Читать книгу The Reunion Mission - Beth Cornelison - Страница 11

Present day—New Orleans

Daniel woke slowly, keeping still, using all of his senses to test his surroundings for possible threats before opening his eyes. He’d been trained to assess every new situation carefully, especially if he was at a strategic disadvantage. Which he was, based on the throbbing ache in his knee and no memory past struggling to the chopper amid gunfire.

The beep of electronics and the murmur of distant voices, too muted for him to distinguish what language they were speaking, met his ears. He lay flat on a soft surface and had covers over him. A bed. His knee hurt like the devil, and he had tubes and needles poking him. His head felt a little muzzy, likely from some kind of painkiller, but he began to build a picture. He could smell antiseptic and … roasted chicken? His stomach growled.

So he was in a hospital room. But where?

And someone held his hand. That fact made his pulse trip. Who—?

He cracked his eyes open, peeking out through his eyelashes, careful not to alert his company to his waking … just in case.

Nicole sat in a wheelchair beside his bed, her head lolling to the side, her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted. Asleep. She wore a blue hospital gown and an IV bag, hanging from a pole attached to her wheelchair, was hooked up to her right hand. As when he’d found her asleep at the prison camp, he was struck by how beautiful she looked, despite the circumstances. And how vulnerable.

On the heels of that thought, he flashed to the jungle. To Nicole pushing herself to keep up despite her obvious exhaustion. To her feisty determination not to leave him behind when he was shot. To her stubborn protectiveness over the little girl.

No. Nicole White might look vulnerable, but a tenacious streak ran through her.

He angled his gaze to their joined hands, determined not to read anything into her presence in his room. Hands he remembered as delicately feminine and soft were now chapped and showed the wear of harsh living conditions. Her once well-manicured fingernails were short and ragged, her skin marred by cuts and bruises. The physical reminders of her ordeal caused a twisting sensation deep in his chest.

Oh, my God! Daniel … He’d blacked out shortly after her eyes had widened in recognition. Finally.

Disappointment pinched him.

But … the jungle had been dark, their situation had been perilous, and their last meeting had been over five years ago. His appearance had changed some over the years.

Still … it stung that she’d not known him immediately. Especially after the intimacies they’d shared their one night together. Daniel sighed. One night five years ago and one night ten years ago. Maybe he was asking too much to think she’d remember him. And even if she did recall everything that had happened that night in New Orleans, where did that leave them?

He had to remember who her father was, the reason they’d only had the one night, the way she’d used him.…

A spike of bitter resentment seeped through the golden memories and gnawed in his gut. Nothing was settled between them. Clenching his back teeth, Daniel eased his hand out from under hers, careful not to wake her, then shifted in the bed to give her his back.