Free Running Blind by Shirlee McCoy Page B

cheek. Her skin was warm and incredibly smooth, and heat shot up his arm, settled deep in his belly.
    He let his hand drop away and took a step back, stopping short when Jenna grabbed his wrist. “Are you leaving?”
    â€œDo you want me to?”
    â€œNo. I need you to back me up when I tell everyone I’m planning to leave the hospital as soon as the nurse takes out this IV.”
    â€œJen—”
    â€œI hate hospitals, Nikolai. I spent the better part of two years in them, and I’m done. The smells, the sounds.” She shuddered.
    â€œI understand.”
    â€œDo you?”
    â€œI’ve spent a fair amount of time in the hospital, too.”
    â€œWere you ill?”
    â€œA roadside bomb nearly killed me in Iraq. I was in the hospital for three months being treated for burns on my legs. I nearly lost my right foot.”
    â€œI’m so sorry.”
    â€œDon’t be. I survived, and I know how blessed that makes me. I also know how hospital smells can turn the gut. I’ll back you up.”
    â€œThanks.”
    â€œAs long as the doctor doesn’t think leaving is going to be detrimental to your health.”
    â€œForget the thanks, then.” She scowled, her eyes flashing with irritation.
    â€œI told you I would do everything I could to keep you safe. If that means you have to stay in the hospital, that’s what it means.”
    â€œAnd you really think I’m going to stay here just becauseyou, a few doctors and my family think I should?” She stood, fists settling on narrow hips.
    â€œI think you’re going to do whatever it takes to regain your strength so you can help me prove that Magdalena had nothing to do with the Mexican Panthers and drug trafficking.”
    â€œDon’t try to be reasonable, Nikolai. I’m not in the mood.”
    The comment surprised a laugh out of him, and Jenna offered a weak smile in return. “Well, it’s true.”
    â€œThen what are you in the mood for?”
    â€œAnswers, I guess. And my own bed in my own room in my own house with Dante warming my feet.”
    â€œDante?” It hadn’t occurred to Nikolai that there might be a man in Jenna’s life. But, of course, there would be. She was that kind of woman. The kind who probably had a dozen suitors knocking at her door at any given moment.
    â€œHe’s a scoundrel but I love him.” She smiled, her expression more relaxed than it had been all day. Either Dante had provided her with many fond memories or the pain medicine she’d been given was kicking in.
    â€œHave you known each other long?”
    â€œMe and Dante?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI took him in about a year ago. Sometimes he disappears for a day or two, but I can’t turn him away when he comes home.”
    The guy sounded like a loser, but it wasn’t Nikolai’s business. It shouldn’t be his business, anyway. “What does Kane think of that?”
    â€œOf Dante? I don’t think he cares one way or another.”
    â€œThat’s surprising.”
    â€œWhy? I’ve got my own place. The animals I keep there are none of my brother’s concern.”
    Animals? “Dante is a dog?”
    â€œA cat. Why? Did you think he was human?”
    â€œHe has a human name.”
    â€œBecause he came scurrying out of my neighbor’s fire pit about two seconds after Fred set a match to the wood and leaves in it.”
    â€œDante’s Inferno?”
    â€œExactly. Fred told me to let him run, but Dante was scrawny and homely, and I felt sorry for him.”
    â€œAnd now you own a cat.”
    â€œI don’t own him. I just give him food and a place to stay.” She smiled, glancing at her watch, some of her tension returning. “It’s taking a long time for my family to come back.”
    â€œThey’re in the cafeteria.”
    â€œNo, they’re not. They’ve found the doctor and they’re asking