Page 32 of Lethal Pursuit

She nodded weakly, eyes open to slits, battered mouth pressed into a thin line. Taking the flashlight from his observer, he got his first good look at the damage. He barely stopped himself from swearing. Her left eye was swollen almost shut. From the size and color of the bruise along her cheekbone and the amount of swelling, he suspected she might have a facial fracture. His fingers were cold, but at least he had sensation back in them. He placed two beneath the angle of her jaw to check her carotid pulse. It was rapid but strong, and there was no fever that he could detect.

Her good eye was okay and the pupil responded properly to the light stimulus, telling him there was no significant head injury. He slid a hand beneath the back of her neck, applying gentle pressurebefore stroking his thumb across her skin, a hidden caress to comfort her and tell her how much he cared. “What’s hurting you the most right now?”

She swallowed, a jerky movement of her throat. “My wrist, ribs and face.”

The ribs worried him most. “In your back? Can you show me?”

Taking a shallow breath as though bracing herself, she shifted and froze with a gasp.

He reached out to steady her immediately, careful to place his hands on her hip and shoulder so he wouldn’t cause her any further pain. “I’ll turn you. Nice and slow, okay? Just lie still for me.”

She was motionless and rigid, breathing in shallow bursts. Though he didn’t want either of the captors touching her, he couldn’t hold her in position and do a thorough exam at the same time. He glanced over at Mohammed and gestured for him to come closer. The kid balked, looking scandalized by the thought of touching a woman, and Jackson was forced to give up and allow Jihad to support Maya. She flinched when he touched her, but at least the guy was being gentle and his hold was steady.

Jackson raised her T-shirt to get a better look, careful not to expose any more skin than necessary. This time, the sight that met his eyes had him uttering a low curse. An inch or two inside her right shoulder blade, a dark bruise showed where something had slammed into her ribs. The deep blue and purple spread out in an ugly blotch along her back. He tested the bones carefully one by one, easing up when she arched and bit her lip. The ribs had to be at least cracked, if not completely fractured. “Does it hurt when you breathe?”

“God, yeah.”

A lot, going by her shallow breathing and muffled sounds of pain. “Any sharp, poking sensations inside?”

“No. Just hurts outside.”

He continued palpating her ribs, following them around her side to her stomach. When he applied gentle pressure there, she grimaced. “Sore there?”

“Tender,” she corrected.

“What happened?” He forced himself to ask the question, fully aware he wasn’t going to like her answer.

“Just a few punches,” she managed, a light sheen ofsweat covering her face, popping out across the skin of her belly.

He hated the mental image that evoked.

Determining she most likely did not have internal injuries, he let out a relieved breath and took a look at the wrist she had cradled protectively against her. She made a sound of protest when he took hold of her arm and hand, her body guarding against more pain. The light showed swelling and discoloration along the side of her wrist up to her thumb. Her hand was cold, her fingers trembling in his grip. “Can you move it?”

She shook her head, mouth pressed into a tight line, not even attempting to bend it. That told him everything he needed to know. From the position of the injury, it looked like she had a scaphoid fracture, and maybe the distal end of the radius was involved too. He set her arm down carefully against her body. “Where else?”

“My...feet.”

What had the bastard done to her there? Shifting down her body, he took her icy feet into his hands. Her toenails were intact and the bones were as well. The soles were mottled red and white, covered with livid welts.

Jackson bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from snarling. Goddammit, how had she endured all this? If they somehow escaped, she wouldn’t be able to walk for at least a few days. “Okay,” he said, keeping his voice calm and steady, despite the sick rage pulsing through him. “Anywhere else?”

“No. That’s it.”

It was more than anyone should ever have to fucking endure. Unable to rein in his anger completely, he shot a lethal glare at Jihad before reaching for the medical bag.

* * *

MAYA CONCENTRATED ONtaking shallow breaths while Jackson looked her over. She was ashamed for him to see the evidence of what had been done to her because she knew it would eat him up inside, but having him next to her and feeling his touch were comforts she desperately wanted. She soaked it all up like a drought-strickenflower, desperate for a drop of rain.

The shivers that stole through her sent searing shocks of pain out from her damaged ribs. She hated that the other men were here, that the one named Jihad was touching her. He made her skin crawl. All of those bastards did. Since there was nothing she could do but endure, she allowed herself to drink in the sight of Jackson’s stubble-covered face as he bent over her. She wanted to reach out to him so badly, tell him how she regretted using him that night in Kandahar.

Hell, if she wasn’t going to make it out of here alive, she even wanted him to know she was falling for him. With his every touch, he made the ache in her heart grow worse until she had to close her eyes, lest she give herself away. She lay quietly while Jackson worked, gathering supplies from the bag they’d brought him.

“I’m gonna tape your ribs now. I can’t wrap right around your chest because the compression could cause positional asphyxiation, but the tape should help with the pain a bit.”

“Okay.” She trusted him and was grateful for his help. His manner was so calm and sure, it was a comfort in itself. In her mind she imagined the others leaving, and Jackson gently lifting her into his arms to hold her in the cradle of his body.

Large, gentle hands lifted her shirt higher, easing the bottom band of her sports bra up to expose her sternum. With practiced care, he began ripping lengths of tape and applied them from her sternum outward along the right side of her rib cage. Gasping when he reached the fracture site, she bit back a growl of pain.

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