Free My Spy by Christina Skye

attack first and ask questions later. That instinct would only be sharpened by his disorientation and pain.
    “Sam, can you hear me?”
    “That you, Doc?” His voice was hoarse.
    “Right here. What have you been doing, reenacting World War II in here?”
    “Yeah. Feels like Normandy, except my side lost,” he muttered. “Gotta get up. No time to waste.”
    “You're going nowhere, big guy.”
    “Have to go. Have to tell them—”
    When Annie touched his face, he was burning up, his eyes delirious. “Everyone's asleep, but you can call whoever you want in the morning. Since you've made a mess of that wound on your shoulder, we'd better fix it.”
    He stiffened when she touched his arm. His mouth flattened to a hard line.
    “No arguments. You're taking some pain medicine.”
    “Like hell,” he said. “Don't need it. Do that thing with your hands and I'll be fine.”
    “You take half your meds, and I'll give you half the massage. Then we'll clean up that wound, because it's got to be hurting like hell.” Annie waited impatiently. If he didn't agree, she'd have to call Izzy for firepower.
    “Don't want the medicine.” The words were slurred. “Can't—think. Need to remember.”
    “You can remember tomorrow,” she said softly. “If you don't sleep, you won't be good for much anyway.”
    “Not good for anything now.” His hands opened, and one callused palm locked over hers. “Do it,” he rasped. “But only half.”
    The stubborn, proud fool.
    Annie found the bottle Izzy had given her and tapped out one pill. “Take this. Here's a glass of water.”
    She watched him grimace as he swallowed. When he sank back, his eyes narrowed on her. “Your turn, Doc.”
    “You think I break my promises?”
    “I don't know you well enough to say.”
    One brow raised, Annie sat carefully beside him, feeling the heat of his body through her thin nightdress. Ignoring the instant skim of heat where her body touched his, she reached down to his neck.
    “Close your eyes. Focus on my hands.” Slowly, she worked her way along locked muscles and tender nerves until she felt his breath hiss free.
    “Those hands of yours ought to be insured, Doc.”
    “I'm not a doctor.”
    “Who the hell cares?”
    The compliment made Annie smile. “Don't tell that to the AMA unless you want me behind bars.” She traced the top ofhis right shoulder, kneading smoothly. Suddenly his arms tightened.
    “Let it go, Sam.”
    “Can't.”
    “Who are you fighting, the world or yourself?”
    She heard him curse. “Both. Whenever I close my eyes I see a road with someone right behind me. I don't turn back but I can hear the engine. Louder, louder. And if I don't hurry—” He blew out a hard breath. “Sometimes it's so close I can touch it. Then later, I think I'm dreaming. Maybe I'm ready for a padded cell.”
    “Stress can play nasty tricks. Let it go,” Annie repeated softly. “There'll be plenty of time to remember.”
    He moved his arm restlessly. “I can't. Too important.”
    “Trust me, fighting isn't going to help.”
    “Fighting's … what I do best.” There was a grim edge to his voice. “Too late to change that now, Doc, even if I wanted to.”
    Annie frowned in exasperation at the nickname. “Put it away, Sam.”
    “Can't. Call it a—a guy thing.”
    “So here's a girl thing: no rest, no therapy.
Capice?
” She moved away, glaring down at him.
    He opened one eye. “Hell, don't stop now. I was just starting to feel human again.”
    Annie's foot was throbbing. She must have cut it on something during her rush down the hall. She hid a grimace as she moved around him, smoothing his blankets. “Too bad, ace. It's my game here, with my rules and my scorecard. If you don't accept that, we might as well stop now because I can't help you.”
    “Izzy was right. You
are
a dragon.”
    “Absolutely. I breathe fire and consume chivalrous knights on a regular basis. Do you accept my terms or not?”
    “For now.”
    Annie