Walker (In the Company of Snipers #21) - Irish Winters Page 0,120

if Beau explains everything. He’s been on your case non-stop for months. You’ll meet him as soon as you’re up for more visitors.”

“I’m up for it now. Bring him in.”

“No, Walker. You need to rest or you won’t heal. And you need to heal to fight. You’ve had two concussions.”

His chest heaved. “I guess. But why me?”

“Why not you?” Persia asked as she took possession of his hand again and pressed his knuckles to her lips. “You have this crazy notion that you’re expendable, but you’re not, Walker Judge. Let me call Beau. He’ll—”

“No,” Walker ground out. “You’re right. I’ve had enough for one day. But what the hell’s your boss thinking? Me ready to travel in three hours? Shit, I can barely hold my head up.”

“He knows full well what you need right now. He’s got a jet on stand-by at a private airfield. I’ll get a wheelchair. You won’t have to do anything but come with us when we leave.”

“Where are we going?” he asked, his eyes growing heavier with every question.

“To Ireland,” Persia replied softly. “A good friend of Alex’s lives there. We’ll be off everyone’s radar, and you’ll be able to recover.”

“Who… who’s us?” he asked as his lashes fell.

Persia pressed his fist against her breasts. “Us is you and me. Us is your friend Brimley and his dog, your entire SEAL team, Trevor Duncan, Captain Dooley, Smoke Montoya, and…”

By then, Walker was out cold, breathing evenly, his hand slack in hers. “And a couple other experts you haven’t met yet,” she murmured. “Us is my boss and my friends, too. Beau, Adam, and Zack. We’re all in this together.”

Reaching her fingers into his hair, she smoothed it off his forehead, then slid her fingers down his cheek, loving the feel of his skin and scruff against her palm. He needed a haircut. She needed to kiss him.

Lifting to her feet, she leaned into Walker and pressed a fervent kiss to his forehead. “Sleep easy,” she whispered. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“Damned right you will,” he growled as his arm circled her waist and up she went, into bed beside him. “Get comfy, junior agent. I’m tired, and you’re not going anywhere.”

Persia tipped her forehead into his cheek, not going to argue.

“You saved me,” she told him breathlessly. “Back in that bedroom. After my nightmare. Izza told me what you said, and how you said it. She likes you, Walker.”

“Izza’s okay,” he answered dreamily. “But you’re the woman I love, Persia. Only you.”

Her heart stopped. Love? Was he serious? Did he even know what he’d just said?

Opening his eyes, Walker shifted to face her. His free hand settled on her jaw. His thumb landed on her chin. He pressed his warm lips into her forehead. “Persia Coltrane,” he breathed, then pulled back enough to look into her eyes. “It’s true what I just said. I meant it. I do love you. Shhhhh. You don’t have to love me back. I’m not asking for forever. I just needed you to know that my life changed the second I laid eyes on you. There you were, stuck in that ridiculous Adirondack chair.”

That made her smile. “I looked stupid trying to get out of it, didn’t I? Did I look like a turtle on its back?”

He grinned, his blue eyes soft and hazy. “You never look stupid. No way. Not you. If anything, you’re a little scary sometimes. You’re confident and strong. You’re tough. Some would say you’re bitchin’. It’s obvious you’re highly trained, just as lethal as most male operators I know. Plus, you like what you do. You’re good at it. It shows.”

“Women are strong, too.”

“They are,” he agreed on a sigh. His fingers lifted to her hair, threading through a thick chunk of it, shoving it back over her shoulder. “But you’re more than just an operator, Persia. You’re beautiful and you’re mine. Stay with me tonight. I’ll keep your nightmares away and you’ll help me rest.”

His breath was heavy in her face by then. Heavy, sweet, and male.

“Okay,” she replied, easily snaking a hand around the back of his neck. “I’ll stay with you, but just for tonight.”

Walker pressed her into his side, his nose in her hair. “We’ll see about that,” he murmured thickly. “We’ll see…”

The next day found Walker passing through a quaint Irish village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The ancient stone fortress known as the Rock of Cashel dominated what little of the countryside Walker could see from the