Reveal is currently the title for what was New Life, and this is an excerpt. I’m out of town for a few days, so I am stacking a few of these on the blog. I am delaying the release because of a new scene I’m adding. If you enjoy my writing, be sure to check out my Amazon Author Page. And don’t forget, my paperbacks are on sale for $8.99 until the end of the year (or until I get back…)
Jack Dixon walked back into the aircraft and headed back to Patrick Henry airport in Virginia. He planned on trading the C-130 for a Gulfstream and going to be with Dave Cook and Warren Chestik.
Before heading back to North Carolina, he congratulated the HRT for a job well done. He shook hands with each of them, hugging some with whom he’d had longer relationships, Like Gino, Duke, Patrick and Ric. They were men he’d trusted with his own life, and in the case of Ric, had entrusted him with their lives, as well.
Three hours after dropping Martinez with Sky, Jack walked into Dave Cook’s hospital room. He was just starting to rouse, his son at his side. Amy was sitting on the far side of the bed, her hand clasped in Pam’s. Stacy Cook stood behind her husband, hovering over Dave. Monitors softly beeped and hummed in the background.
A few doors away, Warren Chestik was in another ICU suite, but was getting ready to be moved to a regular room. When Jack had stopped in, Chestik had jokingly called it GenPop, like General Population in prison. His top security man was ready to bust out. The only thing keeping him in bed was the insistence of his wife. He knew he still needed to heal, but inaction wasn’t his style.
“Warren,” Jack told his security man, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier. If there is anything you need, you know you can count on me.”
“I know, Mr. Dixon. I’m thankful you were able to safely return the Cooks and Mrs. King. I wish I’d been able to keep them safe in the first place.”
Jack leaned over the bed to hug his security man. He whispered to him, “You did everything right, my friend. I’m the one that made the mistakes.”
Jack sat with him for a few minutes as they prayed for the families of his two comrades that hadn’t survived the attack. All of them shed tears over the loss of life, but Jack’s assurances that Chestik had done all he could helped.
“Warren, I talked to Stacy. She told me that there was nothing you could have done. You were the senior man. You were with your protectees, that was where you belonged.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He’d left him just a few minutes before to visit with the Cook family. When he walked into the hospital room, all three of the women walked over to greet him. His wife gave him a kiss and Stacy and Pam each hugged him tightly.
“Chestik is down the hall. I think they’re getting ready to move him to a regular room, though,” Jack said.
“I going to go visit with him,” Amy said.
“I’d like to go,” Stacy interjected. “I want to speak to him.”
“Stacy, I think he’d like that. But you need to know, before you go… I gave the order to move you. I thought you’d be safer if we moved you to someplace we had more control over. If you are going to be angry about what happened, that should be directed at me, ok?” Jack said softly.
Stacy hugged him again, “I’m not upset, Jack. Nobody could have guessed what would happen. I wanted to tell him how much I appreciate everything he did.”
Jack gave her the room number and she walked out of the room.
“Pam,” Jack said, “she is a remarkable young woman. You and Chad deserve a lot of credit for raising her.”
