Code Name: Kayla's Fire (3 page)

“Okay, sir, can I get in there?” He put a hand on Thane, and got a
frightening glare in return.

“Take her to the hospital. Mace, how’re you doing?” Thane asked,
giving him a once-over.

“Going to be sore tomorrow, that’s about it.”

“Ma’am, it looks like you can walk. Come with me, and we’ll take you
to the hospital,” the attendant said.

“I don’t need to go,” she protested, taking a step away from him.

Thane gently grasped her. “Kayla, you’re going to the hospital.”

“I hate hospitals,” she said, raising her voice, since the Captain
obviously had a hearing problem. “Caleb can take care of it, and a couple pain
killers will do the rest.”

“No.”

“Yes,” she barked back.

The cops and paramedics heads ping-ponged between them.

Mace sighed, and walked around Thane, putting a hand to her back.
“They do this all the time. Come on, you stubborn mule. Let’s go.”

“I’m not going.” She rooted her feet to one spot.

The Captain leaned over her with his “I’m the boss” look blazing in
his eyes. “If you don’t get moving, I will give you a spanking right here,
right now, in front of everyone. Get in the damn ambulance.”

There’s no way he’d do it
. She narrowed her eyes to mirror his. “This is
not a big deal. Stop acting like an overbearing asshat.”

Chapter Two

His fists clenched trying to stop the shake, but it wasn’t
frustration, it was the delayed reaction of fear from seeing the car’s
destruction on the passenger side before he saw Kayla. As usual, his mouth was
going to take it out on her. “Woman, you’re going to the fucking hospital,” he
roared. Kayla’s ears grew longer, and her skin grayed with the mule showing
itself.

“Why can’t Caleb fix this?”

“Because we’re not in the middle of the desert. There’s a perfectly
good hospital five minutes away.”

“Caleb,” she pleaded.

“No way.” He raised his hands and stepped back.

“Come on, Snow White,” Lieutenant Cobbs said in a gruff voice. “Move
it.” When she didn’t budge, his silver-gray eyes set on her. “Now.” He didn’t
shout at her, but there was no option in his expression or the way he said,
“Now.”

Kayla’s nose twitched, and one stubborn foot became unglued from the
pavement. “Fine.”

Thane watched Mace and Cobbs guide her away. How the hell did Pat do
that? His brow curled tight, and he darted a look at Nathan.

Nathan shrugged. “Hell if I know.”

Caleb smirked. “Married,” he explained.

Thane scratched his neck. “But—”

“There’s a fine unspoken line, Captain,” Caleb explained. “The
Lieutenant drew it. Kayla knew it.”

He shook his head, astounded. “He’s going to have to teach me that,”
he said, watching the three of them reach the ambulance.

Walking into the hospital, Thane slowed his step seeing Mace and Pat
halfway down the long row of beds on emergency alley.

The doc had Kayla’s arm in an ‘L’ formation. “This is going to hurt.
Take a big breath and…”

She tilted her head at him. “Just do it, would ya.” Mace and Cobbs
screwed up their faces with the crunch and snap of bone falling into place. Kayla
barely reflected a thing on hers, except maybe relief. She sighed. “Thank you.”
Covering herself with the thin sheet, the doc helped her lay back.

Mace leaned over, and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “Good girl,” he
teased.

“I can still hit you with my good arm,” she warned.

Pat saw him and waved. “Hi, Doc, how is she?” he asked, stepping
around his lieutenant.

“Thane, hey man, how goes it?” Markus Letterman said, grinning up at
him. “Keeping our country safe?”

He and Markus had done senior year together, both of them on the
football team. “See any terrorists in your back yard?”

Markus laughed. “Is she one of yours? Didn’t think they let ladies
into the SEALs.”

He leaned over her, and pursed his lips. Kayla’s expression was all
sorts of mad. “Yup, she’s mine. Aren’t you, sweetheart?” he teased.

“Kiss me, and I promise I will bite you,” she hissed under her breath.

He chuckled, raising his head to grin at Markus. “Got a cranky pill
handy, Doc?” The smack on his arm felt like butterfly wings.

Markus crossed his arms, and gave him an inquiring tilt of his head.
“We gave her a good dose of morphine, but it hasn’t kicked in yet. She’s got amazing
resistance to pain, and to the opiates, but it should start working in a couple
seconds. She’s going to be fine.”

“Good, I’ve kinda gotten used to her being around. Think I’ll keep
her,” he said, seeing her gaze soften.

