SEAL's Embrace - Makenna Jameison Page 0,13
found me,” she said, looking at him in shock.
“Of course I came for you. Your goddamn building was on fire.”
He hurried into the stairwell, jogging down with Hailey held tightly in his arms. She wasn’t applying enough pressure to her head wound, and he cursed. He realized she was barefoot, only wearing pants and a camisole. Thank God he’d gotten to her when he did. She’d been knocked out, and who knew how long it would have taken for fire and rescue personnel to search the entire second floor. She was all the way at the end of the hallway, and by the time they’d searched every room, it could’ve been too late.
Firemen were moving up the stairs now with hoses and equipment, and Grayson hurried into the lobby and out the front doors.
“Shit, is she all right?” Ethan called out, jogging over toward them.
“She needs stitches,” Grayson assessed.
Jackson’s lips quirked as he realized Grayson was holding satin panties to her forehead but didn’t comment. “We need a medic!” he yelled out.
Two people came running to her with a stretcher. Grayson briefly gave them an update, setting her gently down as she whimpered. “Hell, did I hurt you?” he asked, looking into her green eyes.
“My head hurts. And my ribs.”
“You have a cut, maybe a concussion,” he said, gently smoothing his hand over her hair. His gaze dropped to her camisole. He didn’t see any other injuries, but maybe she’d hurt herself when she’d fallen. “You’ll most likely need stitches, but we got you out of there.”
“You got me out,” she said, looking up at him.
He searched her green eyes, aware of the people all around them. Hailey felt like the most important person in the world right now, crazy as that was. He’d known his teammates for years; he’d literally lay down his life for them, but right now, she was his only concern.
“That I did, sweetheart. I got you out of there.”
Blake came jogging over to his team. “Ghost! Everglades! The general wants to meet with us ASAP.”
Grayson frowned, looking at Blake and then back at Hailey. The medics were already tending to her, pressing gauze to her forehead and taking her pulse. One of them began rattling off some stats, and then they were ready to move her.
Grayson had rescued countless people over the years—men, women, children. It didn’t matter. He went in with his team and had seen it all. They’d dealt with horrific injuries and all sorts of situations. He’d rescued people from the worst of humanity and never even looked back. But leaving her made him pause for some reason. He frequently came to people’s aid and then moved on to the next part of his mission without thought, but something didn’t feel right about leaving Hailey.
He wanted to stay with her, to watch over her. He wanted to hold her hand or pull her back into his arms, to make sure she was okay. And he couldn’t because he had work to do. Besides, she wasn’t his damn girlfriend or something. What right did he have to hold her and ensure she was okay?
“I’ll check on you later,” he said in a low voice. “Tomorrow.”
She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, and he felt his chest clench. Unable to stop himself, he ducked down and lightly kissed her forehead, away from where the gauze covered her wound. She gasped in surprise, but then the medics lifted her stretcher, ready to load her into a truck and drive to the base hospital. He wanted to say something else but, maybe for the first time ever, was at an absolute loss for words.
He had no right to feel the way he did, but at that moment, he wanted her. Grayson wanted to go with her to the hospital, to make sure she was safe. He wanted to talk to the doctors about her injuries and make sure she had the best care and wasn’t in any pain. The tears in her eyes slayed him, and knowing that she was injured and hurting made his chest ache.
They carried her into the truck, Hailey wincing at the movement, and then Grayson turned and exchanged a glance with Blake.
“They’ll take care of her, Ghost. We’ll check on her tomorrow after our op.”
Grayson tensed. “I don’t like leaving her.”
“I know. But she’s in good hands.”
The doors to the truck slammed shut, and then it began to pull away. He watched it for a beat and then turned,