Heatseeker (Atrati) Read Online Free

one on her neck that showed above the light blanket covering curves he could still feel in the palms of his hands if he closed his eyes and thought hard enough.
    She used to tease him about what he saw in her, calling herself average. But to him she’d been anything but. And still was. He supposed at five-foot-five she was average height, but she’d always seemed small beside his big six-foot-two-inch frame. Her light brown hair might not be considered exotic, but he had loved running his fingers through it.
    Her pale blue eyes meant she had to wear sunglasses even on overcast days, or she’d squint in that adorable way of hers, but he could see everything in them. Her eyes had never hidden anything from him, and he’d been determined not to fill them with the horror that knowing what he’d become would do.
    Her lips were what he remembered the most often, though, their bow shape curved in a smile or open just a tiny bit, inviting a kiss. Images of the lips that were now cracked with dryness used to wake him in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. And he’d ache for what he couldn’t have.
    Her hair was a frazzled mess around her face, but she smelled better than she had when he’d found her. The sharp scent of disinfectant indicated that Doc had bathed Rachel with wipes and had probably just finished.
    Kadin frowned at every little proof of what those bastards had done to her. “She won’t leave until we get the information she’s after.”
    If he wasn’t so pissed, he would smile. Even in sleep, Rachel’s slightly squared jaw was set in stubborn lines.
    “She’s obstinate.” Doc shrugged. “Like someone else I know.”
    “You mean every member of this team, right?”
    Doc smiled and saluted in a touché gesture. “Maybe.”
    “We’ll get the intel tomorrow, and then we’re out of here.”
    Unlike his other teammates, Doc didn’t look as if she approved of that plan. “Can’t Spazz get the pictures with one of his handy gadgets while we take Miss Gannon down from the mountain and get her proper medical treatment?”
    “I suggested that to her.” When they’d gotten back to camp. “You were there.”
    It hadn’t been a suggestion, either, but Rachel had argued with what little strength and voice she had left. Batting away his hands and those of the medic, Rachel had refused medical treatment, or to even lie down, until he agreed she could stay until the men were identified.
    He’d finally given his promise. Something he would not break unless he had no choice.
    “ Acho men . So she refused. Since when do you let the extractee tell you how to do your job, jefe ?” Eva demanded.
    The woman was seriously irritated when she broke out the Spanish cuss words. Though damn it, chief was pretty mild.
    But Kadin’s answer was a simple one. Since that extractee had become Rachel Gannon, the one woman—hell, the one person—on the planet he didn’t know how to say no to and never had. Except the one time he’d made it count.
    He reached out, wanting to touch Rachel but knowing he shouldn’t. His hand hovered just above her arm. “She’s not up to the hike out, anyway.”
    “One of you could carry her.” Eva gave his immobile hand a worried look. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
    “It will be better for her if she gets some rest first, even if I do end up carrying her.” The idea had sounded reasonable in his head but not as convincing out loud.
    The look on Doc’s face said she was of the same mind. “It will be better for her to get to safety.”
    “Rachel came to Africa to do a job. She’s not going to leave without doing it.”
    “If you indulge her.”
    “She deserves a little indulgence after what she’s been through.” Damn. What the hell had the woman been thinking, taking this assignment?
    But that was a question he’d been asking himself ever since discovering that the agent who’d come to Africa to pretend to be Tanya Ruston six months ago was Rachel. And he