Page 31 of Harris

“Spencer,” Ellen cheered before heading in his direction. “I never thought I’d see you again. Is Rick here?”

Spencer stood and hugged Ellen as she went to him without fear.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes. Rick’s back in Fire Lake. He’s going to be pissed that he missed seeing you. Maybe we can call him,” Spencer suggested.

“That’d be great,” she agreed.

“Where is your wounded man?” Renee asked, cutting to the chase.

“This way,” Harris said, gesturing toward the closed door behind him.

Renee crossed the room toward him, Griffin close behind, a personal guard.

She looked at Harris closely. “He is important to you. I’ll do everything I can to help, I swear.”

For the first time, Harris didn’t even bother to argue. “Thank you, ma’am.” He opened the door, and his sister immediately stood and moved protectively to the foot of the bed.

“It’s okay, Jennifer. This is Renee and Griffin. She’s here to help heal Woodley,” Harris explained.

Jennifer returned to Woodley’s side. “He hasn’t regained consciousness, but the bleeding has stopped.”

“This is my sister, Jennifer,” Harris explained.

“Hello, Jennifer,” Renee said. “May I approach the bed?”

“Yes.”

Harris appreciated Renee’s approach. She may have been forceful with Brick, but the team leader respected that. With Jennifer and himself, she’d been caring and almost gentle. It was as if she knew what each person needed. Perhaps that was part of her ability as well.

Renee walked to the other side of the bed across from Jennifer while Harris stood guard at the foot. He’d never felt more useless in his entire life. Ask him to hack into the most secure server or lift a truck into the air with only his mind, that he could do, but save the man he’d fallen in love with, and he had nothing to offer.

Stop it,Jennifer’s voice drifted through his mind.No one person is capable of everything. The best we can do is be there for the people we care about and give them all of ourselves while there’s still time.

Renee placed her hand on Woodley’s chest, and her hand began to glow within moments. She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate while moving her hand from side to side as if searching. Moments later, she opened her eyes and looked at Harris.

“We need to roll him onto his side. I want to get a better look at the wound.”

Harris moved around the bed, and Griffin came forward to assist him without saying a word. He didn’t like the other man touching Woodley but understood moving him with the extra help would be safer. Slowly and with as much care as possible, they turned Woodley, allowing Renee to pull back the bloody bandages and take a better look. He would have used his power to move the injured man, but he wasn’t certain about how gentle he could be given his heightened emotions.

He’d seen the wound left by the bullet when he’d tried to stop the bleeding, but that had been hours ago. Harris wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but the still gaping hole he saw wasn’t on the list. His hope quickly faded, and he prayed Renee could perform a miracle.

“Okay, hold him there,” Renee said. “And try not to move.”

Woodley’s breathing became labored, causing Harris to question whether they were doing the right thing by moving him. He was about to ask when Renee’s hands began glowing again, and she placed them directly over the wound.

“Hold him still,” she said as Woodley’s body began to shake violently.

Jennifer braced her hands on Woodley’s arm to help as he and Griffin tightened their hold. Renee’s hands glowed even brighter, and Woodley’s shaking slowed slightly. Harris could see beads of sweat forming on Renee’s forehead, and he could see the physical toll it was taking on her as she worked on Woodley.

This gave Harris the best indication of how dire Woodley’s situation was. Real fear, like he’d only ever experienced with his sister, filled him, making every breath Woodley took more important than the last.

How had he fooled himself into believing that he’d ever be able to walk away from this man? If they made it through this, Harris swore he’d stop living like a man without a future andallow himself to plan for that future. A future that included the lover currently fighting for his life.

Harris wasn’t sure how long they’d been in the bedroom working on Woodley, but the sun had risen when they emerged. Woodley’s condition was stable, and poor Renee was pale and exhausted even though Mrs. Greer had arrived and joined in the healing half way through.

Jason, and Darren had returned from Fire Lake with Mrs. Greer and were seated by the window. Harris wasn’t sure why Darren had come along; he was one of the survivors rescued along with Mrs. Greer, a young woman named Lydia, and the boy Frank that John and Stryker had adopted. He was too exhausted from worry to bother asking.

It wasn’t long before Renee and Mrs. Greer were in deep conversation about their shared abilities, and Harris didn’t miss the older woman’s glowing hands resting on Renee’s arm as color returned to the younger woman’s cheeks.

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