Page 114 of Silent Threat
“Ambrose is tied to a tree, five hundred feet east of the deer blind,” Cole told the detective before his eyes rolled back in his head.
The medics started an IV. They wanted Annie in the second ambulance pulling into the yard, but she wouldn’t let go of Cole’s hand.
Cole was no longer unconscious but still close to it. Blood loss was a bitch. It got you, no matter how tough you were.
He kept his eyes closed. He didn’t want to deal with the hundred questions the medics would throw at him if they knew he was awake. He had Annie’s hand. Annie was all he needed. Annie was safe. He could relax.
When the ambulance stopped at the hospital and he opened his eyes, Annie had an IV too and was wrapped in enough blankets to look like a mummy.
The back of the ambulance opened. Four men unloaded Cole’s stretcher. Another tried to walk Annie away. She resisted.
Cole couldn’t see their lips, but he had an idea what they were arguing about.Family members only.
He rumbled, “She’s family.”
Then she was back at his side and holding his hand again. Not for long, though. As soon as his injuries were assessed, two orderlies were pushing him into emergency surgery.
He felt the blackness close in on him before they administered anything. He was passing out again. He didn’t care at this point. Annie was safe. And she was his.
Annie was dry, in a hospital gown, wrapped in a blanket, holding Cole’s hand. She’d been by his side since they’d rolled him out of surgery.
She wasn’t a fan of macho posturing, but she couldn’t stand seeing him weak like this. She’d rather have him strutting around, going on about how SEALs were invincible. “If you die, Cole Makani Hunter, I’m going to kill you.”
She ignored the chuckle from a nurse walking by the open door.
“In what kind of combat?” Cole asked in a rusty voice, his dark eyes open to a crack at long last.
She dropped her head onto his chest and said a prayer of gratitude.
“Naked wrestling?” he suggested, his chest rumbling under her forehead.
She pulled back. Something wet tracked down her face.Ah, dammit.Now she was crying?
She sniffed. “I told you we won’t be doing anything naked together. Therapist-patient relationship.”
“I told you I’m not your patient.”
“Then what are you?” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
This time, his voice was stronger. “I’m the man you’re going to marry.”
Her heart squeezed. “Are all Navy SEALs this bossy?”
“Pretty much.” He offered a faint smile. “But you don’t have to worry about any of the others.”
She sniffed again. “You don’t even know me.”
“I knew everything I needed to know when I walked into your garage and saw those stupid skunks.”
“Don’t call my skunks stupid.”
“Exactly. You’re the kind of person who stands up for a skunk.” He paused. Smiled. “I’ve been falling in love with you since you ordered me into that gas-station bathroom to wash my bloody knuckles.”
Her breath caught.I’ve been falling in love with you ...Her heart broke into a mad rhythm. “We barely know each other.”
“You can get to know me during our long engagement. I’m reenrolling at Hope Hill. I’m going to get my act together.”
When she smiled, he added, “Except for ecotherapy. I can’t do that. I’m planning on seducing the ecotherapist at the first opportunity. I’m planning on doing things to the ecotherapist that would make Freud faint.”
