Beyond the Breaking Point - Lori Sjoberg Page 0,14

drugs. He could be a real hard-ass when the situation warranted, but it wasn’t his default setting. But then we had an op go south.”

Hector’s smile disappeared. “It’s not my business to tell you what he and his partner went through, but that scar on his face is the tip of the iceberg. According to the doctors, it was a miracle he survived. He flatlined twice on the way to the hospital. It changed him in ways that I can’t even begin to comprehend. All I can say is he’s been through hell. I think part of him is still there. But deep down, he’s still the same Wade I’ve known all these years. He’s a good man. Decent. And I know he won’t do anything to hurt you.”

It took everything she had not to roll her eyes. “Are you serious? He’s forcing me to go back to the guy who wants to murder me.”

“Yeah, he is, and I’m sorry about that. But he won’t let anything happen to you, and neither will I. That’s a promise. I give you my word you’ll be safe at the consulate when we make a move on that compound.”

He sounded sincere; she wanted to believe him. But after everything she’d been through, she had no intention of letting her guard down until she reached the consulate.

Hope glanced over her shoulder at Wade. He was staring at something off to his left, the shotgun in his grip, his gaze sharp and his jaw clenched tight. In so many ways, he reminded her of those wounded warriors she used to treat at Landstuhl: strong, determined, but hurting inside in ways she couldn’t begin to imagine.

As if sensing her gaze, his head turned toward her, and those piercing green eyes caught hers. She couldn’t look away if she tried. Her mouth went dry, her heart kicked in her chest, and for a moment or two, it felt as though she couldn’t breathe.

Face flushed, she forced her gaze away, confused—and more than a little annoyed—with her body’s response to him. Ill-tempered and emotionally unavailable had never been her type. She didn’t go for men who were broken beyond repair, and she didn’t want to be the glue that held his pieces together. And yet…something about him intrigued her in a way she struggled to define. She wasn’t sure what it was, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Correction: she definitely didn’t want to know. All she wanted was to get back home and live a nice, boring, normal life, where the worst thing she had to deal with was a patient who thought they knew more than her because they looked up their symptoms on WebMD.

Forcing all inappropriate thoughts from her mind, she mustered a smile for Hector. “Thank you for the reassurance, but I won’t feel better until I set foot on American soil.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll do everything I can to make sure that happens. Just keep what I said in mind, will you?”

“Yeah, sure,” she lied. Needing to change the subject, she asked, “So who do you have waiting for you at home? Is there a Mrs. Hector?”

“There used to be.” A hint of regret bled into his Texas twang. “This line of work is rough on a relationship.”

“I’m sorry.” She could relate. During medical school, her social life had taken a beating, and it hadn’t gotten much better once she began her military service.

But she loved being a doctor. There wasn’t anything else she’d rather do with her life, even though it wasn’t all wine and roses. The hours were long, and you often didn’t leave when your shift was over, but rather when your job was done. Plus, a lot of men didn’t like to date women who were more educated than them or earned a bigger paycheck. It resulted in many nights home alone, watching movies in her pajamas.

Hector shrugged. “Don’t be. I’m the one who chose this career. It’s rewarding but it’s also demanding, especially if you work undercover. That kind of work tears you away from your family for months on end without any ability to make even basic contact. But you can make a really big difference in the world, and that makes it all worthwhile.”

“If you say so.”

He chuckled. “Don’t you worry about me. I always find a way to land on my feet.” He reached into his back pocket for his phone, powered it up, swiped the screen a few times, and then angled