Nori's Delta (Delta Team Three #1) - Lori Ryan Page 0,66

during debrief Zip had told them his mask had come partially off when they freed the hostages. They were hoping nothing would come of it, but if Demir had locked in on Zip to blame for his son’s death and was trying to hunt him down, that was some bad shit.

“We got your back,” Jangles said to Zip and the rest of the group nodded. It went without saying, but they all wanted him to know anyway.

The doctors and nurses had been able to explain a lot of why Demir had been acting the way he had.

He hadn’t kidnapped the medical staff simply because the opportunity to grab them presented itself when they crossed his path during a mission with a medical charity.

He had taken them because his son was sick. From what they’d been told, there was very little possibility of a cure for the type of leukemia that had plagued the young boy. Demir had been told it was unlikely the ten-year-old would survive to see eleven but he’d been desperate to save him no matter the cost.

He had been forcing the doctors to try a controversial experimental method of treatment that none of the doctors and nurses thought would help.

The theory was that Demir had very much wanted to come to an agreement of support with the US government but he was trying to delay discussing the hostages because he was convinced they could help his son. The doctors had shown Demir improvements in the boy’s bloodwork, and the improvements had been real.

Unfortunately, the doctors had known they wouldn’t last. It was typical of someone with his condition to appear to be doing better just before death. But the doctors and nurses had known if they were still Demir’s prisoners when his son died, it would end poorly for them.

So they’d used the improvement to convince Demir he could release them and were banking on the hope he would do so before his son’s condition took a turn for the worse.

Merlin looked to Zip. “He’s right. We’ve got your back. The analysts are monitoring the situation. They’ll let us know if they find out anything more. In the meantime, your info is locked down. Whether it’s Demir or someone else looking for you, they won’t find you.”

Zip nodded, fixing a smile to his face, but for once Heath wondered if it was genuine or not. He knew Zip had been beating himself up over the mistake and finding out that having his face exposed like that might actually lead to trouble had to be hard on the guy.

Heath raised their empty pitcher to one of the bartenders, Jake, signaling for a refill. Then he pulled some bills from his pocket and placed them on the table.

“This round’s on me, guys.”

“You heading out?” Merlin asked.

Heath nodded. It hadn’t been an hour yet and he’d end up with a ton of time to kill at the airport, but maybe he’d stop and get Eleanor some flowers. He was too damned eager to see her to sit there any longer.

Duff grunted. “Say hey to Eleanor for us.”

Heath grinned. Sure, he could do that. Maybe after he’d said hey to her himself a few times.

Eleanor saw him when she was halfway down the escalator and wondered if her heart would always do that little flippy thing for him. He stood looking up at her, more handsome in dark jeans and a button-down shirt than any man had a right to look.

Then she saw he was holding a small bundle in his arms. She couldn’t make out what it was until she drew close and he pulled the little ball of fur from the crook of his shoulder and held it out toward her.

“Isn’t he adorable?” he asked.

Eleanor laughed. The puppy was small. Maybe only a few pounds, but the chocolate brown and tan fur sticking out in tufts was making up for the lack of mass.

He held up the dog. “He’s probably got some yorkie in him, or maybe silky.”

She reached out and pulled him to her. “You know we would be the worst dog owners on the planet. We’re each called away from home at a moment’s notice and we work long hours when we are home.”

“I know,” he grinned and leaned down to kiss her, stealing her breath for a moment with the heat of it.

When he pulled back he shrugged. “I went to buy you flowers and I found this little guy in the parking lot so I