Echoes at Dawn (36 page)

“Hi,” he said softly.

She tried to smile and it was then she realized that something was terribly wrong. She couldn’t move her mouth. There was a tube down her throat. She panicked, reaching, trying to yank it out. Then she gagged.

Rio grabbed both her hands and held them tightly, all the while yelling over his shoulder for help.

She was only dimly aware of what they were saying. She caught a few words from Rio. She’d woken up. She’d realized there was a breathing tube. She’d been more aware than maybe they’d thought she’d be. Or maybe it was that she’d come around before they expected.

Then from the nurse, talking to Rio about sedating her so they could remove the tube, but they had to wait for the doctor’s orders. Had to be certain she could breathe adequately on her own.

She tried to protest, but she couldn’t talk around that damn tube. All that came out was a muffled choking sound.

Rio turned back to her, still gripping her hands tightly. He put his lips to her forehead.

I need you to calm yourself, Grace. It’s just a breathing tube. You’ve been in a coma and you weren’t able to breathe on your own at first. They’ll take it out. All will be well.

And suddenly her world went fuzzier. That panicked her too.

Rio!

Shhh, it’s okay. They’re just sedating you so the tube can be removed. They don’t want you pulling it out and doing more damage. I’ll be here when you wake up again. I swear it.

WHEN
she woke again, her eyes came open immediately. There was no fight just to crack her eyelids. She felt stronger. Relief coursed through her veins until she was heady with it. She wanted to crawl out of the stupid hospital bed and do a double fist pump.

She was here. She was alive. She was going to make it.

She lifted her head, immediately searching for Rio. She frowned when she didn’t see him anywhere. Figures. She was finally something other than a panicked, freaking-out nitwit and he wasn’t even here.

Shea?

The response was immediate. She could feel her sister’s relief.

Grace, you’re awake. You’re stronger. I can feel it. You’re already so much better.

Thanks for being there. For all of it. I couldn’t have done
it without you.

It’s over now, Grace. I can’t wait to see you. You have to come for my wedding.

Wedding?

Grace felt Shea’s beautiful smile, her absolute joy, and it warmed Grace to her very soul.

Nathan and I are going to marry at the same time that his older brother and his fiancée get married. We were the reason they waited as long as they did, so it’s kind of fitting that we do it all together.

That’s wonderful, Shea. I’m so happy for you. And of course I’ll be there. Nothing could keep me away. Now go. I know you can’t keep up a link for long. We’ll talk later. Right now I have a man to track down.

Shea’s laughter lingered in Grace’s mind long after her sister left the conversation.

She was about to send out a demand to Rio to ask where the hell he was when her door opened and she saw him stick his head in.

His eyes brightened with joy and relief when he saw that she was awake and looking in his direction.

“Hey you.”

She smiled. “Hey yourself. Where you been?”

“I brought someone to see you. I wanted to make sure you were up for it. She just wanted to peek in on you while you were sleeping.”

Grace’s brow furrowed and then Rio walked farther in. Elizabeth came in behind him, holding his hand, a shy smile on her face. As soon as she saw that Grace was awake, her face lit up. She dropped Rio’s hand and ran for the bed.

“Careful!” Rio warned, not a second too late.

Elizabeth pulled up when she would have leapt onto the bed and instead stood beside it, jittering with excitement.

Then her smile turned down into a frown. “I was so worried for you. They told us you would die.”

Grace smiled and then held up an arm to hug her. Elizabeth needed no urging and snuggled immediately into Grace’s side.

“They were wrong,” Grace said. “I have too much to live for to die now.”

Her gaze found Rio’s as she spoke, and his warm gaze stroked gently over her face.

He walked around to the other side of her bed, pulled up a chair and sat. He took her free hand, the one that wasn’t occupied with holding Elizabeth, and he ran his fingers over the back of her hand and then her palm, over and over as if reassuring himself that she was here and alive.

“How are you feeling?”

She thought about it for a moment, mentally running down her body, testing what hurt and what didn’t.

“Tired,” she finally said. “Mentally tired. Like I’m burned out, you know? The mental fatigue is more overwhelming than the physical pain.”

“That’s understandable,” he said gently. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s amazing you still have your sanity intact.”

