Free Falcon: The Quiet Professionals Book 3 by Ronie Kendig Page B

getting coffee could be so dangerous.” Though she smiled, her face had gone a shade paler with a tinge of gray.
    “I’ll walk you back,” Sal heard himself saying.
    Cassie stilled at the same time he did, apparently just as surprised as he was that the words had come from him. He saw in the quick moment a spurt of hope. Then it crashed. “No.” She swallowed, touching the knot on her head. “I’m… I’ll be fine.”
    She walked down the path, her gait a bit awkward.
    “She shouldn’t be alone, sir,” Harrier mumbled. “She should be monitored to make sure she doesn’t pass out or slip into a coma.”
    Sal wanted to curse. Wanted to rail and loudly object that Cassie wasn’t hurt that bad. But the tug on his conscience was too great. “Let me know how she does.”
    “Excuse me for saying so, sir, but I’ve seen enough to know it should be you.”
    Sal snapped toward Harrier, but the medic was already moving in the opposite direction. “Son of a fried biscuit…” Sal started in Cassie’s direction. He walked a little faster, his gut twisting as images of her collapsing and being rushed to the hospital clogged his mind.
    But as he rounded the corner, he stopped short. The path lay empty. The parking lot, if you could call it that, was barren of cars. He scanned the buildings. Where had she gone?
    He turned a circle. The Command building. Was she in there?
    He remembered she’d spilled coffee. Maybe she was heading back there. He walked a little faster, stepped inside the building and checked her desk. Empty. A common theme.
    Maybe her head had started hurting more. Maybe she went to rest.
    Bad idea. If she was suddenly tired—surely Cassie knew not to lie down. A spurt of panic darted through his chest. He jogged toward her tent and stepped inside. It took a second for his eyes to adjust.
    A flash of white yanked his gaze to the far right.
    In that instant, he realized what his eyes had seen. He flung himself around with a curse. She was changing her shirt. He swallowed hard, seeing the curve of her back. Remembering the softness of her skin…
    He pushed away from her and the memories.
    “Sal.”
    Go. Don’t stay
.
    But he couldn’t move. Anchored by memories of what they’d had. What they’d shared.
    Cassie was there, in front of him, tugging her hair out from under the collar of a clean shirt. The knot had already shaded to an angry red. Fingers reached to brush the blond strands from the drying blood.
    Only when her lips parted did Sal realize it was his hand reaching for her face. He clenched his fingers into a fist. Froze. “Sorry.” His voice was hoarse. Dry.
What are you doing?
    “Sorry,” he repeated. “I wanted to make sure…” He hated himself for being weak. For standing here caring when Vida was six feet underground. “If you feel sleepy, go to the hospital.” His words came out gruffer than he’d intended. But they had resolution. And he had no remorse for that. He took a step away.
    “Sal, when will you stop hating me?”
    “When Vida comes back to life.”
    “But even you said you didn’t really love her.”
    The words were a blow to the back of his head. To his conscience. “But I committed to her. Promised her.” He nailed her with a look that shot hot daggers. “And you sent her to her death.”
    “I made a mistake.”
    He snorted. “Is that what you call it? She’s dead!”
    “Yes, it’s something I will live with for the rest of my life,” she said, her voice eerily quiet. “I messed up because I was so crazy in love with you—
    “Don’t put this on me!” Fury leapt through his chest. He backed away from her.
    Cassie hung her head. Shook it. “I’m not, Sal.” Her soft eyes came to his. “I’d do anything to undo what happened, what came out of my actions. But I can’t. And I’ve made peace with God over it.”
    “God.” Sal snorted again. “Never thought you were religious.”
    She tilted her head, blond hair slipping over her face. “I