sixties and was clearly exhausted.

“Bernardo, I can’t be in charge of your police force.”

“You can be in charge of capturing the escaped prisoners. I don’t trust that goddamned warden any farther than I can throw him. He probably gave each of the convicts a fucking parting gift.”

David choked out a laugh. It felt good and bad. In the last two days, he had found more bodies than he could count. Thank God there had been some people in the rubble that he had been able to save. If he hadn’t had those mini-miracles he would have given up.

“Governor,” David began.

“Bernardo,” the governor corrected.

David gave a weak wave of his hand. “Bernardo, I will help in whatever way I can, but why me?”

“Ortiz is dead. I trusted him. I don’t want some military man from Panama coming in and running things. I want you. I’ve had at least fifteen people tell me about you, including Carmen. She hates everyone, and she thinks you are Superman. I need you.”

“He’s wrong, I don’t think you’re superman. I think you’re Ironman.” The woman called from the reception area.

“Quit eavesdropping, old woman,” Bernardo yelled out.

“I wouldn’t have to eavesdrop if you would talk louder.”

David laughed tiredly. “Look, I can’t officially report to you. I can’t take orders from you. But I can be here, and you can make a request to my superior for my assistance. I cannot be officially in charge of your men.”

Bernardo was easy to read. “But there is nothing stopping me from telling my people to do anything you tell them to do, right?”

“I can’t stop you from doing or saying anything, Sir.”

And the clusterfuck continues.

* * *

So much for capturing prisoners. It looked like he was going to be everybody’s bitch. His commander wanted him to go and meet the Aid Workers before doing anything else. Personally, he thought getting started on the prison break seemed like a much higher priority. The doctors and nurses could surely figure out what needed to be done. Hell, there were more than enough bleeding bodies to go around.

David took a deep breath as the plane began to taxi. His leg was killing him, and he’d only gotten three hours sleep in the last forty-two. Logically, he knew he needed to only meet these people, then he should find someplace to get some shut eye before going to the prison. The fact that he was so pissed off was a sure sign that he was getting close to the end of his rope.

Carlos, one of the few good cops left, had accompanied him and was driving the bus. He was going to take everybody to the hotel where they would have a chance to dump their gear and probably rest before heading to either the hospital or one of the clinics. From what David had been told, a lot of the folks had come from Nigeria.

The door to the airplane opened, and the stairs were pushed up so they could walk down. David took off the miracle sunglasses that had somehow survived the earthquake and watched as the doctors and nurses deplaned. His commander had told him there were going to be thirteen in all. Not nearly enough.

Holy God. He squinted. The hair. The way she was shielding her eyes from the sun. He couldn’t get a good look at her because the guy in front of her was tall. David waited until she stepped on the tarmac. He’d recognize the way she walked until the day he died.

Sarah Kyle.