Mind of Danger (Body of Danger #3) - Sidney Bristol Page 0,14
checking up on her?
“Jo?” he called out.
No answer.
Elias crossed to the hall. She’d taken one of the middle rooms; it was the only one with the door closed. He tapped on the door and tilted his head to listen for movement inside.
“Hey, Jo? Sorry, but you forgot your phone. Jo?”
Still no answer.
He grimaced and shoved his knee-jerk concern down deep. She’d been in there for a few minutes. Nothing bad had happened to her. It was just his overactive imagination.
“Jo?” He tapped on the door once more. “I’m going to—”
The door swung open and Jo stood there, her hair free to hang around her shoulders and swaddled in one of the fluffy robes kept in the closet of each room.
“Oh, uh, sorry. You forgot this.” He thrust the phone at her and averted his gaze.
“I’m in a robe, dumb ass. Nothing you haven’t seen before.”
“You’re right.” He chuckled.
Only, it wasn’t the same thing. Her changing in a dark tent covered in sand was out of necessity. This was different. Almost intimate.
“Thanks.” She took the phone and pocketed it without looking at the screen.
Was she not expecting back up or help of any kind?
He wished she could loop him in on this.
“Jo?” He took a half step toward her and braced his hand on the wall.
She tilted her chin up a bit. “Hm?”
“Be careful out there, okay?”
One side of her mouth hitched up. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“I’m being serious. I’m worried. I know you can’t tell me what you’re doing, and I trust you to know what you’re getting into. None of that stops me from being concerned.”
Her smile faded, and she blinked at him as though his words surprised her.
Okay, so maybe a real man didn’t run around telling people he was worried about them. He didn’t have a choice. Elias didn’t trust himself in combat situations anymore. It was why he worked behind the lines. Tonight might have gone smoothly, but what if he lost it under pressure? What if he’d overreacted while bullets were flying?
No.
It wasn’t a risk he wanted to take. Not when other lives could depend on him. Instead, he played his part at his desk, doing the less glamorous and exciting work that kept the machine running. Tonight though, tonight he wanted to be different.
A little wrinkle developed between Jo’s brows. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to that.”
He swallowed hard.
His family had been the type to send him extra care packages to share with those who didn’t get mail often. One had always gone to Jo. In all the time they’d been in the trenches together, he didn’t think she’d ever received anything from home. Hell, he remembered a few months into their first deployment she’d been involved in a very minor wreck on base and had to get stitches. She’d been so confused when Elias and a few of the guys showed up to check on her.
Jo never expected anyone to care about her, because she’d never mattered to anyone. Not even her damn family. He understood why she’d enlisted to get away from her mother and sister.
The things he wanted to say to Jo’s family would never cross his lips. That didn’t stop him from wanting to throttle them.
Jo had a family that should care about her. There was no reason for her to be out in the world with no lifeline. But he wouldn’t say that.
Instead, he smiled. “I’ll be careful and keep the coffee warm?”
Her lips parted, and she stared up at him with an expression he couldn’t understand.
Elias wanted nothing more than to be here for her. To help her. She didn’t know how much she meant to him, and that was okay. It was his secret. He’d come to terms with his new life. So long as she was still in his world, he’d be content.
Jo reached out and fisted the front of his shirt. He was so surprised by the move he didn’t do anything. Which was why when she slung an arm around his shoulder he pitched forward. If it wasn’t for his hand braced against the wall, he would have staggered into her.
The next moment he became acutely aware of warm skin pressed against his. And not just any skin. His lips. Nails scraped his scalp as she fisted his hair. He placed his free hand against her side, unsure if he was steadying himself or poised to move her. Closer? Push her away? What the hell was happening?
His mind raced to