Elizabeth snuggled harder into Grace’s side and laid her head on Grace’s shoulder. Her tiny hand crept over Grace’s belly until she was wrapped firmly around Grace.

Grace snuck a glance at the little girl, who’d gained and lost so much in an instant. Her eyes were already closing, as if she too had reached her limit and now felt safe enough to rest.

Grace smiled and pressed a soft kiss to Elizabeth’s hair. When she was sure Elizabeth was asleep, she turned to Rio, her gaze worried.

“What will happen to her? She has no one.”

Rio smiled, slid their hands over to cup over Elizabeth’s. “She has us.”

For a moment, his answer didn’t sink in, but when it did, tears pricked her eyelids and she blinked furiously as her vision blurred.

“And I have you,” he said as he leaned forward to brush his lips over hers. “I have everything I could possibly want right here.”

IT
was a frustration for Grace that the first time she was getting to see her sister in over a year was on her sister’s wedding day. She wanted to come as soon as she’d been discharged from the hospital, but Rio had tucked her and Elizabeth away immediately and had insisted that Grace do nothing more taxing than eat and rest for several weeks.

While it had frustrated her, she had needed that time to heal. As did Elizabeth. She still grieved for her father, even knowing the sort of man he was, and she was dealing with guilt over her part in the whole sordid affair.

It had been a good time. Just the three of them. Rio had been so good to them both. She still got teary-eyed just thinking of how gentle and understanding he’d been with them and how he’d spoiled them so ridiculously.

Under Rio’s gruff, tough-as-nails, badass mercenary exterior was a man with a heart of gold and a soft spot a mile wide.

Rio drove into the Kelly compound, and Grace marveled at its size and also how it resembled a military base with all
the security. But she quickly forgot all about her surroundings when she saw her sister running to meet the vehicle.

“Stop!” she cried to Rio.

Rio braked, and before he’d come to a complete stop, Grace was out of the SUV and running as fast as she could to meet her sister.

They met halfway and Shea threw her arms around Grace. Shea was the smaller of the two and yet she engulfed Grace, squeezing like she was three times Grace’s size.

Grace returned her hug, holding on. Just holding on.

Tears ran freely down Grace’s cheeks. “I love you,” she choked out. “I can’t believe we’re together. That we’re here.”

Shea’s muffled sobs were lost in Grace’s shoulder. The two sisters stood in the sun, hugging, laughing, crying and then hugging some more.

Around them, the Kellys gathered, all present for the double wedding. They smiled indulgently while the Kelly wives and wife-to-be sniffled and wiped at their eyes.

Rio got out and leaned against the hood of the SUV, smiling as he watched the sisters’ reunion. Elizabeth snuck into his side and he wrapped his arm around her.

“They must have missed each other an awful lot,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, they did,” Rio said softly. “They’ve been apart for a very long time.”

After several more minutes, they broke apart and wiped at each other’s faces with their hands. Finally they gave up, laughing.

“Come on, there are so many people I want you to meet,” Shea said as she pulled at Grace.

Grace turned to look back at Rio and Elizabeth.

“We’re fine,” he mouthed. “You go on. We’ll catch up.”

Shea dragged Grace toward where the others were gathered a short distance away. She beamed as she pushed Grace forward.

“Grace, I’d like you to meet my—
our
—family.”

Grace nearly teared up all over again at the inclusion of her as family to all these others.

“This is Rachel, Ethan’s wife.”

The pretty brunette with soft brown eyes hugged Grace fiercely. “Welcome to our family, Grace.”

“And this is Sam’s wife, Sophie, and their daughter, Charlotte.”

Sophie stepped forward, a toddler on her hip, and smiled broadly at Grace. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Grace. We’re so glad you’re here and safe. Shea’s been so worried for you.”

Grace smiled back, her throat aching with emotion.

“This is Sarah, Garrett’s fiancée, and my wedding mate. Nathan and I kept interfering with their wedding plans, so I know they’re just happy to get on with it at this point.”

Sarah laughed and punched Shea in the arm. “The wedding will be so much more special now that everyone is home where they belong. Including you, Grace.”

Sarah hugged her tightly and then stepped back.

