Doc Featherstone's Return (11 page)

Ash shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just trying to get you to stop whining.”

Gregg leaned over and fired off a couple shots, taking out one of the guards. “Not cool, Ash. You hurt my tender feelings. I think you’ve been hanging out with the doc too much.”

“Probably,” Ash agreed as he took out another guard.

By that point, the number of guards left had gotten down to just a handful. The remaining enemy threw down their weapons and ran off, leaving the slave compound unguarded.

Ash cocked his head to the side. “Look at that.

They don’t want to play with us anymore.”

They went inside and helped Shane and Ackley secure the slaves and free them. The captives would be taken to the infirmary and looked over, then placed in safe locations until they decided where they wanted to live or were reunited with their families.

Of course, the moment Shane got one look at Ash, he had to make a comment. “Kid, you look like you took a bath in some Hyena stew. What in
the hell happened to you?”

Isaac hooked a thumb in Ash’s direction.

“Einstein, here, decided to use a large caliber gun on an attacking Hyena just as it was in the air right above us.”

Shane gave a wicked grin, showing his approval. “Nice. I like your style, Ash.”

Isaac shook his head. “That wasn’t meant as a compliment.”

Shane was already walking away. One of the commanders came up to the trio. “I want you three to go to decontamination right now.”

They all let out a moan, but did as they were told.

Joshua paced the floor as he watched all the other team members slowly trickle in, yet there was still no sign of Ash.

What in the hell was taking so long? The fact that he had yet to see Isaac and Gregg either gave him a sense of comfort, yet worried him at the same time. Maybe their team was one of the last to come out. Or perhaps something had happened to all three of them. The possibilities were endless.

Joshua ran a hand through his long hair and let out a sigh.

Luckily, thus far, there weren’t any wounded,
so he wasn’t needed in the infirmary, so he could wait for Ash out front. He heard that there were a few still coming in that were wounded, but they didn’t say how badly they were hurt or who they were. Joshua couldn’t help but worry that one of them was his mate.

Finally, he spotted Shane. Grabbing the assassin by the arm, Joshua asked, “Have you seen Ash? Is he okay?”

Shane looked down to where Joshua was holding him, but otherwise didn’t comment on it.

“He’s fine. He just got covered in a ton of Hyena guts and had to get decontaminated. He should be along any minute now.”

Joshua let out a sigh and his shoulders sagged in relief. His mate was safe—this time. Letting go of Shane’s arm, he said, “Thank you.”

“It doesn’t get any easier, you know.”

“What doesn’t?”

“You don’t think I piss kittens every time Trevor has to go out on a mission?”

Joshua paused. He’d never thought about it that way. There were a ton of other mated couples who were soldiers. Yet they somehow managed.

“How do you get through it?”

“You just have to learn how to let go and let them do their duty. It’s hard for Trevor, too, but we both know that we have a job to do.”

“But Ash has already been through so much as
it is,” Joshua argued.

Shane gave him a probing look. “You’re one of the few people I can actually be around for more than five minutes without wanting to kill, so I’m going to be straight with you. If somebody told you that you couldn’t be a doctor anymore, how would you take it?”

“I would be pissed,” Joshua admitted.

“That’s the same thing that you’re doing to Ash. He’s a trained field medic, and he’s damned good at it, too. In fact, he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, and that goes a long way since I hate to give compliments. So if you really care for him, you won’t take this away from him.” With those parting words of wisdom, Shane turned and left.

Joshua shook his head. Just when he thought that Shane was a one-dimensional killer, the guy had to go and surprise him. It went to show that sometimes looks could be deceiving. Shane saw a lot more than people gave him credit for.

Finally, Ash came into view. He was dressed in a plain uniform instead of all the body armor, and his hair was slicked back from being wet. As soon as he saw Joshua, his face broke out into a grin, and he came running in Joshua’s direction.

Joshua opened his arms and Ash all but jumped into his embrace. “I told you I would come back, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did, mate.”
“Sorry, I was late. I kind of made a mess of myself, and they made me clean up before they would let me back in the van. We do need to get our asses to the infirmary. They’re bringing in some wounded.”

