“Sore’s fine. Dead…”
Kash sighed. “Nowhere close to dead. You, on the other hand…”
“As long as she’s breathing…” He closed his eyes, each breath searing through his chest. “Don’t leave her alone, just in case those assholes from the other boat come knocking.”
“We’ve got your back, brother. Hers, too. Now, rest before you bust out a rib allalien stylethrough your chest.”
Zain relaxed against the thin pad, breath tight in his chest. Pain drawing him under. He reran what she’d said in the chopper, trying to puzzle out if she’d meant it or if it really had been the hypothermia talking. A bunch of thoughts getting hijacked inside her head.
He sighed. He could worry about it once she’d regained consciousness. When his thoughts weren’t shaded in black and blue.
When he’d finally convinced himself, he deserved more than a second chance.
He deserved her.
“Zain.”
Zain bolted awake, grunting when his ribs ground together, tightening his chest until he thought he might pass out. He blinked, frowned at Saylor standing next to his bed. “What’s wrong? Are those assholes from the boat back?”
He tried to toss aside the covers, but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his wrist.
She shook her head, her lips still slightly bluish. “Even half-dead, you’ve got me on your watch. No one’s here. At least, no one bad. How’re your ribs?”
He blinked again when the room spun, a warm sensation easing the tightness in his chest. “I’m fine. What time is it?”
“Early.”
“Why are you dressed?”
Saylor glanced over her shoulder. “He’s on pain meds?”
Kash moved into view. “He busted several ribs and bruised his lung. They gave him morphine. It should wear off in a few hours.”
Zain frowned. Why were they talking about his lung? About meds? And why was she looking at him as if she’d seen a ghost?
He smiled up at her, fading before she gave his arm a light squeeze. “Come to bed.”
She leaned in. “I’d love to, but…” She glanced over her shoulder. “The Coast Guard wants me to go through what happened. Fill in all the blanks, now that I remember that night.”
Zain shifted his gaze. Some jerk in a uniform stood in the doorway, scowl shaping his thin lips. He didn’t nod, just stared at Zain as if he’d just told them he ate puppies for breakfast. “Who’s the stiff?”
“Rear Admiral Fleming.”
“Rear Admiral?” He tried to shake off the fuzziness in his head, but it didn’t budge. Thoughts swirled around, tumbling over each other until she squeezed his arm again. “That sounds like more than just a talk.”
“It’s complicated. Apparently, they can recall me for some kind of debriefing. I didn’t catch it all.” She shifted on her feet. “They’ve mentioned something about reinstating me. A promotion. My own command. I’m not really sure, I just…”
That voice inside his head started yelling, the words quickly sinking into all that warmth. “You’re leaving?”
Had he gotten that right?
“I’m just going to talk. Greer’s coming with me.”
“But…” He scrubbed a hand down his face, grunting when it pulled against his ribs. Nothing made sense, that thick feeling inside his head messing everything up. “Do you want to go back?”
She looked down, twisting the edge of his blanket. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t leave because I was done, I just…” She looked up. “What do you think? Is it crazy?”
He did his best to palm her cheek without passing out. “I think you don’t want to look back in ten years and feel like you settled.”