Then Shea took her through every single one of the Kelly brothers, all of whom she’d met or seen, but Shea insisted on introducing them when they were out of camo and not shooting at people.

When she got to the end, there was an older couple, their smiles as warm as the sun.

“And these two people are the most wonderful people in the world,” Shea breathed. “I want you to meet Marlene and Frank Kelly. Or Mama and Papa Kelly, as they are often referred to. They spawned all those Kelly boys plus picked up more than a few strays along the way.” She pointed in the direction of two men to the side. “Those are Sean and Swanny, two of Marlene’s adoptees.”

“You poor dear,” Marlene said as she enfolded Grace in a hug. “You’ve been through so much and now this. This family is enough to overwhelm anyone. But welcome to our family. Your family. You’re one of us now. Just like Rio, though he’d probably twitch at the thought. He’s just as much my boy as any I gave birth to.”

“Thank you,” Grace whispered.

As soon as Marlene released her, Frank enfolded her
into a huge hug. She’d never felt so loved as she did right now, surrounded by all these people. Family. It boggled her mind.

Standing on Frank’s other side was a young woman that he pulled forward. “This is Rusty. She’s a Kelly too. The only Kelly sister to the horde of boys.”

Rusty’s face lit up and Grace could swear her eyes glistened with tears at the way Frank introduced her.

“She’s going to UT,” Marlene said, beaming with pride.

“Welcome to the chaos,” Rusty said as she hugged Grace. “It’s pretty crazy and overwhelming around here.” Then her gaze softened as she stared at her family surrounding her. “But it’s the very best kind of crazy.”

“Let’s all go inside,” Marlene suggested. “We have a wedding to get ready for. I’m sure Grace is tired from her trip and would like a shower and something to eat. We’re only down to a few hours, girls. Better get on the stick.”

Everyone dissolved into laughter and then there was a chorus of “yes ma’ams” all around.

“NATHAN,
Rio, I need to see you both for a moment,” Sam murmured.

Rio and Nathan, who’d been standing together talking in Sam’s living room while the women were dressing for the ceremony, turned in Sam’s direction.

Rio frowned. “What’s up?”

He motioned them away and they stepped onto the wooden deck that overlooked the lake in the distance.

“Resnick wanted to come. I told him no.”

“What the hell? Shouldn’t he still be in the hospital anyway?” Nathan asked.

Sam shrugged. “Probably, but I think he was more afraid to stay where he was vulnerable. He’d rather risk getting out so he can protect himself from any assassination attempts.”

“You didn’t tell him about Grace.”

It didn’t come out as a question. Rio said it fiercely, more of a demand than anything.

“I told him what Hancock put in his report. That she died,” Sam said quietly. “Which is why I wouldn’t allow him here. If he does ever come into contact with Shea, she can’t let on that Grace is alive. It’s not that I don’t trust him—I don’t fully—but I don’t want any leaks where Grace is concerned and I know you don’t either, Rio.”

“Fuck no,” Rio growled.

“He was devastated when I told him Grace had died. He feels responsible. He’s tried to protect them since they were young. He’s long suspected that he’s their biological brother or at least half brother. Chances are Grace and Shea aren’t even full-blooded sisters and maybe not even half sisters.”

“It doesn’t matter to them,” Nathan said quietly.

“Yes, I know. But I wanted to tell you both. Rio, you’ll need to get Grace out soon after the ceremony. I don’t want to take a chance on Resnick not taking no for an answer.”

Rio nodded.

Sam nudged Rio on the shoulder. “And hey, man, for what it’s worth, I’m damn glad she saved your sorry ass.”

Rio smiled faintly because he still couldn’t think about what she’d done without a cold fist clutching his gut. The thought of losing her, even so many weeks later, sent him into an instant sweat.

Just as they reentered the house, Marlene swept into the living room, arms waving. “Okay, everyone, let’s get this show on the road. Places everyone. Outside. Shoo shoo.”

The men all laughed and then grumbled but good-naturedly fled outdoors.

It was a wedding fit for the lifestyle of KGI to a T. Although outdoors, the area where the ceremony was being held was between Sam’s and Garrett’s houses, but on the exposed sides, huge, bulletproof glass barriers had been erected, one facing the lake and the other facing the building referred to as the War Room.