a little more difficult, but we can definitely use his skills outside. I want you to go over the attack just one more time with Sam and Lew so they’ll know where to concentrate. Then I’ll show them the lower level and we can leave them to it.” Unspoken went the reason he wanted to leave—the disc they had yet to check out.
Each time Sarah went through the events of the attack it got easier. She was almost dispassionate this time as she described what had happened and where. It was comparatively easy to walk the two soldiers through the building in a repeat of what she’d done earlier with Xavier. She was glad now that he’d done a rehearsal with her. She was much more composed this time.
Sarah wondered if he’d done it on purpose, to help her. She wouldn’t put it past him. He was a nice guy, no matter how much he tried to pretend otherwise. It would be like him to try to put her at ease privately before subjecting her to this dog and pony show.
Her leg was throbbing by the time they came to the end of her tour, and they’d gathered a small crowd. A few soldiers had begun to follow along when they’d emerged from the hallway. When they reached the main area all the Green Berets surrounded her as she described her fight with the two zombies. Xavier seemed content to let them listen in, so she didn’t object. Sam asked a few pertinent questions, and she thought she read approval in some of their eyes when she looked up from the place where she’d fallen over a week before.
She described the mad scramble away from the creatures and the way she’d headed for the door, calling for backup. She tried to keep her voice composed and thought she’d succeeded, but she still caught a few emotion-filled looks from the men gathered around her. Some of their expressions held pity, others admiration or a mix of the two. When she met Xavier’s gaze, all she read there was pride.
He was proud of her? What a strange thought, but that’s what she saw in his whiskey-colored gaze. It puzzled her, but it also made her feel warm in the secret heart of her that craved his approval like a teenager with her first big crush.
Damn. The man had affected her in ways she hadn’t even realized. He’d slipped right under her defenses and turned her into a silly schoolgirl. She should really be annoyed with him, but she was too busy falling under his spell to grumble too much.
“Thanks, Officer Petit.” He ended the retelling of her nightmare encounter once they were outside and she’d gotten to the point where she’d passed out. He sent his guys back inside, then stepped over to Sarah. “Why don’t you get off that leg? I’ll show them around downstairs, then pop back up here so we can check out the disc together. All right?”
She hated to admit to weakness but knew the value of truth. “I’d be grateful not to have to climb up and down that ladder again today,” she admitted, earning a nod of understanding from Xavier. “I’ll wait in the Humvee.”
Xavier stilled her as she moved away by placing one big hand over her forearm. “You heal fast now, but you still have to take time with serious injuries like the one you suffered. It’s not weakness to admit when you need to take it easy. It’s just common sense.”
She was touched by what he was trying to say. “Thanks, Xavier. I hear you.”
She limped away, her leg too painful to hide.
Xavier joined her in the vehicle about fifteen minutes later.
“I think we should head over to the precinct,” Sarah said without preamble as he seated himself in the driver’s seat.
“Why’s that?”
“The chief wants to meet you. He called a few minutes ago. Seems he began to rethink things after we hung up before. Plus, I have a fast computer with good virus protection on my desk at work. I’d rather not chance destroying my home computer with an unknown disc.”
“Good point,” he conceded, starting the powerful engine. “The precinct it is.”
When they arrived at the station, her fellow officers greeted Sarah with genuine happiness. It was clear she was well liked and respected among her coworkers. Most expressed their concern over her injuries and mentioned that they’d tried to visit her in the hospital, but had been turned away.
They eyed Xavier