“Think again, Captain Asshat,” she answered, laughing at her own joke.

He chuckled, and ran his finger across her collarbone. “Feeling
better, sweetheart?”

“Uh, Thane, this is a G-rated hospital,” Markus said, interrupting his
thoughts.

“Huh?” He looked up, “Oh, yeah.” He held his hand out. “Thanks for
taking care of her Markus. Appreciate it.”

Markus stepped up to the bed and said, “Kayla, remember you need to be
diligent with the physio to strengthen the ligaments and muscles then it won’t
be as easily displaced again.”

“Physio?” He ran a comforting stroke across her shoulder. “What kind
of physio?”

“Never mind,” she cut in, her words moseying out of her mouth.

“Sweetheart, can you keep those beautiful lips shut, and let me take
care of things just once?”

Mace flapped a mitt full of paper. “Got it here, Captain. She’s
looking forward to an entire year of strengthening exercises. I’d be glad to
torture her.”

“Not,” she grumbled.

“Oh, yes you are. Let’s see those, Mace.” He handed them over.

“Can I leave now?” she said, her words beginning to slur. “I’m hungry,
and no one cares.”

He gave a jerk of his head so Mace and Pat would give them some
privacy, and pulled the curtain. “I care,” he growled into her neck, and kissed
her pulse. A small purr escaped her. As usual, her reaction quickened his
pulse, leaving little room in his pants.

“Thane, stop. This is a….”

“Mm-hmm.” He brushed her peaked nipple through the thin gown, giving
it the attention it deserved. The ache in his pants was just about killing him
as he kissed the pillowy edge of her breast, and then devoured her full lips,
taking advantage of her weakness. “I’m going to take you home. You can sleep in
my arms.”

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?” Her eyes closed briefly, and then
popped open.

“The cops put out an APB for the damaged truck, but I doubt they’ll
find it.”

She gave him a little nudge to make him back off. “Do you think it was
the Shark?”

“No, I don’t. I think it was just an accident. Maybe the guy was drunk
or high. He didn’t want to get a DUI, and took off.”

“Why’d he speed up?”

“I don’t know. Mace said you had a solid green light.” He kissed her
forehead. “It was an accident, sweetheart, nothing else. Come on sit up. I’ll
help you dress.” Instead of sitting up, she nestled into the pillow, her eyes
wandering. “Pain killers are doing their job, huh?” Her lids blinked lazily,
and she gave him a sweet little smile. Sweeping his knuckles across her cheek,
he released the fear clogging his heart, and sat down next to her. “You scared
the hell out of me.”

Her brow rippled. “I’m sorry.” Her head flopped to the side. “Don’t
worry. This isn’t anything. Save it for when I die.”

“Kayla,” his guts rolled over. “You’re not going to die.”

“Nothing to worry about, you’ve got Miss Sweater-too-tight and aalllll
the women you can possibly want.” Kayla’s hand wound behind her pillow, and she
stretched. “She’s such a bitch.”

“Am I hearing jealousy coming out of your mouth?” he asked, threading
his fingers through her soft curls. Their new admin assistant, Carrie Watson,
had been transmitting her signals loud and clear. Often in front of Kayla.
Ignoring her wasn’t working, and he knew it bothered Kayla, which meant he’d
put an abrupt end to it now that he had the information from Carrie he’d been
looking for. Kayla suspected Carrie hadn’t been upfront with her family
history, and he trusted her instincts.

“She’s beautiful, and I’m all scarred,” her voice weakened, and her
eyes closed with long lazy blinks. “I hate her. She knows Thane thinks she’s
hot, and she’s going to have him.”

“Sweetheart.” He turned her chin so she’d look at him. “Not going to
happen. Thane thinks you’re hotter,” he added, talking in third person, like
she was.

She nodded once. “Yeahhh, she will.” Puckering her lips, she blew out
a long breath. “It makes me sad.”

Too adorable. He’d never seen her so sweet and vulnerable, and he
loved it. The wall of smoke and mirrors evaporated, and the woman behind them
was so docile and incredibly beautiful. “Does that mean you like him?” he
asked, not able to keep the grin from his lips.

A little giggle escaped her, something as rare as the Dresden diamond.
“Have you ever seen him? He’s funny. He thinks he’s all big and scary, but he’s
not.” She flipped her hand. “God, I love it when he holds me in his arms.” She
let out a heavy sigh. “Hey, you’re trying to trick me. Don’t tell him I said
that.”

