Page 126 of Surrender to Me
He’ll get them on my terms.
Brandt flushes the graze with saline, and Allie jerks with a sharp inhale, turning her face into my neck.
The cold sting always hits first.
I grip her waist more tightly, unwilling to let her twist away.
“I know.” My voice scrapes. “I know, sweetheart.”
Her breath trembles against my skin.
Brandt works efficiently, securing the bandage. A quick wrap, firm pressure—standard field closure. “She’s stable,” he says. “But shock’s still a risk. Adrenaline crash too. She needs rest, fluids, and heat.”
“She’s not leaving my sight,” I say before Hawkeye can open his mouth.
“I wasn’t going to suggest it,” Brandt replies evenly.
But Hawkeye?—
Hawkeye does what Hawkeye does best.
Leveling his gaze on Allie, he asks the question I don’t want anywhere near her.
“Who extracted you?”
Allie goes rigid against me.
She seems tiny, silent, terrified.
Protective instincts hit me so violently that I nearly stand, nearly put myself between Hawkeye and her even though she’s in my arms. “Back the fuck off.”
He doesn’t.
Of course he doesn’t.
“We don’t have the luxury of waiting.” His voice is practical, flat. “I’ve got a team out there. Inamorata. You took fire. Hawkeye is risking a lot for a woman we don’t know. And we need to know what the hell we’re up against.”
Her breath fractures.
I hate that he’s right.
If I were in his seat, I’d be saying the same things. But I have zero fucks to give. “You can wait. She just survived a goddamn ambush.”
“I’m aware,” he says coolly. “Doesn’t change the fact we need intel.”
“I said you can wait.”
In the quiet of the room, Inamorata’s voice crackles through Hawkeye’s radio.
“Primary scene is ninety percent sanitized,” she reports. “Bodies secured. Tracks buried. Debris loaded. Rabbit’s trail goes cold twelve minutes north. Could be regrouping. Could be gone. Unclear.”
Brandt clears his throat. “I’ve got to side with Stryker here. She needs to lie down. Give her a bit of time, and your answers will come.”
“First fucking sensible thing I’ve heard all damn day.” I scoop her up and carry her down the hallway, past the warm glow of the windows, toward the bedroom at the end.
Her head lolls against my shoulder.
Her wound has been taken care of. And for now, she’s safe. No one is getting the better of Hawkeye’s best teams.
