Page 15 of Hot Soldier's Rescue

He opened his mouth and looked as though he wanted to defend himself, but snapped it closed instead. Strange man. An arms dealer who got defensive about the morality of what he did? Go figure.

“You do know there’s no way you’re changing my mind about you going to Acuna by yourself, right?” he asked grimly.

“Excuse me?”

He just gave her a “you heard me” look.

To argue or not to argue with him? To date, she’d had no luck whatsoever in budging him once he made up his mind. Direct confrontation clearly wasn’t the way to handle this man. It wasn’t that she had any intention of caving in to his unreasonable demands. She just had to find another way to go around him.

In any other context, she’d have resorted to batting her eyes and using her feminine wiles on him to get her way. But as a nun, she had only logic and calm reason at her disposal. And with his jaw jutting out like that, he looked totally immune to either logic or reason.

Finally, she said quietly, “If you want to come along, I suppose I can’t stop you. But I am going to find those children and take them to safety no matter what.”

“Stubborn female,” he grumbled. But she thought maybe she caught a hint of grudging admiration in his voice.

“I prefer to think of myself as determined. Goal oriented, if you will.”

“Stubborn.”

She snorted. “Isn’t that a case of the pot calling the kettle black?”

“Absolutely.” And unaccountably, he grinned. “You’re cute when you get all indignant.”

He thought she was cute? Cool.

“When do you want to leave?”

She looked up at him, startled.

“How about first light?” he suggested in answer to his own question. “I could use a little shut-eye. Haven’t had much rest the past few days.”

Now that he mentioned it, there were dark shadows around his eyes that hadn’t been there before, and a certain hollow exhaustion clung to him. The nurse within her kicked into gear. “When’s the last time you slept?”

He shrugged. “I can go on stim pills for five days if I have to.”

“You haven’t slept since you left town three days ago, have you?” she accused.

His gaze slid away from hers. Uh-huh. She was right. Her inner nurse kicked in hard. “You lay your heinie down on that bed right now and close your eyes, mister. Stimulant pills may work for a while, but the crash afterward is murder.”

“But it’s your bed—”

She cut him off. “Horizontal. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” A grin flickered on his mouth as he stretched out on the narrow bed.

She pulled the covers up over him, but they only came to his chest. She tucked them in around him, nonetheless, clucking like a mother hen all the while. “Three days without sleep? What were you thinking? Don’t you know how hard that is on your body? You need rest, Drago. Close your eyes. Go on. Sleep.”

He closed his eyes, but a grin spread across his face at her fussing. She jammed the covers under his shoulder more tightly. “And quit grinning like the cat who swallowed the canary.”

“Mmm. Tasty canary,” he murmured, already sounding half-unconscious.

She tiptoed to the doorway and slipped out into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her. There was a nice sofa in the lobby she could stretch out on and catch a nap. Goodness knew, she’d slept on worse. Once, during a triple shift in the E.R. she’d lain down on a stainless-steel cadaver slab for a nap. She’d been so cold when she woke up she could hardly move.

Tugging her sweater around her, she tucked her toes between the sofa cushions and fell asleep with thoughts of Drago in her mind and a smile on her face.

Chapter Four

Ted woke up slowly. He was comfortable. Relaxed. Well-rested. And all three sensations were terribly wrong. Frowning, he opened his eyes. Sunlight crept past the edges of the faded curtains. And his feet were cold. He bent his knees, pulling them up under the bottom edge of the blanket tucked under his chin but not quite reaching the bottom of the bed.

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