Fucking coward.
He watched her check Jones’ dressings, a smile on her face. She was trying to hide it, but what she’d been through had left her struggling. He’d seen it before in young soldiers—the shock that followed that first battle and the brutality of combat.
She noticed him watching, and her smile brightened, putting a hitch in his chest. She stood, took off her nitrile gloves, and walked over to him, lowering her voice so that only he could hear. “How is my favorite patient?”
He caught her around her waist, breath hissing between his teeth at the pain in his chest. “Sit on my lap, and I’ll show you how I am.”
She laughed. “Those are big words for a man who can’t move without wincing.”
“Can I help it? I see you, and I want you.”
“Sorry, but there is no Mile High Club on medical flights.”
“Well, damn. You’re no fun.”
She sat beside him, leaned close. “Wait till we get to our room.”
Corbray had taken care of everything. When they landed, Derek’s gear and Jenna’s luggage were transferred to the helicopter and flown with them to Cobra’s Frankfurt complex, an enormous stone and glass building outside of the city.
He wanted to hold the door for her, but she held it for him, any movement with his arms or upper body excruciating.
“Wow.” She looked around.
“Impressed?”
“This place looks like a fancy office building, not a bunker. But I guess we’re no longer in a war zone.”
He caught her hand, raised it to his lips. “You’re safe here, Jenna. I promise.”
They settled into the suite set aside for him or Corbray, no one batting an eye when Jenna stayed with him.
Jenna started to undress him. “Time for you to sleep.”
“Isowish you were taking off my clothes for other reasons.”
But, yeah, he was tired. Exhausted, really.
She gave him a glass of water and a pain pill. “Rest.”
He dozed while Jenna took a shower, waking when his phone buzzed.
Corbray.
“We need to talk privately. I’ve got news—and you’re not going to like it.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Five minutes later, Derek ended the call, angry enough to put his fist through something. He was out of bed by the time Jenna stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in her bathrobe. She took one look at him and stopped in her tracks.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
How was he going to tell her this?
He crossed the room, kissed her forehead. “I just got a call from Corbray. He had a long sit-down with Kazi. He also heard back from some contacts in Washington, people I had asked to do some digging.”
“Tell me.”
“Jenna, your father …”Shit.This was harder than Derek had imagined. “He fired Cobra when it was clear I wouldn’t be able to persuade you to come back.”