The Navy's Ghost (Bad Boys of Beta Squad) Read Online Free Page A

request for you.”
    “ Wow. It totally blows my mind.” Sleep tugged at her awareness. “I’ll try to live up to his regard, sir.”
    “I think you’ve more than lived up to it, Ensign.” Whittleton snorted. “Take care of yourself and get some rest. We expect you back on duty in a few months.”
    “Three , sir. I’ll be back in no more than three.”
    “ We’ll see you then.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Swift winds, Ensign Brickman.”
    But Chris already drifted in the sweet painkiller sea. Her vision played tricks on her. She swore the Lieutenant Commander’s face crumpled into sorrow as he cursed softly and wiped his eyes before swiftly striding from her room. Now you’re just dreaming, Brickman. Whistler never cries. She let the idea go and slid into sleep.

Chapter Two
     
     
    Todd “Magic” Hunter lengthened his strides down the hallway of Coronado Medical Center, searching for the nurse’s station. His gut clenched tight and he told himself for the hundredth time Ghost survived. Dammit, if the stupid doctors lost her after he’d managed to clamp her artery shut, he’d tear this place apart.
    Breathe, jackass. Fury’s not gonna solve this.
    The hospital’s halls sat relatively quiet and vacant in the after-dinner hour and Magic searched for the nurse’s station. No one appeared to be anywhere.
    “Where are the fucking nurses?” Todd swung his gaze around the hallway, but no one materialized. He scanned the walls for the nurse rotation board behind the desk and found Brickman listed beside a nurse’s name and the number fifteen. He could almost hear CPO “Rimshot” Stanton’s voice whispering “Target acquired.”
    Some of Magic’s tension faded as he approached Ghost’s room. She’d been moved out of the ICU into the main portion of the medical center. Means she’s out of immediate danger . When he reached the door, he paused and took a few deep breaths, nervous. Pussy. Just open the damn door and look in on her. She’s not dead.
    H e hoped.
    Swallowing against the insidious uncertainty, he depressed the door handle and pushed the door slowly open.
    The room sat dark and empty of ornamentation. Only the bed and the medical equipment filled the small space. No flowers or balloons livened up the somber atmosphere and he vowed to remedy it immediately. He tried not to inhale more of the antiseptic scent as he swung his gaze to the occupant in the bed.
    Chris slept, her head turned toward the shaded window as if seeking the light. She appeared so small and fragile, though she’d proved the assessment wrong numerous times in the past. His chest tightened with anguish at her condition.
    The darkness became oppressive and he damn near dove for the shades covering the window. The last light of the setting sun painted patterns on the wall and the foot of the bed as Magic spotted Chris’s chart. He grabbed it to distract himself from the details of Ghost’s body beneath the covers.
    The detailed medical explanation flew past his awareness as he skimmed, but he caught a few points. They’d given her plenty of pain medication and she’d been responding well to treatment. He recalled the Lieutenant Commander’s debriefing on Ghost’s status and he’d said the leg had been ugly, but the doc encouraging. Magic didn’t buy it for a moment.
    Todd grimaced as he remembered slicing through Chris’s thigh muscles with his field knife to get to her artery. At least the CT scans show the artery’s strong, but I’m sure her leg looks like a shark got it.
    He hoped she didn’t b egrudge it, though he sure as hell did. The damage he’d done in an effort to save her bugged the hell out of him and his fury surged at the memory of the man who’d lured her into a blind spot. If he hadn’t already been beaten within an inch of his life, Todd would have finished the job the interrogators started. His gaze dropped back to the chart to calm himself down. The doc had increased her calcium intake for