Page 76 of Code Name: Tank
“You did?”
He nodded. “You said you wanted to see the ocean, and I told you I’d take you anywhere you wanted to go. The Caribbean, Pacific Coast, Mediterranean—as long as you stayed with me.”
“God, that sounds so good.”
My gaze drifted to the windowsill, where I noticed several flower arrangements for the first time. “Are those…?”
“From the team,” Tank said, following my line of sight. “The big arrangement is from Admiral and Alice. The purple ones are from Doc and Merrigan, and the sunflowers are from Atticus—he said they reminded him of your sunny disposition.” He chuckled.
“That’s so sweet of them.”
“Atticus also sent a message.” Tank pulled out his phone, scrolling to find it. “He said, ‘Tell Dragon that getting shot to solve a case is definitely overachieving, even for her. Next time, leave the dramatic heroics to the rest of us.’”
Despite my pain, I found myself laughing, which immediately made me wince. “That sounds like him.”
“He also said to tell you he’s keeping your desk organized until you get back, which apparently means he’s not touching anything and warning everyone else not to either.”
The thought of my teammates caring for me, protecting even my workspace in my absence, brought fresh tears to my eyes. “Outside of my parents, I’ve never had this before,” I whispered.
“What?”
“People who truly, genuinely care.”
“Well, you have it now. All of us. For as long as you want us.”
As if my body was finally allowing itself to relax now that I knew I was truly safe, exhaustion began pulling at me again. My eyelids grew heavy despite my desire to keep talking to Tank.
“Rest,” he murmured. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Always, darlin’. Always.”
As consciousness faded, I held tight to his hand and to the knowledge that I’d finally found what I was searching for without even knowing it—not just love, but a true partner. Someone who would fight for me, stay with me, and never let me face the darkness alone.
When I woke again,the light outside had shifted, suggesting I’d slept for several more hours. Tank was still in his chair besideme, but something had changed. His clothes were different—clean and his hair looked like he’d actually showered—and he seemed more alert, more present.
“You look better,” I managed, my voice still hoarse but stronger than before.
His smile was rueful. “Well, I had some help with that.” He reached for my hand, threading our fingers together. “Piper, I need to tell you something. When you were in surgery, when I thought...” He paused, gathering himself. “I called my dad. Told him I might lose you.”
My heart squeezed at the raw emotion in his voice.
“They caught the first flight they could get and drove up from Albany,” he continued. “My parents, Cam, Carter, and the kids. They got here about seven hours after I called them—you were still in surgery at the time.” Tank’s thumb traced across my knuckles. “They’ve been taking shifts, making sure I ate, forcing me to shower and change clothes. My mom found ingredients and cooked enough food to feed the entire hospital staff.”
“They came all this way for me?” I whispered, stunned.
“For us,” Tank corrected. “You should have seen my mom when she got here. She went directly to the charge nurse and announced that her son’s girlfriend was in surgery and she needed to know everything was being done properly.”
Despite everything, I found myself smiling. “She really did that?”
Tank chuckled. “She did. Then she proceeded to charm the entire nursing staff with her cookies and convinced them to bend about six different hospital policies.”
The image of his family caring about me, worrying about me, made my chest tight with emotion. “They’re here?”
“Yep. They rented the same camp again where they stayed at Thanksgiving.” Tank’s expression grew more serious. “Piper,they want to see you when you’re feeling up to it. But there’s no pressure. You need to focus on getting better first.”
“I want to see them,” I said. “When do the doctors think I can leave?”
