Hot Zone (Elite Force 2)

Amelia scraped her hair back and used a strip from the edge of her scrubs to tie it in a short ponytail at the base of her neck. They were grimy, sweaty, and essentially how he would expect after this impromptu nature hike without much in the way of gear. He was used to conditions like this. He’d been filthier on missions. Although Amelia… she’d been hanging tough but he didn’t know how much more she could take before collapsing.

“Amelia,” he called, waving her over. “We need to regroup before we head out.”

Her head tipped to the side, she picked around seaweed and driftwood washed up on the shore. She stopped in front of him. “Yes?”

“I should have given these to you yesterday.” He passed the SIG and the knife. He also scooped up the gun belt he’d taken off Oliver. “Do you know how to use them or do you need a quick how-to now?”

She took the weapons from him carefully. “I can handle them well enough, thank you.”

“Good, then.” He stroked her cheek, wanted to do more, but the time wasn’t right.

The discussion about his wife and daughter was still too fresh. He willed her to see in his eyes his need to keep things level.

She leaned into his hand for a split second before backing away with a curt nod that bobbed her scruffy ponytail. “Let’s get moving then.”

Kneeling, she stretched out her arms for Joshua.

Hugh reached between them, a hand on her shoulder. “We already covered this yesterday. I’ll carry him.”

She looked up at him with those pure blue eyes, and he saw written sympathy for every word he’d said the night before. Even if he didn’t mention it and she kept quiet, his baggage was still hanging out there between them. In fact, as silent as he’d stayed about it over the years, it was still there, biting him all the time. Pushing him. Leading him to take risks that put other people in danger if they had to haul his butt out.

He scooped up the kid and tucked him into the backpack sling. The little guy didn’t protest as he had the day before, but he still wasn’t giving in completely.

Amelia took up her walking stick and gestured for him to lead the way. “Talk to me about your—”

He tensed.

“—your job. The pararescue mission.”

He snatched up the chance to talk about anything else as handily as she snagged two bananas left from their food stores of last night.

“We train for rescue missions—land, sea, mountain. There are only three hundred of us.”

“Sounds like a movie title.” Grinning, she tucked her walking stick under her arm and peeled a banana.

“You’re poking fun?” He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re supposed to be suitably impressed with my kick-ass profession.”

“Like a groupie?” She pinched off a piece of the fruit and passed it to Joshua as she walked. “There are groupies, I assume.”

“There are people impressed with the uniform, more so than the actual mission, the calling,” he conceded.

“To rescue airmen and other service members. I think I read somewhere you motto is something like…”

“‘That others may live.’”

“Heavy stuff. Honorable. And very lucky for people like me.” She smiled her thanks again, before continuing, “Given that you’re here, you’re obviously called in during natural disasters.”

“And smaller-scale civilian rescues on occasion.” He studied her gait, wishing she had boots like his rather than the simple gym shoes she’d been given at the hospital. “We also work with NASA during water landings in case of emergencies. We work with SWAT and the FBI.”

“You’re in Florida now?”

“Florida, Japan, Alaska twice…” His mind traveled back through the years to that first assignment after training. His first tour in Alaska. With Marissa and Tilly.

“But you’re in Florida now.” Amelia snapped him to the present again with her crisp, no-nonsense voice.

“Technically, although we haven’t spent much time there. We were in the Middle East until a couple of months ago.” While most people looked forward to homecomings, he would have preferred to skip that part, all the happy family reunions.

“You must be ready for some downtime.”