Relentless (38 page)

Rhys kissed her palm, and when he spoke his eyes were damp. “I came here to protect you, and I didn't.”

Her heart squeezed. “Yes, you did. You did everything humanly possible to keep me safe.”

“No. I let you give that speech, and I shouldn't have. But I knew how important it was to you so I wanted you to do it... ”

“Rhys, I needed to give it. In hindsight I admit it was a stupid risk, but at the time I needed it for myself.” She pleaded with her eyes for his understanding and acceptance. “I do not hold you one iota responsible for what happened today.”

He bowed his head as he battled with her words and she pressed her cheek to his, wrapping her left hand around the back of his neck. Her voice wobbled. “I knew you'd come for me. Even when he had me in a headlock and that knife was inches from my throat, I knew if I held on long enough you would save me.”

“Oh, shit, sweetheart— ”

She shook her head. She needed to get this out. “I knew you were trying to get to me. So I kept fighting. I kept thinking of how much I loved you, and that I couldn't let him take you away from me.”

His embrace was fierce. “I'm so proud of you, Nev. You were so damn brave.”

Her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment as insight dawned. “You saw the tape, didn't you?”

He gave a reluctant nod.

Shame and sadness filled her. What must he think of her, after having watched that? Was he going to wind up as scarred as she was inside?

“When I saw you crawl over to help him... ” His voice caught. “My heart broke all over again.”

She squeezed her lids shut against the memory. “Why did he do it, Rhys? Why?”

“He was part of a terrorist cell, sweetheart. Directly linked to Tehrazzi. We think he had Shirani's wife abducted.”

She pulled back, remembering the regret and purpose in the neurosurgeon's eyes. Had he been trying to save his wife? “Is she all right?”

“No one knows yet.”

“Tehrazzi set all this up? To get to me?”

“Yeah, he did. From Pakistan. Luke said a team went to his last known location but he'd already cleared out. They tried to track him with a military satellite, but... ”

But he'd done another vanishing routine. She shook her head, weary to the bone. “They've got to get him.”

“They will. Just as soon as Luke's healthy enough, he'll be back over there to hunt him down.”

“With you?” She hated the thought of him being in any more danger. It had hurt enough before she'd fallen in love with him, but now... How would she deal with that? The idea of him leaving her now when she had all this to deal with frightened her. She didn't think she could handle it without him.

He started up with more of those soft strokes on her back. “I'm not... up for that, I don't think. Not after this.”

Yeah, she could totally understand that. And she was glad. A few beats passed. “I don't think I can move my thumb,” she said dully, trying to flex her right hand.

Frustrated by the lack of movement, she wondered if they'd put a block in her arm once she was under. She strained to curl her fingers. A gasp tore out of her as fiery pain burned deep in her forearm, like someone had spilled battery acid in her incision and it had trickled down to the bone.

“Don't, Nev,” Rhys said, gently capturing her bandaged limb in his hands. He caged it there like he was protecting it from her. “I know you're worried, but you have to give your body time to heal right now. Don't think about the rest yet, okay? It's too soon to know how much function you'll regain.”

Besides the attack and the fact she'd stabbed Shirani, the fear that she wouldn't regain use of her hand was like a siren blaring in her head. A flush of perspiration dampened her skin. “What am I going to do if I can't operate again?”

Settling his forehead against hers, Rhys's chest expanded when he took in a deep breath. “One step at a time, baby. I know you're scared, but you're going to be fine. I'm here for you, and I'll do whatever I can to help you. We'll get through this together.”

Leaning against him, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on that. “Okay,” she said. “Okay.”

Massachusetts coast

Two weeks later

The cry of gulls woke her. For a moment she was disoriented, but then she remembered where she was. In a beach cottage on Martha's Vineyard, with Rhys.

On either side of the four-poster bed, late afternoon sunlight spilled in through the white wooden shutter blinds on the tall windows overlooking the rolling blue-green ocean.

Nev frowned and sat up. Where was Rhys? She'd fallen asleep with his warm weight pressed against her back, relaxed after making leisurely love to her. His pillow bore the indentation from his head and his scent clung to the case when she pressed her face into it.

