Free Taken by Surprise by Tonya Ramagos Page B

lit into an FBI agent on scene. She remembered the way that admiration morphed to an almost tangible lust as he turned and saw Rhonda walking his way.
    "That same team is on an op not far from here," Michael told her. "It's a classified but related mission. There's a secondary extraction point set for them at 1730 hours."
    Rhonda did the quick military translation. "That's five thirty tonight, right?"
    "Right, just under twelve hours from now."
    "I'm guessing it'll take us that long, too." It sounded like a long time, but she knew they would really be pressed to make it there before time ran out. Moving on foot through the dense forest, constantly watching their backs as well as their fronts, would make the journey slow and treacherous.
    His lips twitched, but he didn't smile. "It might."
    "Will they know to expect us? You lost communication with them, didn't you?"
    "My earpiece got damaged in the fight back at the compound. Ziegler, Team Six's lieutenant commander, is a friend of mine. We know each other pretty well. He'll know when he finds out I'm not on one of those Blackhawks we saw leaving that I'll head his way. It's the E & E we set up in the planning."
    E & E—escape and evasion, Rhonda didn't need him to translate. "Does that mean we don't have time to stop, even for a few minutes? You're hurt." She didn't ask. She told him. Not that she needed to. She could see the blood starting to dry on his left arm. She noticed him barely moving his right arm, too. She heard the pain in his tone. No, the fact that he was hurt certainly didn't come as a newsflash to either of them.
    He lifted a brow. "And you aren't?"
    Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
    Amusement glinted on his handsome face. "Ladies first."
    "Always the gentleman. My feet are stinging, so I'm guessing they're probably not in the best of shape. I would rather not take off the sandals again. I'm not sure I want to see how bad they're scraped at this point. Better to finish the damage and then look for Band-Aids later."
    All playfulness vanished. A muscle in his jaw ticked. "What else?"
    "That's it. I mean, I might have a scratch here or a bruise there, but that's about as serious as it gets."
    "And on the inside?" Tension zipped around him. She felt it, even with the distance between them. He stood with his arms at his sides, right hand hanging limp, left still gripping the handle of his gun. His focus on her didn't waver as he waited for her to answer.
    She knew what he was asking. No way would she get into that discussion right here, right now. In the last—oh, who in hell knew how many days, weeks, months?—she watched a man she thought to be her friend walk away without a backward glance. She watched another friend die, saw an agent tortured. She felt more fear at the hands of Veng Kim Phay than she knew a person could withstand. She shot a man and was now tracking through a forest with the one man who not only started it, caused it, but made her want to curl up in his arms and pretend none of it had ever happened.
    "As long as I'm still breathing, that will heal, too," she told him stoically. "Your turn."
    He stared at her for so long she thought he wouldn't let it rest. When he did answer her, he surprised her with what sounded to be the complete truth. No alpha male exclusions or modesty involved. "A bullet grazed my left arm. It didn't penetrate, but it took off a chunk of skin. It stings, a lot, and will probably get infected if I don't get some kind of bandage on it ASAP. Your feet will, too. We'll need to find those Band-Aids and an antiseptic ointment as soon as we get to safe ground."
    "And your right arm? You aren't moving it, and you're holding your gun with your left." It hit her then, and she couldn't conceal the surprise in her tone. "You can shoot left-handed."
    "Nearly as good as I can with my right."
    "Lucky for us, huh?"
    "I hit the ground trying to avoid the bullet that grazed me. I must have