On Fire

“Thanks,” he said gruffly, dismissing her. Gardner smiled nervously and quickly left.

Mike looked at Khat’s relaxed face, her lips slightly parted. Her red hair was in tangles. He found himself threading his fingers through that clean mass, taming it slowly into place around her face and shoulders. Exhaustion weighed down on him. He hadn’t slept in nearly forty-eight hours. Pulling the chair up next to the bed, he laid his head on his arms, his one hand holding Khat’s limp, sweaty fingers. Like all SEALs, he’d learned a long time ago to drop off to sleep in a split second.

* * *

NURSE EILEEN GARDNER watched the SEAL go to sleep. Her supervisor, nurse Celeste Rogers, stopped and looked at the computer that showed Khat’s bodily function recordings. “She’s improving a little.”

Eileen sighed. “You can see why. That SEAL is a total piece of eye candy, with or without a beard and that long hair of his.”

Celeste laughed softly. “Careful, Gardner. He seems nice because you’re giving him what he needs for his lady. The moment something goes wrong, he’ll be climbing our asses so fast it will take your breath away.”

Looking up, Eileen said, “No way.”

“Way.” Celeste was forty-five years old, an Army major, and she’d worked with all the black ops groups. “You can’t tame a tiger, or in this case, since we’re here in Afghanistan, a snow leopard.” Her mouth curved ruefully. “I was married to a SEAL once.”

“Really?”

“Not for long,” Celeste drawled, sitting on the counter, pushing her dark brown hair back behind her shoulders with her fingers. “Those guys are big-time protectors of the ones they love.” She shrugged. “I found it suffocating. He was ready to defend me at every turn, and I really didn’t want my husband fighting my battles. I can fight my own.”

“He’s sure all of that,” Eileen agreed, resting her chin in her palm, curiously watching the SEAL.

“He’s a first class petty officer,” Celeste warned, her voice going deeper. “That means Tarik’s been around the block more than a few times. So, don’t back up on him. This guy knows how to pull rate, rank and anything else if he needs too in order to manipulate the medical and military system to get what he wants for his woman.”

“But, he’s enlisted!” Eileen protested. “We’re officers.”

“Yeah,” Celeste said, grinning, “SEALs don’t much notice the difference between officers and enlisted personnel. He won’t follow your orders, so don’t expect it. The best way to work with this guy is to explain what you’re doing and why. It will go a long way toward neutrality between him, his woman and us, okay?”

Raising her brows, Eileen murmured, “Okay.” She watched Celeste walk away to check the other ICU unit computers on the patients they watched over. Sighing, she wished she’d meet a guy like Tarik. The man was absolutely devoted to the red-haired woman—who Eileen didn’t think would make it. All the nurses, with the exception of Celeste, had quietly bet that Khatereh Shinwari would be dead inside twenty-four hours after the operation. Finding that sad, Eileen felt sorry for the SEAL who obviously loved that woman with a fierceness she’d never seen between any man and woman in her life. It was so tragic...

Chapter Two (#ulink_022a233b-e137-5787-8dfe-0b2d5c3d97ce)

WHEN MIKE WOKE UP, his spine was stiff from laying his head on the side of the bed all night. Lifting his head, he saw Khat was still unconscious. He looked across the bed at the monitors and saw her fever remained at 104. She was still fighting infection. He opened his hand where he’d held her hand all night. Throwing off the deep drowsiness, he glanced at his watch. It was 0800.

The door opened and closed.

“How are you feeling this morning, Petty Officer Tarik?” the nurse asked, going to change out the IV bags on the other side of the bed for Khat.

Sitting up, he rumbled, “I’ve slept in worse places.” He watched the nurse for a moment, seeing that she was the supervisor. “How is Khat doing?” He stood up, stretching fitfully, moving his hand down Khat’s damp arm.

“The good news is her temp hasn’t climbed,” Celeste explained. “I’m not a doctor so I can’t say more than that.”

Mike rubbed his eyes and studied her in the silence. “Well, this is just between you and me. What else?”

Celeste smiled a little as she gently lifted Khat’s head and neck, removing the ice pack and replacing it with a new one. “I personally think your lady has the heart of lion. I think her heart will beat back that infection. You just stay with her because her vitals are much improved over yesterday. She knows you’re here, even if she’s unconscious and caught up in the fever combined with the shock of surgery.”

Mike gave her a grateful look, feeling a powerful surge of hope in his chest. “Thank you,” he said, his voice suddenly thick with emotion.

