Page 3 of Perilous Healing

“No ma’am, I can’t.”

“So you’re a Boy Scout, then.” She stands.

I study her, trying to decide whether or not I’ve made a mistake. “No, I’m a SEAL.”

“Navy,” she replies. “You’re all Boy Scouts. I’m Bianca.” She looks me up and down. “You look pretty bad yourself.”

Glancing down at my blood-streaked bare chest and what’s left of my uniform pants, I can’t argue with her. I don’t even know what my face must look like. It’s likely even more battered than hers. “I’m not trying to win any beauty pageants,” I tell her. “Now, are we going or not?”

“Let me grab some things.” She rushes to the side and grabs a blue bag, then stuffs the supplies from the tray inside. “Ready.”

Keeping the scalpel in my hand, I creep toward the door and peer out. The hall is still empty. Remaining in the shadows, I stick close to the wall, trying to pay attention to any sounds that might signal trouble.

There’s yelling somewhere, though it’s so distant I can’t quite make out where it’s coming from, but I still pick up my feet faster, moving as quickly as I can through the hall until—I spot the door up ahead.

Freedom.

“Shut everything down!” someone screams from behind us. “We have two escapees!”

I reach back and grab the woman’s hand, then yank her forward as I sprint toward the exit. If they go into lockdown, we’ll never leave this place. I know it deep down in my soul. So I run.

Even as my feet sting.

My muscles burn.

My head pounds.

I hit the heavy door and shove it open, then close it softly behind us to avoid any loud noises, before we sprint into the trees. It’s dark overhead, so watching where we’re going is an impossibility. There’s yelling from the compound behind us, and it just forces me to run faster, to push my body as hard as I can.

But it’s not a maintainable speed, so I can only hope we can outrun them before I lose it. I’m just grateful Bianca is keeping my pace with relative ease.

I’m not sure how long we run, but by the time dawn is breaking, I no longer hear anyone behind us. So, choosing a large tree to take cover against, we stop to rest. My breathing is ragged, my body numb from the chill in the air and likely the amount of blood I’ve lost over the past few hours since two of my crudely stitched stab wounds have reopened.

“I need to look you over,” the woman says as she kneels in front of me and opens the bag of stolen supplies. “Otherwise you’re going to die before you can get us out of this place.”

“You’re a doctor?” I ask.

“Trauma surgeon,” she replies. “Bianca Theodore at your service. Though I normally treat Rangers, I think I can make an exception for a SEAL this time around.” She flashes me a smile that I know is meant to be disarming as she slips into a pair of gloves she pulled from the bag. “This is not going to feel great,” she warns, then gently presses against one of the wounds in my side. I hiss through clenched teeth as pain shoots up through my body. “Yeah. So listen, I know we just met and all, and I hate causing pain to people who just saved me, but you should know—this going to hurt—badly.”

Chapter2

Bianca

Present Day

Body slick with sweat, I take out the frustrations of yet another sleepless night on the heavy bag swinging in front of me. I don’t know why I’m surprised. It’s not like I’ve had a solid night of sleep in, well, ever.

A childhood of nightmares blossomed into an adulthood of the same.

Round and round we go. If only I knew how to get off this ride.

“You’re here early.”

I stop hitting the bag and turn to face Michael Anderson. I’ve known the man for years, and a long time ago there were moments when I thought I’d had feelings that went past friendship for him. Of course, I didn’t. He was just one of the first men who’d ever been kind to me without wanting something in return.

Now we’re close friends and coworkers, and he’s happily married to a woman I absolutely adore.

A certain SEAL pops into my head. He hadn’t wanted anything, had he? But I lied to him and ruined everything. I shove the thought away.

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