Page 136 of Lethal Game

“Fuck, Smoke,” Con said to his friend. “Ever think of becoming a therapist?”

For a moment Smoke looked completely disgusted. Then he said, “Killing bad guys is my therapy.”

“I’d say that’s fucked up, but I’ve been doing the same thing.” Con shook his head. “What about you, Max?”

“Let’s just say I’m a workaholic and leave it at that.” He gave Sophia another long look, then nodded at Con and Smoke. “Keep an eye on her. Consider it an order.”

Max left to take care of a number of details left behind after Akbar’s departure, not the least of which was replacing the water tank and making sure the water was clean and safe to drink.

He came back and woke Con from a deep sleep. “A medical helicopter will be here in thirty minutes to transport you all back to the base. Keep me apprised as information comes in.” The last sentence delivered with a glance toward Sophia.

“Yes, sir.”

She was still asleep. How had she managed to do all the shit she’d done? It spoke of a mental fortitude that was stronger than anyone’s he’d ever met.

The chopper arrived and everyone got loaded on. They’d been in the air for twenty minutes when she woke up.

The first thing she did was grab for his hand.

Who needed painkillers when all it took to make him feel like a superhero was her reaching for him without thinking?

He was sitting next to her gurney, strapped into the large helicopter. He leaned close and yelled, “You’ve been asleep for a few hours. I think all the crap we’ve been through caught up with you. We’re heading toward Bahrain and Max wanted to keep us together. River is going into surgery as soon as we land.”

She relaxed more and more as he talked. When he finished, she closed her eyes briefly, then smiled at him.

“Max gave strict orders,” Con added. “You’re not allowed to do anything until he comes back.”

That made her frown.

“I did, however, talk him into letting me continue to give you Tai Chi lessons.”

She grinned and nodded.

The big sneak. He knew she’d never be satisfied with that. She dozed for the rest of the trip, but he could see her reliving things in her mind. Her fists would clench and a couple of times, she screamed as a rough bump woke her.

He’d hold her hand until she got herself out of the nightmare or memory, then settle in to covertly watch her.

Back at the base, all of them were taken to the base hospital for a thorough check.

Con had lost more blood than he thought and got a couple units.

River made it through the surgery. A small hole was drilled into his skull to relieve the pressure from his concussion. He woke up wondering what the hell happened.

Smoke ended up getting a unit of blood, too, then slept for almost twenty-four hours straight.

Sophia tried to tell the staff that blood tests weren’t necessary. Even argued with them, until Con asked for a minute alone with her, then told her quietly, “Blairmore did some cell counts while you were out. He told us they were really low.”

“Big mouth,” she muttered.

“No, he was doing his job.” Con thumped her gently on the head. “What were you thinking, going into an outbreak situation with an unknown pathogen, knowing you were sick?”

“I was thinking this was my chance to do something important.” She dropped her gaze and picked at the blanket under her fingers.

“You’re not going to pull that shit again,” he told her in a hard tone. “You’re going to take care of yourself and do everything you can to get better.” He should take his own damned advice.

“Wow, listen to you, Dr. Button,” she shot back, pink warming her cheeks.

“I’ve been hanging around you long enough for some of it to sink in.”

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