Page 67 of Lethal Pursuit

“No, thanks. I’ll be all right.”

He studied her for a moment. “You know, it’s okay to ask for help when you need it.”

“I know that.” It came out a touch prickly, but she couldn’t help it.

“Good, because that makes this next order of business mucheasier.”

She gave him a suspicious look. “Meaning?”

“I hear you saw Rahim out there.”

“I’m sure it was him. Did they get him?”

His expression soured. “Not yet.” He shifted in his chair, and it was obvious his leg was bothering him. “You’ll be debriefed up the wazoo over the next couple of days, but you’d better make peace with the idea of seeing a therapist when you get back to the States.”

The one and only therapist she’d seen after Pilar died hadn’t helped her at all. The mere thought of dredging up all those old wounds and adding in the discussion about what she’d just been through was both overwhelming and exhausting. “Because if I don’t comply they won’t return me to duty, you mean?”

“That, and it will stay on your permanent service record.”

Well, that sucked. The sigh she heaved turned into a coughing fit that made her rear up in bed and double over. When it finished, Doug was close enough to shove a pillow behind her back for support. She was sweaty and weak, a little dizzy. “I’ll think about it,” she wheezed. This was too much for her to handle on her own. She knew that, and she had to have a clean service record to apply to the agencies she planned to target. But God, the thought of reliving all of it with a therapist made her heart rate accelerate.

“Hey, if I can do it, you can too,” he said quietly.

She eyed him dubiously. “They’re making you see a therapist?”

“Oh, yeah. Otherwise I think they’re worried I might freak out in the middle of a big speech at a press conference or something.” His grin was so disarming she smiled back a little.

They’d all gone through a nightmare. It was definitely going to leave a mark. “Maybe we could all go together and get a group rate.” It would help to have Jackson there with her. She’d feel safer, less exposed with his steadying presence there. When was she going to get to see him again?

His eyes brightened. “I’ll get my people on that.”

The American public ought to see this side of him, because he was actually a nice man beneath that politician’s image. She looked down at his cast. “So, what’s the word on your leg?”

“Still attached, which makes me happier than I can say. Thebreaks were pretty bad, so they’re not sure if I’ll walk without a limp ever again, but I can live with that. Let’s face it, there are a lot of people way less fortunate than me currently being treated in this building.”

Yeah, that was the truth. They might have gone through hell but at least they were alive, still had all their limbs and their brains were still intact.

“I also heard that you were interested in applying to the CIA or FBI?” he added.

Damn, his staff was pretty thorough. “That was my plan once I finished the terms of my enlistment.”

“You realize that in light of your captivity, that makes it even more important for a psychiatrist to sign off on your mental status?” he pointed out.

Oh, he was good. “Yeah, okay, I got it. I’ll go to the therapy,” she grumbled.

A satisfied grin curved his mouth. “I think you’d be a great addition to both those agencies. Especially on an FBI task force. And I happen to have a few connections there too.”

She shot him a sideways glance. What was he saying?

He folded his hands atop his stomach. “It’s your decision to make, but once you heal up you might consider applying for an honorable discharge. No one would think less of you for it after this.”

While she didn’t want special treatment, the idea of going back to work in a combat zone didn’t hold the same appeal it once did. Actually it made her heart race and her palms sweat. “You’re saying you think I have a real shot of getting into the FBI after all this?”

“I think you have a good shot, actually. And if you need a letter of reference, I’d be honored to write you one. I’ll make sure it gets into the right hands.”

Wait a minute. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to do me a special favor just because—”

“I wouldn’t offer unless I believed you should be there, Lieutenant. I meant it when I said you’d be a good addition for them. They’d be lucky to have you.”

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