Under Fire (Elite Force 3)

His eyes fluttered open and she blushed.

“Hey, now, Brandon, you weren’t supposed to hear that yet.”

He touched her lips. “You deserve better than me… so much baggage…”

She cupped his face and stared straight into his surprisingly clear eyes. “Who makes up the rules about what’s fair and not fair? Because last time I checked, life rarely keeps a perfectly tallied scoreboard.” She smiled. “Like that football analogy? I threw it in there just for you.”

He laughed, then coughed.

“Shhh…” She pressed her fingers to his mouth. “You don’t have to talk. I just want you to know that I do love you. The man you are now and the part of yourself you’ll reclaim over time. I understand about journeys to strength.”

“God, Cat, I love you, too”—his chest pumped for air, from exertion and emotion—“but I won’t ever be… the same man I was before.”

“Brandon, I can’t imagine how anyone could remain unchanged after what you’ve been through.” She kissed his hand, sitting by his side where she intended to stay. “I accept you as you are. That’s a great gift, you know. You gave the same to me.”

She’d waited a lifetime for someone to accept her, see her, the real her. But then maybe a part of that journey was learning to accept herself first. Whatever the path, she was just so very glad it had led her to this man.

***

Liam stood outside the emergency room door, where Rachel was finishing up billing paperwork after her exam. She’d been smacked around pretty bad by General Sullivan, and Liam had been hard-pressed not to return the favor by beating the crap out of the bastard.

But this arrest was going one hundred percent by the book. No jeopardizing the conviction. When everything came out, after the military justice system finished with Sullivan, he would be lucky to get only a life sentence—treason, kidnapping, murder, attempted murder. There wasn’t a punishment harsh enough.

Liam cracked his knuckles.

The automatic doors from outside swished open, bringing in a gust of humid Florida heat along with Jose James. The younger PJ had changed into jeans and a marathon shirt, his gym shoes squeaking on the tiles.

“Everything okay with Rachel, sir?” Cuervo pulled up alongside him.

“Right as rain.” Thank God. “We’re out of here any second now.”

“Awesome. Awesome.” Cuervo nodded, fishing in his pocket and bringing out keys. “Data and I thought you might need some wheels, since that rat trap Jeep you bought is still down in the Everglades. So we brought you a rental car over. Data’s on the phone with a lady friend now or he would have come in with me. She’s pissed because he missed their date last night. I guess saving the free world isn’t a good enough excuse sometimes.”

“Data had a date?”

“Yeah, I know. Guess some gals go for pocket protectors.” He passed over the keys. “Here ya go. We even made sure it’s gassed up.”

“Hey, thanks.” He clasped the cool metal in his fist, searching for the right words, but hell, there weren’t ones big enough to thank a person for helping save his world—Rachel. “I appreciate this, and everything else you guys did for us these past few days.”

“De nada. It’s what we do for each other.” Cuervo leaned back, crossing his feet at the ankles. “You gotta know what the takeaway is from this whole little debacle.”

“Move to the Everglades permanently? My car’s already there.”

Cuervo looked at him, really looked, with a maturity gained from the job more than of years. “If all the good ones like you get out, we’re stuck with leaders like General Dickhead.”

A laugh punched up and out. God, he loved his guys. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

They settled into silence, soaking up that side benefit of being a team, spending hours in the field or on the road together. They didn’t have to fill every second with meaningless chitchat. When they spoke, it counted. It meant something. And it was clear Cuervo had something more on his mind.

Finally, Liam nudged. “Go ahead and spit it out, kid. Whatever it is you need to say.”

Cuervo stared at the floor, scuffing the heel of a gym shoe while he gathered his thoughts just right. “Seriously, I get that it’s tough to stay in this profession, to screw over the ones you love again and again because the mission calls. I see that grief with the other guys in the unit over busted relationships. At what point does a guy go from being an altruistic serviceman to becoming a cold bastard ignoring the needs of his family?” He frowned. “God knows, I don’t have the answer.”

Liam swallowed hard, thinking of his exes, the breakups, the pain he’d caused.

Cuervo looked up, pinning Liam with clear trusting eyes that would follow him into hell if he asked. “But I do know whatever happened in the past is the past. And the man I see in front of me today is sitting firmly on the altruistic side.”

Liam scratched his chest right over his heart, which was starting to pump hard. Back in the plane, he’d realized how damn foolish it was to let Rachel go. But if he got out of the air force, his life forked in a different direction from hers or so he’d thought during that stupid-ass fight back at the cabin.