“Is it serious wounds?”

“No, mostly flesh wounds. Nothing that’s life-threatening.”

“Then let the others handle it. I just want to hold you for a moment longer,” Joshua said as he rubbed his face against the nape of Ash’s neck.

The shower they’d given him had washed away some of his scent, and he wanted to get it back on.

Besides, if things got too out of hand, Jacyn would page him so Joshua wasn’t worried.

“You’re doing it again, aren’t you?” Ash asked as he tilted his head to the side.

“What?” Joshua asked as he kissed and rubbed all over Ash’s face and throat.

“Stamping me as your personal property.”

“Yes, does it bother you?”

“No, I love it. I just wish we had time to go to our living quarters, so you could do it properly.”

Just the thought of rubbing all over Ash’s body had Joshua hard with need. “Oh, I’ll be doing that tonight. Just as soon as our shift is over. You can bet on that.”

Ash let out a moan. “Now I’m going to be horny for the rest of the day. You are so unfair.”
“I promise to take good care of you all night long. Does that help any?”

“No, it doesn’t, and you know that.”

The overhead speaker came to life and Jacyn’s voice sounded, “Doctor Featherstone to the infirmary.”

“Great, looks like that’s our cue,” Ash said.

He grabbed Joshua’s hand, and they raced toward the infirmary. Once they got there, they dove in and began to help with the wounded.

Kallen was up and hard at work, having recovered from his injuries. He waved hello, before getting back to work.

Time passed quickly as it always did when they were busy, and before Joshua knew it, all the patients were taken care of and it was late. The cafeteria staff thoughtfully brought in food for everybody to eat. Ash attacked it like he hadn’t eaten in ages, and Joshua couldn’t help but remember the time when he had to force the Hawk to eat.

How far they’d come in such a short time.

Joshua couldn’t help but smile as he watched his mate eat and joke around with the rest of the staff.

His little fireball had come back, and Joshua couldn’t be happier. More so, Joshua had learned to love on his own terms, something that he never thought was possible. And it was all thanks to Ash.
Once they had their fill of food, Joshua grabbed Ash, but instead of taking him to their room, he led him to the roof. It had become their special place. They went up there, and Joshua held Ash close to his chest as they both looked out at the stars.

“I am so lucky to have you,” Joshua said.

“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you,” Ash admitted.

“Do you know I fell in love with you from the moment I saw you?”

Ash snorted. “You could have fooled me. You yelled at me that day for not taking care of a patient properly.”

“That was only because I was scared to death because I was head over heels for you, and I wanted to push you away.”

“Well, it worked for a while. Then I started to fall for you, too. At first, I thought I must be crazy because I thought you hated me. I was sure I had a sadistic streak or something.”

Joshua kissed the top of Ash’s head. “I’m so sorry for all those things I said to you then.”

“You already apologized, remember? It’s done and forgotten. It’s in the past. I’m just looking forward to our future.”

Joshua put his fingers under Ash’s chin and tipped his head up so he could kiss him. “Our future. I like the sound of that.”
“So do I. It’s going to be a long one, too. Don’t worry about me going out in the field. I’m always careful, and I have Isaac and Gregg at my back.”

“I know you do. I won’t lie, I’ll always worry, but I know it’s what you love to do, so you go ahead and do it. I promise not to stand in your way.”

Ash gave him that dazzling smile of his. “I have the most amazing mate ever.”

“No, I do. It’s my little fireball.”

Before Ash could argue, Joshua silenced him the only way he knew how. He gave him a tender kiss. As always, Ash gave in, his hands going to Joshua’s shoulders.

Once they parted, Joshua said, “Oh, and by the way, you are never getting your
F
or
L
because you will always be my precious Ash.”

“That’s okay,” Ash said, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

121

About the Author

Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings!

You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book or gorging on caffeine at her favorite coffee shop.

Stephani loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.stephanihecht.com.