Page 84 of Deadly Strain

One of his big hands reached out to brush the wetness off her cheeks.

He frowned and felt her forehead. “Grace, you’re burning up.”

Chapter Nineteen

It took Grace a coupleof seconds to process what Sharp was saying.Burning up?One hand sought out her sore leg. Pain radiated from the wound. It had been getting worse and she’d ignored it.

“Shit. I need to see.” Hands jerking on her belt and the fastening on her pants, she jerked them down, peeled the bandage away and bent to examine her leg. “Damn it.” The wound was puffy, red, and hot to the touch.

“How long has this been going on?” Sharp leaned down to look, then speared her with a furious glance. “Could you try tonotdie in front of me?”

A kernel of anger flared inside her tired mind. “Could you try tonotbe an asshole? This—” she pointed at her infected wound “—is not my fault. You want to blame someone? Blame Marshall.”

Footsteps approached, but Grace didn’t bother looking up. There weren’t enough of them for the men to be Max and his team. That left her guys and she wasn’t worried about them witnessing an argument.

“Whoa,” Hernandez said. “What’s with the lack of pants?” He stopped several feet away, March next to him, their eyes wide.

“It looks like the doc’s leg is infected,” Sharp told them, his voice still tight with fury. “She’s got a fever.”

“That’s a problem we didn’t need,” March said.

“I don’t have any antibiotics with me,” she said, her own anger already burned out. All she felt now was tired and light-headed.

“Will Max?” Sharp asked.

“Probably Cipro, but I’m not sure what else.”

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” Sharp told her in a tone allowing no questions or disagreement. “You’re going to grab that nap, stay hydrated, and eat more often so you don’t fall over once the work starts.”

Did he think she was going to protest? She tried to dredge up some energy to tell him he was acting like a jerk, but there wasn’t anything left. “Yes, Dad.”

“There’s one other important thing the doc needs to do,” Hernandez said.

“What’s that?” she asked.

His face looked pained. “Pull up your pants.”

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