Behind Enemy Lines Read Online Free Page B

you. One of the marine guards cut you out while Dr. Clark and one of your men did some fancy first aid to stop the worst of the bleeding.”
    “That would have been Joe Rodriguez. He’s our medic.”
    “I wouldn’t know. Your men haven’t introduced themselves to me.”
    He leaped on her words like a prosecuting attorney. “I thought you said they came to visit me at the hospital.”
    “They did. But they didn’t exactly observe the social niceties. They’d slip in, sit with you for a while, maybe whisper a word or two to you and then leave.”
    He nodded once. “Good.”
    Huh? She frowned, perplexed by his comment. He must’ve caught her expression, because he explained.
    “It was a risk to come see me. The government could’ve been using me as bait to draw them out. Were they disguised?”
    She cast her mind back through the days and nights of her anguish and guilt to those ghostly visits by his men.
    “Come to think of it, I guess they were. They weren’t wearing wigs and sunglasses, but they wore all kinds of different clothes. One of them came in limping once. I tried to ask him if he was okay, but he motioned me to be quiet before I could say anything.”
    “When was the cover story for me put in place?”
    “Before you left the embassy. While the doctor and your medic stabilized you enough to move, the paperwork was done.”
    Skepticism laced his voice. “That’s pretty damn fast.”
    “You were pretty damn hurt,” she retorted.
    “So then you stuffed me in your car, drove me and my fake visa to the hospital and strolled into the emergency room?”
    “More like I ran screaming into the emergency room, but you’ve got it basically right.”
    “Then what?”
    “Five hours of surgery to repair your kidney, set and pin your arm, fix the rest of your settable fractures and sew up the worst cuts that the doc and Rodriguez hadn’t already gotten to. Then you slept for six weeks.”
    “When did my men come see me?”
    “One of them came right after you got out of recovery and were put in your room. The tall, blond one.”
    “Dutch.”
    She nodded. The nickname fitted the guy. He was a solid six foot five of Nordic blond good looks. “He came in, read your chart, nodded at me and left. The next guy didn’t visit for about a week. After that, one of them came in every couple days to check on you.”
    “That would’ve been enough time for them to establish covers. Excellent. They didn’t lose their cool and do anything stupid.”
    “I didn’t think any of you Special Forces guys were stupid.”
    “We’re not. But we are intensely loyal to each other. There’s always a chance that emotion will rule a decision when one of our own is hurt.”
    “You guys get pretty close, huh?”
    “Yeah. You could say that.”
    The very flatness of his voice spoke volumes.
    “Anyway, you woke up eventually, and you know the rest.”
    “I remember you doing things to me.”
    Discomfort blossomed inside her. She’d taken over most of his day-to-day care, not only to help out an overburdened nursing staff, but also because she’d gotten, well, possessive of him in the weeks of watching over him.
    “What do you remember?” she asked hesitantly.
    Surprisingly, he was the one who looked uncomfortable all of a sudden.
    “You gave me massages.”
    She nodded.
    “And you gave me medicine. Painkillers.”
    She nodded again.
    “And sponge baths.”
    She winced and nodded a third time.
    “Damn!”
    His sharp expletive made her jump.
    “And I slept through it all?” He sounded thoroughly disgusted.
    “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m still going to have to help you until you get your strength back. The embassy doctor wants you to stay in bed for another couple weeks.”
    “Two more weeks in bed? Not a chance.”
    The absolute refusal in his voice alarmed her. “Tom. You were terribly injured. You’ve got to give yourself time to heal.”
    “I’m not staying in bed anymore. I’m sick of