Page 87 of Winters Heat

“Who brought me here?” His mind and his mouth hadn’t agreed yet to the terms of easing up the line of questioning.

“You’re in a private suite. Jared Westin of The Titan Group made arrangements for you. We’re to call him as soon as you’re awake. I’m surprised no one’s here. They’ve had someone with you twenty-four hours a day.”

Shit. He’d never live this down. And Mia. What about Mia? Please let her be back in her normal life and not chasing after a man who’d asked her to run into danger.

“Were there only men here?” And did he have to sound so desperate and scared?

“No. Mia’s been here most of the time, whether the other men were here or not. She was on the Titan approved list.” The nurse tinkered with a beeping machine. “She’s wonderful.”

His head dropped against the plump, plastic pillow, and his eyes rolled to the ceiling. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. His squeezed his eyes. Why didn’t Mia run from him? She should be long gone.

“Don’t let her in to see me. Don’t let her know I’m awake.”

“What?” She shook her head, then cocked it in confusion. After a pause, she did a once-over of his IV bag and monitor, evidently concerned that he neared a PTSD freak out.

“Donotlet her in here.” He was a fucking bastard. “I’m serious. She’s no longer Titan approved, or whatever you said.”

The sound of heavy-booted footsteps stole his attention away from the nurse. Cash, in his best cowboy-mosey, ambled up behind the nurse. His hat was tugged low over his shaggy hair, and he towered over the woman with a half-assed, one-sided grin. Clearly, they’d been acquainted. Damn Cash. Was there any woman who didn’t drop drawers for him? Cash whispered in her ear, she blushed and sidestepped around him toward the hallway.

“Well, well. Get enough beauty sleep, sunshine?”

“Cash, man, you have to get me out of here.”

“Yeah, well, first we had to keep you from dying. But, all right. We’ll get you out of here as soon as Doc T gives you a go. Jared will be here soon. Mia just walked down the hall to stretch her legs. She’ll be back in a sec. Want me to call her?”

Winters pinched his eyes. Her name made him schoolboy twitchy. Bits and pieces of Colombia filtered back. But the one blaring memory burning up his brain was when he limped into that shack. It was empty, and the woman he loved was gone. He wanted to tear every beam from the wall, to ram through the Titan guys for no other reason than he needed an outlet. And when he saw her, safe, coming toward the shack, it was the most satisfying and gut-wrenching moment of his life. She was alive, within eyeshot, and he was the worst thing that could have ever happen to her.

He loved her, and she’d never know.

A feminine snip of exasperation echoed in the hallway and dragged him back to his conversation with Cash.

“Sounds like your girl is here. Wonder what has her in a fuss.” Cash chuckled and pivoted for the door.

Winters dropped his head down. The beard whiskers tickled his neck and scratched his chin, and it was all he wanted to think about instead of ponying up the truth.

“I told the nurse to not let her back in here.” He winced. It sounded even worse out loud than in his head. And it was horrible in his head.

“You did what?” Cash pivoted one-eighty back on his heels, dumbstruck.

“I asked the nurse to send her away.” Winters glanced out the window instead of at Cash. But that didn’t ease the guilt and overwhelming sense of loss.

“You, my friend, have a death wish. Colombian cartels are child’s play compared to a woman on the warpath. That woman in particular. She pushesJaredaround like he’s a bratty toddler. Hell, she pokes him in the chest on the regular when he’s not listening.”

Winters sawed his teeth back and forth, and turned from the window to watch Cash take a backward step to catch the showdown in the hallway. Someone must have seen him, and he threw his hands up in innocence.

“Aw, shit. Here she comes.” Cash made a move to duck-and-cover. “Mia, one. Nurse, zilch. And you’re in trouble, sunshine. Adios.”

Before Cash made it through the threshold, Mia roared around the corner, knocking him out of her way, and back into the room. “What is your problem, Colby Winters?”

She was red-faced, bug-eyed mad. This wasn’t working out the way he planned.

“I think this might be my cue to leave. Mia, nice to see you. Winters, glad you’re alive, buddy. Best of luck.”

She flashed daggers at Cash, who again threw his hands up. She stepped to him and pushed him out with one outstretched finger. Then she turned toward the hospital bed. The delicate veins in her neck popped. Her narrowed eyes zeroed in on him like a predator sighting its kill.

Cash was bull’s eye right. Winters was a dead man. Who knew a petite one like her could scare him clean out of his skin? Funny thing was, he should have known how well she’d do fury.

“You mind telling me what the hell is your problem?” Her hands flew to her hip. What she lacked in height and weight, she more than made up for with attitude. He felt smaller and smaller in his bed with her reading him the riot act. But he deserved it. It was a pansy-assed move to have the nurse do his dirty work.

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