Page 80 of Under Fire

Matt tied off the soiled trash bag, set it aside, and lined the can with a fresh bag.

“I’ve never seen him like this.” Sasha stroked her husband’s hair.

“You haven’t seen him in the early hours after an injury. Cade’s a wuss when it comes to pain meds. Everything I’ve tried makes him sick to his stomach.”

“Because you always poison me,” his friend muttered with a hoarse voice. “You take manic glee in making me suffer.”

“Huh. Thought I had you fooled.” A soft snort brought a smile to Matt’s mouth. “Reassure your bride you won’t die on my watch.”

“I’m okay, Sassy. This is normal for me when I’m injured. You can ask my teammates. In a few hours, I’ll be fine. Promise.”

Sasha didn’t look convinced, but she subsided and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

“Did you eat dinner, Sasha?” Matt asked as he checked Cade’s pulse.

She shook her head.

“Have Trent order room service for you.”

“I can wait.”

“Go, baby.” Cade wrapped his hand around Sasha’s and kissed her fingers. “Take care of yourself. I’m not going anywhere.”

When a stubborn look flooded her face, Matt said, “You need to keep up your strength to help me take care of Cade overnight.”

“Come get me if there’s any change.”

“Absolutely.”

After another kiss, this time to Cade’s cheek, Sasha left the room.

“Thanks.” Cade swallowed hard. “She refused to eat when the guys offered to order something for her.”

“Be straight with me. How bad is the nausea?”

“About like the time I had the knife wound in the thigh in Costa Rica.”

Matt flinched. He’d had to administer two IVs to replenish Cade’s fluids during that operation. If Cade didn’t improve in the next half hour, he’d use the anti-nausea patch. “We’ll give the soft drink a few more minutes.”

“Watch over Sasha.”

“You don’t have to ask.”

“Matt.”

Knowing his friend needed the words to allow his body to rest, Matt said, “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

A slight nod.

Delilah returned with a large black trash bag. “I found a maid at the end of the hall.”

“Excellent. We convinced Sasha to order room service. Make sure she eats.”

“Sure.” She patted Cade’s foot. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay with her.”

“Thanks.”

Matt spent the next twenty minutes alternately holding Cade steady as he puked and repositioning the ice packs. When the thirty-minute mark came and went with no signs of the nausea easing, Matt grabbed a patch from his mike bag.

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