A sublime smile touched her lips, and he wanted to kiss her so badly,
but he didn’t want her to stop talking. These were secret thoughts about him,
and he hadn’t heard enough. “So you kinda like the guy, hey?”

“No,” she sighed out.

Not the answer he wanted.

“I love him more than I even loved my husband…and that was a lot.” Her
hand drifted in the air then halted mid-sway. “Do you think he loves Miss
Sweater-too-tight?” Her hand flopped against his shoulder. “She’s so pretty.”

The air staggered to a halt in his throat, and his chest squeezed
tight. “You really do love him, don’t you?”

Her lids slipped closed. “I’m so lonely when he leaves me, and he
always leaves me. Never show…how bad it…hurts.”

His throat grew thick. “Why?”

“Cuz,” she said, barely above a whisper.

He pulled her hand into his. “Why, sweetheart?”

“Because,” her lids were so heavy she couldn’t focus. “The Shark is
going to kill me, but Thane won’t admit it. Don’t want him to be hurt trying….”
Kayla licked her lips. “Doesn’t matter. I’m broken, all broken like Humpty
Dumpty. He’ll be happy with Carrie.” She strained to open her eyes. “Kayla’s
finally going to die. I can’t wait....”

Her lids dropped, and he watched his beautiful mermaid sleep. He sat
back, his heart thumping with slow, painful beats. Twisting a silky piece of
her hair around his finger, her words reverberated through him.

“Thane, it’s just the drugs. She doesn’t mean that,” Pat said,
appearing beside him. Mace stood on the other side of the bed, and gently
stroked her hand.

He bit his lip. “Yes, she does. Kayla shows us her brave side, but the
hidden side gave up on hope long ago.” He shook his head to ward off the tears
choking his throat. “She doesn’t believe anything I’ve told her. She doesn’t
think she has a reason to live.”

“Does she?” Pat asked quietly.

He bent over, her warm breath caressed his cheek. “Kayla, can you hear
me?”

“Uh-huh,” she murmured weakly, nodding her head a little.

“Thane loves you, sweetheart, he loves you so much. He wants—” Her
little snore made him pause. He kissed her forehead. “I want to see hope in
your eyes again, Kayla. I want to see it when you look at me.”

* * * *

The bedroom was dark, and Kayla slept soundly between his legs, her
back pressed against his chest as he sat propped up against the headboard,
listening to the night. It was probably a dangerous move, but he’d brought her
home with him. He hadn’t let go of her since they’d left the hospital. He
couldn’t.

Moonlight filtered in and illuminated the bed. He stretched to snag a
tube of muscle ointment on his bedside table. Rubbing in gentle circles around
her shoulder, the smell of mint filled the air. Her words swirled around in his
thoughts as he worked in the cream. Kayla was the only woman who never asked
him for attention, but to find out she was lonely when he wasn’t with her,
burned him.

He’d been spending too many hours with Manchester, and not enough with
her, but she didn’t complain. In her mind, he wasn’t hers. She just accepted
it, and now he knew why.

She sighed deeply, and her cheek rubbed his chest.

“Are you awake?” he whispered next to her ear.

“That feels nice.”

He kissed her hair, and continued to massage her shoulder. “You don’t
need an appointment you know. Just ask and I’ll do this every night,” he
paused. “After your physio.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why not?” he asked, then kissed her bare shoulder and filled his palm
with her breast. Gently, she stroked his thighs. “I wouldn’t say no.”

“Why am I here?”

“Because this is where you belong,” he answered, hearing the wish in
his own words. She rolled onto her side, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Kayla?” She turned her sleepy eyes toward him. “You know you’re the only woman
in my life, right?” She tucked her chin down and buried her face. “All right,
if you don’t want to answer that, how about this, am I the only man in yours?”

A muffled, “No,” tickled his skin.

His brows popped. “Say what?”

“I’ve got all your SEALs tied to my behind.”

He coughed out a laugh. “Okay, so that might be true, but you know
what I’m talking about.”

Her answer was a nervous squeak. “No.”

“Kayla, you’re being a brat.”

“You’re being a pain in my ass,” she sing-songed back.

Sliding his palm over her cheek, he said, “It’s a beautiful ass,”
letting his fingers tease the sway toward the back of her thigh.

“Captain, are you seducing me again?”

“Can’t seem to stop, might as well give in to it.” He followed the curve
of her lips with his tongue, and kissed away the wetness. “How about we both
hold up the white flag at the same time? Give in to what we want.”