Kate Donovan - Exit Strategy

She jumped up and shouted, “Ortega!” Then she knelt again and patted Kell’s cheek. “Don’t worry, Jonathan. It’s going to be okay.”

“I didn’t even feel it,” Kell murmured. “I still don’t. So don’t be upset. Just remember that because of you, I had the best day of my life today.”

“Shh…don’t talk like that. You’ll be fine.”

“You mean, I’ll be my old self?” He shook his head. “I can’t go back to that. Being miserable…terrified…” His eyelids fluttered as he insisted, “Not again. Not after this. I’m finally free of fear…”

“Jonathan?” Miranda sighed, her heart aching for him. He was dipping in and out of consciousness, and she told herself he needed his rest to get strong again, so she held his hand but didn’t wake him. Instead, she looked up at Ortega, who was towering over them, his expression stricken.

“I just heard,” he told her hoarsely. “They said he’s not in any pain. But he’s not going to make it, Miranda.”

“Don’t say that!” She sandwiched Kell’s face gently between her palms and whispered, “You’re going to be fine, sweetie.”

Kell’s eyes opened, glazed but shining.

“He’s pretty tough,” the medic said. “Most guys would have gone down in a heap.”

“Hear that?” Kell gave Ortega a sheepish smile. “I’m tough.”

“I knew that from the jungle,” Ortega told him, his voice choked. “You’ve survived worse than this, buddy. Just hang in there.”

“The best day of my life,” Kell repeated as he gazed up at Miranda. “For once, I wasn’t afraid.”

“Oh, Jonathan…”

“Back at the house, when Gresley punched you, I wanted to kill him. But I couldn’t. I was shaking. Scared. Useless.”

“It’s okay. When it counted, you saved me. You shot him, Jonathan. I’m alive because of you.”

“Remember me that way,” he begged her. “Saving you. Loving you. Protecting…strong…love you…”

Tears began to stream down her Miranda’s cheeks.

“Be happy for me,” Kell told her. “I’ll never be afraid again. Be happy…”

“Jonathan?” Miranda bit her lip. “Oh, no.”

Ortega knelt beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. After a long, silent moment, he closed Kell’s eyelids, murmuring, “So long, buddy. You did great. You saved the woman you loved. That’s every guy’s dream, and you lived it.”

When Miranda sobbed Kell’s name, Ortega cradled her against himself, then helped her to her feet. “It’s true, you know. He went out a hero. Something he could never have dreamed possible. Then you came along, and made it possible.”

“It was his power pill, not me.”

“Don’t kid yourself. You made his last hour a perfect one.” Ortega brushed a tear from her cheek. “Come on. Let’s get you into the chopper. We can have our talk later.”

“No.” She stepped back and gave him a shaky smile. “I don’t want to waste another minute. Isn’t that what Jonathan just taught us?”

He nodded. Then with a last mournful look at Kell’s lifeless form, he took Miranda by the hand and led her away from the helicopter.

They strolled back to the Land Rover in silence. After Ortega turned on the headlights, Miranda leaned against the vehicle and looked him straight in the eyes. “Let’s hear it.”

He nodded, then spoke in a solemn voice. “You can’t imagine how sorry I am about that night. The alibi tape. Everything that happened. If things had only been different between us-”

“Things are different between us.”

“What?”

Miranda enjoyed the hint of hope in his eyes before explaining. “We had a rocky start. That’s undeniable. I mean, you lied to me. You ruined my life. Made a mockery of my career and generally acted like a selfish bastard.” She smiled sadly. “But there are a few things in the plus column I just can’t ignore.”

“Such as?”

“Such as, you never blame anyone else for your mistakes. If anything, you’re too hard on yourself. I like that. Plus, you’re brave and patriotic, and you taught me to find balance. You came halfway around the world and posed as the Brigadier to rescue me-we’re gonna be reenacting that little fantasy for months. And I love being with you. It gives me such a thrill. Your eyes, your voice, your way-just standing here with you now, I’m literally drowning in sensation. And hope. And love.” She bit her lip, closer to tears than she had ever imagined she’d get over romance. “Just don’t ever lie to me again, and we’ll be fine. It’s as simple as that, Ortega.”

“You can let the rest go?” He stepped forward, resting his hands on her shoulders. “Everything I did? My God, Miranda, I’ve wanted that. Every day since I first met you. Every time I watched that tape and saw you looking up at me like, well, like this.” The bronze flecks in his eyes were bursting with light. “I swear I’ll be completely honest from now on. No more secrets, no more lies. That’s a promise.” He started to lean his mouth down to hers, but an insistent ring from his satellite phone broke the spell.

“Go ahead,” Miranda told him with a sigh.

He barked his name into the phone, then murmured, “Hey, Kris. Nice work getting a team together so fast. But next time, send a real man, okay? Huh?” He scowled, then told Miranda, “She wants to know what you thought of Russo.”

“I’ll tell her later. In private.”

“Unbelievable.” He chuckled and asked Kristie, “Did you hear that? Yeah, she’s hilarious. Yeah.” He flushed. “She’s that, too. What about you? Did McGregor fire your ass?”

He laughed again, and Miranda smiled in relief. Even though she couldn’t hear what Kristie was saying, it was clear she was still employed by SPIN, a fact that was further confirmed when Ortega shook his head, then said to Miranda, “You won’t believe this. She wants us to go to South America and retrieve the Night Arrow research from Carerra’s hacienda before it falls into the wrong hands.”

“She’s right. It’s too valuable to lose.”

He gave a frustrated laugh. “Since I promised to always be honest, I’ll tell you I think it’s nuts. But whatever you want. We’ll rest up, then head down there.”

“We need to go right away. We can’t take any chances.”

He held the phone back up to his ear. “Okay, set it up. Yeah, I figured that. We’ll call from the airport. Yeah, you too.”

He disconnected the call, then explained. “This operation is strictly off the books. Big surprise. But she’s as nuts as you on the subject. Russo filled her head with crap about that shot you made, I guess.”

“Just because my arrow killed Benito and yours didn’t, don’t be bitter.” She smiled hopefully. “Kristie and McGregor are okay?”

“He’s putting her on some kind of strict monitoring program. I tried that once. Doesn’t work.”

“I meant, are they okay romantically?”

“She said to tell you the make-up sex was worth it,” he admitted with a grin. “I can’t believe those two aren’t married yet. What the hell are they waiting for?”

“I think she was waiting for you to get together with me,” Miranda murmured. “Somehow she knew. Isn’t that…well, romantic?”

He nodded, then pulled her into his arms again, asking carefully, “So what are we saying here exactly? We’ll what? Date? Live together?”

“Don’t worry, Ortega. You didn’t accidentally propose,” she assured him.

“Are you kidding? I’d marry you in a minute.”

She stared, knowing she should say something, but feeling completely speechless.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he assured her quickly. “I’m just being honest. No secrets, remember?”