Nori's Delta (Delta Team Three #1) - Lori Ryan Page 0,17

gotten into the Rangers and they’d taken him seriously for the first time. They’d taught him discipline and how to plan things through instead of just having fun or going off the cuff, making decisions based on emotions instead of hard cold facts and planning.

From there he’d gone to Delta where they expected him to study strategy and learn to speak other languages. He had to know how to do more than just turn a computer on. No one treated him like the jock or the class clown. Not one person there had assumed he couldn’t do it. In fact, they’d been damned sure he could.

And he did.

But that had all started with the woman lying in the bed across the room.

Heath pressed his feet to the ground to keep from going over to her. Fisted his good hand into a ball to keep from closing the space between them to brush a lock of hair off her face.

His other arm ached where he’d taken a bullet and the stitches Zip had put into his temple were itchy. He’d taken a cocktail of vitamins C and A, along with some zinc, to help him heal up but his body needed time and rest. He knew that.

Still, he wasn’t ready to leave her side.

Maybe if she hadn’t climbed in his lap the way she had when she was trying to cover them up in that bar. His body still tightened at the thought of her, his hands aching to hold her again, to pull her flush and feel all that softness against him.

Maybe if she hadn’t jumped between him and a guy who would have shot him dead without a second thought. Or if she hadn’t refused to leave him when the effects of the blow to his head meant he was putting her at risk instead of saving her the way he should have been.

Then, maybe he wouldn’t be feeling what he was. Wishing for things he wasn’t meant to have. Wishing for more than he could hope for.

His life was the military. His loyalty was to them. All he had become, he owed to his team and to the organization that had believed in him where no one else had.

Eleanor’s face tightened and she tossed in her sleep.

Heath took a step toward her and stopped, waiting.

She stilled for a minute but then started up again, whimpering and throwing her head back and forth. She lifted her arm and cried out.

To hell with this. Heath crossed the room in three large steps, pulling his arm out of his sling and tossing it aside. He settled onto the bed with her, pulling her close to him.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay Nori. I’ve got you.”

How many times had he said that to her in the last two days? It was true, though. This time, he’d be there for her. He wouldn’t let her get hurt the way he had when they were kids. He’d have her back until she was safe at home and he had to watch her walk away again. Until he had to give her up again.

Duff was taking his turn outside her door while Zip had the back of the hotel. They’d rotate soon and the others would take over. But Heath was staying right here.

Heath moved his hand over Eleanor’s temple and down her cheek, soothing her back to sleep. He hated seeing her suffer. He shifted and lay on the bed, stretching out alongside her like he’d done so many years ago. A lifetime ago.

He tried to ignore the fact that she felt so damned right in his arms. Like she’d been made to be there. Or maybe it was the other way around. Like he’d been made for her.

She snuggled into him and he watched as her face evened out, the strain of the dream leaving her.

He might not have anything to offer her after this mission, but he would damn sure see that she was taken care of for as long as he was with her. However short a time that might be.

Chapter 7

“I need to call my boss before we hit the road,” Eleanor said when they’d finished breakfast.

Heath stood before any of the others could. “I’ll take you back to the room. We have a secure phone you can use.”

Eleanor nodded and followed him out. This time the little orange kitten pranced up to Heath and wove between his legs. One of his little black-haired brothers followed him out and meowed loudly at Heath.

Heath