Veil of Justice, Shadows of Justice Book 3 by Regan Black

out version, in the passenger seat, Jaden put the gun
away.
    Cleveland rushed forward and Gideon kept
watch from the helicopter.
    "Something's blocked her airway," Jaden
explained. "Wake him up while I work with her."
    Cleveland muttered about Nathan breaking
apart, but he shook the shoulder once, then again. Finally the man
in the seat blinked up at him. "Rough night?" Cleveland asked with
a smile.
    Nathan only blinked.
    "This guy is nearly comatose," Cleveland said
to Jaden.
    Jaden jumped back as Kelly suddenly reared up
off the seat gulping air. Then she had to pull the smaller woman
out of the car when Kelly started beating on Nathan.
    Jaden dodged fists and feet as Kelly flailed
around, yelling about rats, telepathy and ungrateful bastards.
"Give me a hand," she pleaded to Cleveland, but he only laughed at
her predicament.
    Cleveland rounded the car, but before he
reached the women, he tripped. His face pressed to the pavement,
asphalt digging into his cheek, he couldn't move.
    Gideon's voice boomed from the helicopter's
loudspeaker. "This is a rescue, soldier. Remain calm. The rose red
city glows at sunset."
    Jaden assumed that last bit was a code phrase
Nathan had left in his in-case-of-capture file. Gideon repeated the
message twice more before Cleveland could finally peel his face off
the road.
    Jaden gave up on the single-minded fury in
her arms and resorted to pressing a nerve that rendered her
unconscious. "Should've started with that. Damn, would you look at
her neck?"
    Cleveland scooped Kelly into his arms and
carried her to the helicopter. "I'll be back for him."
    Jaden crouched down to look at Nathan from
the relative safety of the open driver's side door. "How bad is
it?"
    "Beats the hole."
    Poor man. Jaden's stomach twisted.
She'd spent too many lives in and around the flawed justice systems
of the world. At least he seemed conscious now. "Can you walk?"
    "Not yet. Did I hurt your friend?"
    "Not as bad you hurt yours." She regretted
the quip when Nathan struggled to make his muscles move. "Easy,
soldier. She'll be fine when she wakes up. She seems to think you
were choking her."
    Nathan groaned. "Where are we?"
    "About two hundred miles west of
Leavenworth."
    "No pursuit?"
    Jaden nodded. "We're trying to keep it that
way." When Cleveland joined her, they looped Nathan's arms over
their shoulders, intending to drag him to the helicopter.
    "Hold up," Cleveland said.
    He looked pointedly at the ground. Nathan's
feet were merely open wounds linked together by narrow strips of
skin. Jaden's stomach rolled again and she silently cursed whoever
had done this to him.
    They shifted, using a chair carry to hustle
him to the helicopter where Gideon waited with a medical kit. Jaden
and Cleveland stripped the remaining gear from the Mustang and
stowed it while Gideon finished the first aid and got Nathan
secured for the flight.
    With a little effort they got the car out of
the ditch and back on the road, then Cleveland drove away and Jaden
buckled herself back into the copilot's seat.
    She and Gideon made the trip back to Chicago
in silence.
     
    * * *
     
    Gideon landed the helicopter at the pad
reserved for military use at Chicago's Midway airport and shut down
the systems. Jaden had yet to say a word. He didn't think it was a
good sign, but then, the only woman he vaguely understood was his
wife.
    "I gave the girl a sedative," he said.
    "I wondered. Good plan. ETA on her getting
conscious?"
    He checked his watch. "Maybe an hour."
    She nodded.
    "Are the cars ready?" she asked.
    "Three. Inside, just as requested." Gideon
flicked his thumb in the general direction of the hangar. He'd done
all he could to assist the rescue and help her transport both
patients to the safest place in town. "Did I forget anything?"
    "Doesn't look like it." She smiled, and
though it was a tired expression right now, it eased his mind some.
"But I probably forgot to say thank you."
    He tapped his ball cap and gave her the wink
that always