Smothering a yawn, she lifted her arms over her head and stretched, wincing a bit as the muscles in her right forearm pulled. Lowering it, she studied the deep purple surgical scar marring her pale skin from her wrist to her elbow. She'd removed the stitches herself a few days back and though everything seemed to have healed fine, she still didn't have full sensation or movement in her hand. The skin over her thumb and first two fingers was numb, and she had very little strength in those same digits. She could make a fist, but it was awkward, and her fine motor skills were almost non-existent.

If she was going to make it as a surgeon again someday, she had a long road of rehab ahead of her.

Drawing in a deep breath, she caught a delicious scent in the air. Something spicy, like ginger and garlic. Her mouth watered.

Walking around the foot of the bed to the en suite, she ran the faucet and waited for the water to warm while she grabbed a fluffy hand towel from the rack behind her. The hot water felt heavenly on her face, refreshing her tired eyes. She patted dry and brushed her teeth before running a brush through her mussed waves and headed out into the bright, cream wainscoting-covered hallway.

She sniffed appreciatively as she wandered through the pretty living room with its soothing tones of ivory and blue. Near the doorway of the cozy country kitchen, she caught the low tones of Rhys's voice as he spoke. Probably on the phone. Reaching the doorjamb, she leaned against it, heart skipping a beat.

His back was to her, his black shirt stretched taut over the muscles in his shoulders and down either side of his spine. Her eyes followed them down to his hips, where a snug pair of dark jeans hugged his amazing ass and long legs to perfection. His right hand held his cell to his ear, and his left deftly flipped the sizzling contents of their dinner in a saute pan like a five star chef.

Lord have mercy, he cooked? Her knees almost went weak.

Rhys tossed contents of the pan into the air with an expert flick of his wrist, then caught them and gave the works a practiced shake before placing it back on the gas burner and lowering the heat.

“When do you want me?” he said, and her stomach dropped.

He must be talking to Luke. She pressed a hand over her belly. Luke must have asked him to do another mission, and it sounded like he was up for it.

Worry and dread warred inside her. They'd both been through so much already... too much. She couldn't believe Rhys would want to go back.

Yes you can. You've always known what he was and what he did.

She bit her lip. He was a proud, incredibly gifted man who excelled at his work. Of course he would want to go back into the field, especially if it had anything to do with getting Tehrazzi.

“She's doing good,” he said into the phone, “but I want to talk to her about this first.”

That all too familiar bittersweet pain rose in her heart. He loved her enough to talk about it before he signed on. Problem was, she didn't know if she could be supportive of his decision if he wanted to go. Not that she really had a say. He wasn't the kind of man to let anyone dictate his life to him, but at least he was taking her feelings into consideration. For him, that was a huge statement.

Wrapping her arms around her suddenly chilled body, Nev started to turn away so she wasn't eavesdropping, but he saw her and gave her a warm smile while he held the phone to his ear. She forced one in return and pointed behind her. “I'll just wait in the other room.”

“One sec,” he said, and laid the phone against his chest as he faced her. “I'll only be a minute. Why don't you go sit out on the patio? I've got the fireplace on, thought we could eat out there.”

“Sure. Want some help?”

“No, I've got it.”

This time her sappy smile was all too real. Leaving him to finish up, she grabbed a blanket from one of the easy chairs in the living room on her way to the French doors that led to the private patio and stepped outside.

The nip of the air hit her with a rush of salt-scented wind. Once the blanket was tucked securely around her shoulders, she titled her head back and breathed in deeply of the fresh sea air, giving herself a moment to get everything under control.

Rhys was a big boy. He felt strongly about his job and his perceived duty as an ex-Delta operator. She couldn't fault him for that, because she felt exactly the same way about her role as a surgeon. When the opportunity came for her to go back to work, she knew damned well she'd leap at the chance.

Nev picked her way around the teak table and chairs nestled in the corner. She settled back on the plush cushioned seat of the chaise lounge facing the rolling ocean. The sun nearly touched the gray-green rollers at the edge of the horizon. Already, streaks of pink and crimson set the sky ablaze.