“I’ve seen a lot of patients in ICU,” Celeste told him quietly, positioning the dry ice on either side of Khat’s slender neck. “Your lady has red hair for a reason.” She grinned. “She’s a fighter.”

Mike pushed his fingers across his brow. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Don’t need to. It’s just a feeling around her that I picked up on.” Celeste touched Khat’s other hand and gave it a little squeeze. “I’ve found in the twenty-some years I’ve been a nurse that the single most important thing to a patient pulling through is love.” She held his moist stare. “And touch. So, keep doing what you’re doing, Petty Officer? Remain, as much as you can, at her side.”

Chest tight, Mike was so damn close to crying that it was embarrassing. Choking back a sob lodged in his throat, he was afraid to speak.

“You have two visitors. Emma and Khalid Shaheen? They’re asking permission to come up here to see you and Khatereh. Will you authorize that or not?”

Mike rallied. Emma and Khalid. “Yes, they’re like family to us. Tell them to come on up?”

Celeste nodded. She pointed to several chairs outside along the light blue wall. “I can only allow one person at time in here, so why not have them wait there? There’s coffee and tea in our lounge, too.”

“Will do,” Mike answered, feeling new hope race through him.

She left the ICU unit. He never realized how much he needed some support until right now. Turning, he leaned down and kissed Khat’s lips. They were warm. Brushing his thumb across her pale cheek, he whispered, “I love you, angel. You made it through last night. Keep fighting for us. Emma and Khalid are here. I’m going to let each of them come in and sit with you for a bit. I know you’ll like having their company.”

As if to confirm it, Mike lifted his head and saw her pulse lowering even more. Perhaps out of relief? He wasn’t sure. Turning, he saw the elevator doors open. Khalid stepped out with Emma. Khalid was in a US Army olive green flight suit. Emma, who had a worried look on her face, was in the blue flight suit she wore when she was flying their helicopter for their charity. Mike squeezed Khat’s hand, and he said, “I’ll be right back. Emma and Khalid just arrived...”

Moving out of the room, Mike met them outside the door. Khalid shook his hand. Emma hugged him. Mike closed his eyes for a moment, feeling Emma’s strong arms hold him tightly, as if to feed him hope. Releasing Emma, he gestured to the chairs.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, his voice strained, as they sat down. “Have a seat.”

Khalid stared into the ICU at Khat. “I’ve been flying missions. I just got back here to Bagram and Emma called me and told me about Khat. How is she doing?”

Mike explained everything, keeping it to the short version. Emma’s eyes filled with tears.

“May I go in and see her, Mike?”

“Sure,” he murmured.

Khalid placed his hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Why don’t you and I go down to the cafeteria and get some breakfast? Emma can stay with Khat.”

Emma stood up and said, “Good idea. Mike, you need some break time. Have you had a shower or anything?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I got cleaned up yesterday after I arrived.”

Khalid stood. “Come on. Khat’s in good hands with Emma at her side.”

Reluctantly, Mike stood. He felt infused with their care and kindness. “Yeah, okay. Emma, If anything changes...”

Emma nodded. “I know where you guys will be. I’ll get a hold of you, I promise.”

Emma stepped into the dimly lit ICU, her expression sad as she went to Khat’s bedside. Picking up Khat’s hand between her own, she whispered, “Khat? It’s Emma. Khalid and I are here. I’m going to sit with you for a while. Mike needs to get some breakfast and then a shower.” She wiped tears from her cheeks with her other hand as she sat down in the chair. “You hang in here, Khat. Mike loves you. And we do, too. We want you back with us.”

* * *

KHALID SAID LITTLE as Mike ate like a horse. He’d been flying an Apache at another combat engagement and on his way back for refueling at Bravo, heard about the firefight going down at the village where Khat was being cared for by the Shinwari villagers. He noticed the tightness in Mike’s face, the desolation in his brown-gold eyes, the way his mouth was set. Khalid remembered all too well when he was falling in love with Emma. She had been kidnapped by Taliban and he starkly remembered what it had done to him. And to Emma. Luckily, Emma had escaped using her own wits and courage. Mike was in a different and far more difficult situation with Khat.

Khalid drank his coffee and sat in the large, noisy chow hall. Mike had found a place against the wall so he could always look out into the area and observe. It was a SEAL thing, Khalid knew, and not a bad one. They were always at risk no matter where they were at in Afghanistan. Even Bagram was not safe.