Page 73 of Code Name: Tank
“Kodiak, how much longer until we touch down?” I called out.
“Two minutes,” he replied, the hospital already visible ahead.
Her pulse was still steady under my fingers, though weaker than before.
“I’ve got plans for us,” I whispered to her.
“What kind… of plans?” she managed to ask.
I looked into her eyes, seeing the trust and love there despite her pain. “The kind that involve forever, if you’re interested.”
“Very…”
Kodiak’s voice crackled through the radio. “Tower, this is emergency medical transport. Request immediate landing clearance for critical trauma patient.”
“Cleared for landing pad three,” came the response. “Medical team standing by.”
As we descended toward the hospital, I held Piper closer, whispering promises I prayed I’d have the chance to keep. Promises about our future, about the life we’d build together.
The trauma team was waiting as we touched down, rushing toward our helicopter with a gurney and emergency equipment.
“Gunshot wound to the left upper chest, heavy amount of blood loss,” I rattled off as they transferred Piper to the gurney.
“We’ve got her from here,” someone said, but I wasn’t letting go of Piper’s hand.
“I’m coming with you,” I said firmly.
“Sir, you can’t?—”
“I’m coming with you,” I repeated, my voice leaving no room for argument. “I’m not leaving her side.”
Piper’s grip on my hand was weakening, her eyes struggling to stay open. “Tank…”
“I’m right here, darlin’. Stay with me.”
They rushed her through the hospital doors, the trauma team shouting. “Blood pressure dropping. Oxygen saturation falling. Internal bleeding. Possible cardiac involvement.”
“This is as far as you go.” A man stopped in front of me. “We’ll do everything we can.”
Piper’s hand slipped from mine as they wheeled her into surgery. The last thing I saw was her face, pale and still, disappearing behind steel doors that might as well have been the gates of hell.
I stood there, in the empty corridor, her blood on my hands, my shirt soaked with it.
“Tank.” Kodiak’s voice came from behind me. “Come on. There’s nothing more you can do right now.”
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think beyond the image of Piper’s eyes closing as they took her away from me. What if those were the last words we ever spoke?
“She’s strong,” Kodiak said quietly. “If anyone can fight through this, it’s her.”
But I’d seen the amount of blood she lost. Felt how weak her pulse had become. Watched her breathing grow more labored despite everything I’d done to help her.
The woman I loved was fighting for her life behind those doors, and all I could do was wait.
I followed Kodiak into the waiting area but couldn’t sit.
“Hartwell’s gone,” he said, staring at a message on the screen.
I didn’t care. In fact, I couldn’t feel a fucking thing as I walked as far away as I could get without leaving, pulled my phone out, and placed a call.