She curled up under her blanket and basked in the warmth of the flames in the rock fireplace across from her. Staring out at the spectacular scenery of the shoreline, she thought of her cousin.

Sam and Ben were back in Virginia in the last stages of planning their wedding. The four of them had spent two days together after she'd been released from the hospital and sent home to New York. Nev had needed that time with her cousin, and felt a secret glow that Sam heartily approved of her and Rhys together.

Dec and Bryn had flown off and eloped on a beach in Hawaii just as she'd said she wanted. Dec was due back on rotation with the SEALs in a couple of weeks. Nev didn't envy Bryn on that count. She just hoped they fared better than Luke and Emily had.

Speaking of Luke, he was back home finishing up his “recuperation” in Baton Rouge, although she'd bet he wasn't taking it easy as directed. Nev hadn't heard anything else about Emily, but in light of what Bryn had said at Christa's place, she had to wonder about the concern she'd seen in Luke's eyes when Bryn had mentioned her going home to face her own demons. She hoped Emily was all right.

Pulling the blanket tighter over her legs and torso, Nev gazed out across the water and let the endless rhythm of the waves soothe her. With Rhys inside and nothing but open beach in front of her, she was at peace for the first time in weeks.

A few minutes later the French doors opened, and Rhys came out carrying two steaming plates piled high with their dinner. He set them down on the side table beside her and then straddled the chaise, facing her as he sat.

Without a word he gathered her up tight against him and tucked his face into the side of her neck, like he was breathing her in. His strong yet gentle hands stroked through her hair and down her back as his warm breath tickled the sensitive spot beneath her ear.

Sighing in contentment, Nev wrapped her arms around his shoulders and slowly rubbed her palm over his short hair, savoring the closeness. Sometimes it startled her, how affectionate he was with her now, but she loved it.

It always tugged at her heartstrings because it proved he was comfortable showing how he felt about her. But mostly because she knew how much Rhys needed affection from her in return. He'd lived with emptiness for so long, and Nev was determined to make up for every last bit of loneliness he'd carried with him throughout his life.

When he kissed her temple and drew back, she eyed the stir fry with its glistening red peppers, broccoli and pineapple served over a bed of noodles. “This looks amazing.” And smelled it, too. Garlic, ginger, and orange, if she wasn't mistaken. She glanced up at him and caught the amused glint in his eyes. “I didn't know you could cook.”

He shrugged. “I like to when I have the time. Don't get a chance very often.”

What other hidden talents did he have that she didn't know about yet? She lifted the plate up so she could get a good whiff. “Mmm. What kind of sauce is it?”

“Orange, honey, soy sauce, allspice, garlic, ginger and a bit of lime. Just sort of threw it together.” He smiled. “What?”

She couldn't wipe the stupid grin off her face. “I'm the luckiest woman in the universe.”

“It's just a stir fry.”

“Seeing you at the stove flipping that pan has got to be in the top five sexiest things I've ever seen in my life.”

He laughed. “That good?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“What are the other four?”

“You're in all of those, too. God, I could jump you right now.”

The grin widened until the hint of a dimple appeared in his left cheek. “Yeah?”

She was seriously temped.

“I should really go all out next time and cook you pan seared chicken breasts with a brandy cream sauce. Flame it right in front of you while you finish off a bottle of red wine.”

Yup, that would do it. He'd be naked on the floor beneath her in three seconds flat. “Tomorrow?”

Rhys raised a hand and stroked a wisp of hair away from her face. “Whatever you want.”

She took him at his word. “Okay. I'd really like to know what that call was about.”

A smile played around his lips, though he had to be getting used to her bluntness. “It was Luke.”

“Yes, I figured.”

“He's going back to Beirut once he's all healed up. Bryn offered him the use of her father's place there as a kind of headquarters. He wants Ben, since he was chief of security there, and for Sam to go too.”

In case they might be of use in another attempt to nail Tehrazzi, no doubt. “And you.”