Free The Reunion Mission by Beth Cornelison Page A

to falter as he jerked his gaze toward Nicole. Thirstily, he drank in the sight of her, taking note of her street clothes and the return of color to her cheeks. She looked damn good, in fact, if still a bit thin. “Been discharged, I take it?”
    “Yeah. Something like that.”
    He pivoted on his good leg and hobbled back to his bed.
    Nicole hesitated a few seconds, as if uncertain she should enter the lion’s den, then she moved closer. The nurse propped his crutches near the head of his bed and stepped out of the room, giving them privacy to talk.
    He scrubbed a hand over his face, hoping she didn’t see him surreptitiously wipe the sweat from his brow. “And the girl?”
    Her cheek twitched in a grin as if his simple inquiry about the child was gratifying to her. “Tia is supposed to be released later this afternoon, so I have to work fast to get approved as her guardian while the embassies search for her family.” She fidgeted with her purse strap and took another step toward his bed. “My father is pulling some strings with a judge or two he knows to make the arrangements.”
    Daniel grunted and swallowed the snide retort that would only alienate himself further from her. If this was goodbye, he didn’t want her last memory to be him acting like a surly ass. He inhaled deeply, rubbed his aching knee and blew out a cleansing breath. “Well, good luck. I hope things work out for you.”
    Another awkward smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “Thanks. When you see Alec and Jake again—”
    “Alec and Erin went back to Colorado.” As happy as he was for Alec, starting a new life with the woman of his dreams, Daniel couldn’t help the kick of envy in his gut. “Her doctor didn’t want her so far from home this close to her due date.”
    “Oh.” She shifted her weight, clearly disappointed. “I’m sorry I missed them. I wanted to tell Alec thank you again.” Nicole locked an earnest gaze on his. “When you talk to him—and Jake—please tell them how grateful I am for their part in our rescue.”
    Daniel jerked a nod. “Sure.”
    She tore her gaze away from his and stared at the floor while she chewed her lip, toyed with her earring. Even without his body language training, he’d have known she wanted to raise a difficult topic, probably delve into their history again. The last place he wanted to go.
    She lifted troubled eyes to his and opened her mouth.
    “Do you have a cell phone?” he asked before she could speak.
    “Uh, yeah.” She blinked, clearly caught off guard by his question. “My dad got a new one for me this morning.”
    Daniel held out his hand. “Let me see it.”
    Furrowing her brow, Nicole eyed him suspiciously before she dug in her purse and gave him the phone.
    He tapped the on-screen menu to open her address book, entered his cell phone number and passed the device back to her. “Your father’s not the only one with valuable contacts. If you have trouble with ICE or Homeland Security because of Tia, I’ll do my best to help cut through red tape.” He nodded to the phone, which she studied with a spark of intrigue lighting her eyes. “That number is the best way to reach me.”
    She tapped her screen a couple times, and on the tray table beside his bed, Daniel’s cell phone buzzed. He arched one eyebrow, and she flashed a nervous grin. “Just checking.”
    “Thought I’d given you a fake number?”
    She straightened. “No, I—” A blush rose in her cheeks as she fumbled. “I was making sure my phone worked.” She ducked her head and made a production of stashing her phone.
    A chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Right. And now I have your number, too.”
    Her chin shot up, and wide blue eyes latched onto his. “Oh. Yeah.” She wet her lips. “Will you use it?”
    He tensed, but his gaze never wavered. “I’m not sure that’d be a good idea. Things didn’t work out so well for us last time.”
    She folded her arms over her chest and frowned at him. “And