Page 89 of Damned
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The next time Kruze bobbed to the surface, he shook the pain meds off and peeled his eyelids open. Damn. He thought he’d dreamed she was there, but Bree was gone. He scrubbed his chest a quick once over, searching for his holster and pistols. But he had no weapons on him or nearby. Damned disconcerting. It was dark outside, which meant late night or early morning. He had no idea where he was, except in some hospital. That much was obvious. The sting of antiseptic in the air was hard to miss. He forced his butt to rise and shine, but ended up needing both side rails just to hoist himself into a sitting position. And he was hungry.
Food could wait. Kruze hit the call button. He wanted his pants and boots. He was going home to Bree. Anyone who tried to stop him was going down.
The nurse who answered his call was a gorgeous blonde, her long hair pulled back in a high, tight ponytail that made her look mean. Blue eyes. Pink cheeks. Lush, kissable lips. Dressed in dark navy scrubs with tiny white polka dots, she was model-worthy. Tall, sleek, and full of curves in all the right places. She was everything he used to want. And there he was in a light-blue hospital johnnie, feeling like a broken, old man and not interested in the likes of her at all.
“Where’s my woman?” he bit out. “Where’s Bree Banks? She was just here. I know she was.”
“Well, good morning to you, too, Mr. Sinclair,” the nurse answered brightly. “Miss Banks went home last night to get some sleep, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon. I’m Gina, and I’ll be your nurse for the day. Dr. Lister will be in shortly to see you. I hope you’re not cold. Bree kept your window open while she was here. She said you like fresh air, so I opened it as soon as I came on shift. Is that okay or do you want it closed?”
“Well, yeah, open’s good,” Kruze replied, worried that Bree had suffered through more panic attacks while he’d been out cold.
With practiced ease, Gina removed his IV line, then, like it was no big deal to manhandle a guy’s junk, that damned catheter. “Let’s get you into the bathroom for a nice, warm shower, shall we?”
“Yes, let’s,” Kruze muttered testily, his eyes watering from that invasive procedure. There was no sense arguing. Nurses had all the power. He sure as hell didn’t.
By the time Bree returned, he’d showered and shaved, had eaten breakfast and been put back to bed like the weakling he’d realized, in the shower stall of all places, that he was. His warden, aka Gina, was off badgering someone else, and he was ready to get the hell out of there. Just needed clothes to do it. Clothes, boots, and Bree. Not necessarily in that order. But Kee-rist, he was tired.
“You’re awake.” And there she was, coming into his room with a large shopping bag in her hand. Dressed in jeans and a button-up blouse, Bree’s hair was loose on her shoulders, instead of braided or clamped down tight. Sexy-casual was a good look on her. She jostled the bag. “This is for you. I didn’t know all your sizes, so Chance ordered them from the big-and-tall store you Sinclair boys shop at. Underwear, socks, t-shirts, and sweats when you’re cleared to leave. Sorry, no boots. But Pagan sent along slippers.”
“Come here,” Kruze ordered, needing her in bed with him, not standing across the room.
Without a word of protest, Bree set the bag on the counter, slipped out of her shoes, and climbed under the blanket with him. Tears shimmered in her baby blues. “You scared me to death,” she cried, burrowing her nose into his neck, her fingers sliding soft and gentle under his hospital gown and across his chest. “I thought I’d lost you. Then you passed out, and your neck was bleeding! You crazy, crazy man. I didn’t think we’d get you here in time.”
Kruze drew the blanket up and covered them both. “Yeah, well,” he muttered, pressing a fervent kiss to her forehead. “I scared myself, too. Didn’t think I’d get to you in time. Felt like that damned helo was flying backward.”
Tipping her head up, she kissed the underside of his chin. “I need to tell you something.”
His heart started thumping. This was it. She was too smart to stay. Karma was coming back on him, making sure he knew he didn’t deserve Bree. Not after the way he’d used all those other women. “Okay,”Damn.“So give. What’s up?”Let me have it.
Her cheeks puffed with a breathy sigh. “I’m sorry, but I… I…”
“Just say it, sugar. You know I love you. You can tell me anything,” Kruze said even as he prepared for heartbreak. She might be snuggled in bed with him now, but that was because Bree Banks was too kind for her own good. He was still the damned loser in the family.
“I… I…” Her entire body clenched as the words spewed out of her. “I stole your wallet after you saved me and nearly got shot running up that hillside to get me safe inside that Blackhawk in Turkey. I still stole from you, and I’m so, so sorry. I just… I just…”
The weight of the world lifted off Kruze’s heart. Gawddamn. He wrapped her up tight in his arms, and just laid there, because seriously? Nothing else mattered. Certainly not the wallet he’d thought he’d lost.
“I was selfish and bitchy, and I wanted you to pay,” she admitted, her voice growing squeakier. “So I stole from you, but I never took a single dollar or used your card, and… Can you ever forgive me?”
He tucked his chin into his chest so he could look down at his woman. There were tears glistening on her lashes. “Nothing to forgive, sugar. You already own my heart. Everything else comes with it.”
“Well, it’s in there with everything else.” She nodded her head at the rolling table where she’d set the bag. “But I promise, I didn’t take a thing.”
“No worries. Promise. I wondered where it went, but there was nothing in it that meant anything to me. The card’s linked to whatever appropriation Senator Sinclair gets his black ops funding from. No one but me could’ve used it. Its sole purpose is to reimburse whichever military department gets me into or out of whichever foreign country I’m working in. And the cash” —He sucked in a deep breath of the woman he adored— “was just in case I got caught. Which I never do. Where exactly are we?”
“Penobscot Valley Hospital, Lincoln, Maine,” a distinct, male voice answered from the doorway. Jared Lock’s brows lifted to his hairline when he saw Bree snuggled in bed with Kruze. “You do know that’s against hospital rules, don’t you?”
She started to extricate herself, but Kruze clamped on tighter, not letting her leave his side. That day was over. “Jared, hey. Good to see you again. This is Brianna Banks.”
“We’ve already met. You look a lot happier this morning, Bree.”
“I am. You’re leaving?”
“Yes, ma’am. Just came by to see how this guy’s doing before I take off. By the looks of things, I’d say he’s ready to go home.”
Kruze soaked up the sensation of the tender woman snuggled up to him. Felt a lot like he was already home. “Where next?”
