leg? What else?”
“According to the surgeon, they’re worried about infection.”
“Don’t let them take it….”
Morgan squeezed his shoulder again and felt the powerful muscles beneath the gown Hamilton wore. The man was in top shape. As a Recon Marine, he’d have to be. “We’re going to do everything in our power to see that you keep your limb, Captain.”
Panic seized Thane. “You mean…I might lose it?” No! No, that can’t happen! His heart raced with anguish as more and more of his drug-induced state was wiped out by another surge of adrenaline.
Morgan held up his hand. “I’ve got an idea, Captain. I need to make some phone calls. When I come back, I’ll have more answers and a plan of action for you. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you keep that leg.”
Thane closed his eyes. Pain was now drifting up his leg into his thigh, and knotting his gut. He bit back a groan. “I won’t lose my leg—sir,” he declared between clenched teeth. “Hell will freeze over before I allow anyone to cut it off….”
Morgan saw the dangerous glint come into the younger man’s eyes, the black pupils constricting and a look of stubbornness entering. Lifting his hand, Morgan said, “No one wants to see you walking on two legs more than me. I’ll be back, Captain.”
Thane was completely conscious the next time Morgan Trayhern came in, an hour later. The nurse had him sitting up, and had given him an IV drip of morphine for the after-surgery pain, but he was much more alert. The nausea in his stomach had abated, for which he was grateful. His gaze kept going back to his right leg. Dr. Del Prado had come in less than fifteen minutes ago and given him the prognosis. He didn’t leave much hope that he’d keep it in the long term. That scared Thane. Scared him a lot.
He looked up eagerly as Trayhern walked toward him. The man was ex-military, no question. And Hamilton knew the legend about him. Every marine did. The fact that Morgan had been a marine was a godsend. Marines always took care of their own, and it was apparent that Trayhern was going to do the same for him. That gave Thane hope despite the brutal words of the Peruvian doctor.
“Things are set into motion, Captain Hamilton,” Morgan informed him as he halted at the side of his bed.
Thane felt a semblance of relief and released a breath of air from between his tightly compressed lips. Somehow, Trayhern’s husky words, the look in his dark blue eyes, reassured him. “What’s in motion, sir?”
He smiled a little. “Several things. Just lie back and relax, Son, and I’ll fill you in on what we’re going to do.”
Morgan saw the hope in the man’s tense features. There was more color flooding into his face, making his cheeks look ruddy. The eaglelike alertness in his dark green eyes settled directly on him. Hope filtered through Morgan as he laid out the plan.
“I’m taking you stateside on a Perseus-owned jet that’s being readied at the Cusco airport. I have a trauma physician on board who will monitor you all the way back. We’re landing at the Sedona, Arizona, airport, where you’ll be met by an ambulance. You’ll be taken directly to the Red Rock Hospital. I’ve talked to their head bone doctor, Jonathan Briggs, who’s one of the best in the nation, according to Dr. Del Prado.” Morgan smiled a little, triumph in his tone. “I talked personally to Dr. Briggs just a little while ago and he’s willing to take you on as a patient. Not only that, but I’ve talked to your mother, Judy Hamilton, to let her know that you’re all right and you’re coming home. At this same hospital, they have one of the best physical therapists in the state. And a masseuse who works with this therapist. I’ve also contacted a local homeopath, Rachel Donovan-Cunningham, who has agreed to work with you on your case. Dr. Briggs has no problem using alternative medicine right along with standard treatment. He’ll be reviewing your records and X rays as soon as we get you to the hospital.”
Morgan saw the man’s eyes flare with shock, though he didn’t understand why. He added, “Dr. Briggs is one of the best bone surgeons in the U.S.A. The very top. I wanted you in the best of hands, Captain Hamilton. I didn’t want you put in a military hospital somewhere. I know you were probably expecting that, but since you’re on our payroll and it was our mission, you’re not obliged to go to military hospital. We pay for everything, if that’s what has you worried. I take care of my people, Captain. They get the best. And wherever the best are located, that’s where you go to heal. The fact that your hometown is Sedona, is a lucky stroke. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that Dr. Briggs is there and that’s where I’d put you, anyway.”
Morgan smiled a little, pleased with the way things were falling into place. “Besides, your mother was thrilled with the idea that you would be so close to home. In my experience, having family around, people who love you, is an asset in a long-term war of recovery, Captain. No one can guarantee you’ll keep your leg—yet. And I know the importance of family, loved ones and friends in a battle like this. All it can do is help you in the long run.”
Stunned, Thane lay there taking it all in. He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. What the hell was he going to do? Knotting the material beneath his hands, he stared straight ahead. Hurt pumped through his chest with every beat of his heart. Home. Not exactly a word that he jumped up and down with joy over. And his mother…
His throat constricted as he rasped, “Sir, with all due respect, I don’t need home in order to keep my leg.”
Scowling, Morgan heard the edge in the man’s low tone. He saw a flicker of emotion in his narrowed green eyes. Sensing something was wrong, Morgan stood there for a moment digesting the officer’s tightly spoken words.
“Captain, I was once badly injured. When I came to, I was in a foreign hospital surrounded by people who spoke a language I didn’t understand. I had no one. No family. No friends. I remember how alone I felt. How I cried at night in the darkness of that ward. For me, the pain of that was a helluva lot worse than the pain in my head and the rest of my body from the wounds I sustained. Looking back on that period of my life, I’m sure I’d have recovered far more quickly than I actually did, if I’d had people who loved me around.”
Thane swallowed hard. Pain was arcing through his heart. It felt like a fist was surrounding the organ and squeezing it to death. His nostrils flared. He tried to squelch his feelings. It was no use. “There’s got to be another bone doctor in the U.S. Isn’t there, sir?”
Morgan heard the desperation in the officer’s tone, saw it clearly in his taut expression. “Dr. Briggs is the best in the country. I want you in his hands.”
Dammit! “Then, sir, I’ll remain at the military hospital at Camp Reed, instead.”
Tipping his head slightly, Morgan tried to ferret out the truth behind the marine’s tautly strung words. “When you have a home? A ranch to go to?” There was disbelief in his tone. He saw Hamilton struggle mightily with anger that flashed momentarily in his eyes. His mouth thinned considerably.
“You spoke to my mother, sir?”
The words were icy.
Disgruntled, Morgan said, “Yes. Why?”
“And she was ready to receive me with open arms?” Thane couldn’t help the sarcasm dripping out of his mouth.
Uneasy, Morgan said, “Yes. She was, first of all, relieved that you were alive. And when I
