Hell no. I wanted to sleep through all this and wake up in a different situation. One where she didn’t want to leave me behind because of my life.
The door swung open and Cap walked in, flinging his laptop bag onto the chair, completely ignoring Krista.
“So, I send you out for one trial, and you somehow manage to get yourself drugged, stumble into another team’s op, and you get shot. Seriously, what is it with you guys?”
“Boss, this is Krista.”
He glanced at her, nodding before holding out his hand for her to shake. “The woman of the hour. I hear you have some great skills. Want to join the team?”
She couldn’t hide her cringe as she got up. “No thanks. No offense, but that wasn’t the highlight of my life.”
“Interesting,” he said, his eyes twinkling with humor. “Are you sure she’ll fit in around the rest of the women?”
I choked on my spit, then really started coughing, which only made the pain flare up. Krista poured me a cup of water, and while that would ease the ache in my throat, it would do nothing for the stabbing pain in my chest from her words.
“Should I get the doctor?” she asked, worrying her lower lip.
“No,” I shook my head, sucking in a deep breath. “I’m fine.”
Cap, reading the situation, glanced between the two of us and handled everything for me. “Krista, if you don’t mind, I need Rob to fill me in on a few details. Would you mind giving us a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
Pressing her lips to mine, she smiled before walking out of the room. But it felt like she was walking out of my life, and I didn’t know how to deal with that.
“So, that’s Krista. She seems nice.”
I grunted in agreement.
“What’s the problem? Derek said she handled herself well. Maybe she can keep Freckles under control,” he chuckled.
“She wants no part of this life,” I informed him. Saying it out loud was even worse than thinking it.
“You can’t listen to anything she’s saying right now. You were shot, and she’s full of gushy emotions that are making her say stupid things.”
“Cap, she sat right here and said she didn’t like my life and wanted no part of it. There was no hesitancy in her voice. This isn’t something she has to think about.”
“And what did you say?”
I sighed, wishing I had thought of something clever to say. “Absolutely nothing. I was stunned. What do you say when the woman you’re falling for says she wants nothing to do with your life?”
Cap took the seat beside me, thinking about it. “Maybe she’ll change her mind with time.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.”
“It’s not like she’d be in constant danger. And you don’t go out on jobs that often. Her life wouldn’t be like the others.”
“Can you guarantee we’ll never get attacked again? Can you tell me that one of the ladies won’t decide to blow something up?”
He grimaced at that. “Look, we’re past all the crazy?—”
“Knight was shot helping Cash get vengeance for their brother. He allowed Cash to shoot him,” I pointed out. “At any time, that could have come back on us.”
“But it didn’t.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “But we have no way to know that it won’t happen again. We thought it ended with the virus, and then Knight ran off for months, and now this! When is it ever going to end?”
“Hey,” he said, glancing at my monitor as it beeped, as my heart rate skyrocketed. “Just take it easy. We’ll figure it out.”