Free Betrayed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 9) by Kaylea Cross Page B

stranger to him, and he wasn’t even sure he’d find any of Julia in her at all once she woke. He needed to remember that.
    The thought made a hard ball of dread form in the pit of his stomach. By signing that contract he’d essentially locked himself into a life of servitude to the NSA, on the off chance that he could find and reconnect with the woman he’d lost.
    He knew it was insane to have taken such a huge risk. What would he do if it turned out this was all for nothing?
    It’s still better than rotting in prison. If she didn’t want him, he could still run. Or at least try to, provided he could find that damn tracking device.
    “Stay with her while I go help Rycroft track down whoever else is out there,” he muttered, turning on his heel and striding from the bed.
    “I’ll go if you want to stay with her.”
    At her quiet words Bautista looked back at her over his shoulder. His gaze unerringly slid to Georgia, so still and pale in that bed.
    Part of him wanted to take the opportunity Briar had offered him, driven by some deep-seated need to take care of Georgia. His heart didn’t care what her name was. It only saw the woman who’d managed to capture it.
    Which was insane, and he’d better lock his old feelings for her down for good until he saw how this situation played out. Bad enough that he’d signed his life over to the government and had to work with his “teammates” on this mission. It was a hundred times worse to have them watching his every reaction to Georgia, scrutinizing them. A total invasion of privacy he couldn’t afford to let them capitalize on.
    Except they’d already capitalized on it, hadn’t they? It’s why he was even here in the first place.
    When she woke up, he had to have his game face firmly in place.
    “No. You stay. She’ll be more comfortable finding you here when she wakes up.” It also gave him a reprieve, temporary though it was.
    For a moment Briar looked like she might argue, but then nodded. “I’ll alert you guys if she wakes up before you get back.”
    Bautista turned for the door and grabbed his weapon, already back in operational mode. He was far better at killing than he was at nurturing anyway.
    Go do what you’re good at and stop trying to be something you’re not.
    He’d find out soon enough whether his forced resurrection was worth it.
     
    ****
     
    Someone was moving around nearby.
    Heart hammering, Georgia struggled to pry her heavy eyelids apart. What was wrong with her? Everything hurt and her stomach rolled.
    Her body wouldn’t obey her when she tried to move and her limbs felt like they weighed a ton. A dull throb beat at her skull and the cold was still there, wracking her with convulsive shivers.
    Slowly it all came back to her. Her escape through the tunnel, the run through the woods.
    She’d been shot with a dart. Must have been a tranquilizer rather than something lethal, otherwise she wouldn’t have woken up at all. But why? Who had done it? Did they plan to torture her before killing her?
    A terrible sense of helplessness stole over her, quickly replaced by sheer resolve. She would never surrender. It wasn’t in her hardwiring.
    Finally she managed to peel her eyelids open a fraction of an inch, wincing as the light hit her eyes. Her cabin, she realized. She was in her bed. How had she gotten here? She couldn’t remember.
    A chill swept through her, this time having nothing to do with the fever. There was so much she didn’t remember, didn’t know.
    Summoning her strength, she forced her head to turn so that she could see the threat. Someone was just outside the bedroom door. A female, if Georgia assessed the build right.
    Her weapons. She needed her weapons.
    Move, dammit , she ordered herself, refusing to give into the sluggishness pervading her. She needed to keep sharp, get control of her body so she could defend herself.
    Her heart rate was elevated. Good. The faster her heart pumped, the more adrenaline her adrenal