Page 137 of SEAL's Resolve

Rafe dragged in a painful breath. Getting shot in the chest hurt, even with the vest for protection. “Ward’s down,” he murmured. He staggered to the fallen man, stripped Ward of his weapon, and frisked him for more. Finding nothing, Rafe returned to Kristi. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “He shot you.”

“He was aiming for you.” He glared at the cursing man. “Ward’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”

“How bad are you hurt?” Jackson snapped.

“Bullet hit my vest.”

“Other injuries?”

“They’ll wait.”

Kristi’s hand clamped over Rafe’s forearm. “You’re injured?”

“A scratch on my arm. I’m more concerned about you. Ward beat you.”

“I want to see your arm.”

Rafe turned for Kristi to examine the injury making itself felt along the back of his left arm. Now that the firefight was over and Kristi was safe, the pain in Rafe’s arm took precedence over the ache in his chest.

She gasped. “You need stitches. You’ve lost a lot of blood, too. Your left side is covered with blood.”

“I’ll have it checked later. Jackson, status on Stewart?”

“An ambulance will arrive soon. I’ve stabilized Stewart for now, but he needs surgery as soon as possible.”

As the medic gave his update, sirens sounded in the distance. “Eli?” He helped Kristi sit up, wrapped his uninjured arm around her, and kissed her temple. If Rafe had been one second slower, Ward would have shot her. He shuddered. Too close.

“We’re clear. Ward’s men are restrained, and Adam Walker’s team will be gone before the police arrive.”

Good. Rafe didn’t want Phantom unit to be tied down answering questions about their role in this operation.

“Jackson, is Stewart stable enough for you to check Rafe?” Eli asked.

“I’m fine,” Rafe muttered with a scowl. The weakness swamping his body would pass. Probably.

“He’ll hold until the EMTs take over,” Jackson said.

As soon as the medic strode into the kitchen with his mike bag, Kristi asked, “How’s Dad?”

“Holding his own for the moment. I used pressure bandages to control the bleeding.”

“Internal injuries?” Rafe asked. He blinked hard to push back the darkness crowding the edges of his vision. Sprawling flat for a minute to catch his breath sounded like a great idea.

Jackson gripped his shoulder. “I want to see your arm.”

“I’m fine,” Rafe groused. He shrugged off the medic’s hold and listed to the side as the world tilted.

“Rafe!”

Kristi’s arms tightened around him, but she couldn’t hold his weight and he didn’t want to hurt her. “Somebody kick Ward in the ribs for me.”

“You already put a bullet through his shoulder. That will hurt him longer than a kick to the ribs. Lay down before you face plant in front of your woman,” Jackson snapped, taking Rafe’s weight and easing him to the floor.

Sweet relief rolled through his body. “Check Kristi first. Ward hit her more than once.”

“You’re the one bleeding all over the floor. I need to see how much damage the knife did.”

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