“Anna, luv, come on. Come on. Breathe!”
She coughed, her body convulsing hard, and he pushed her on her side as water dribbled out of her mouth. She started to shake, and he gathered her in his arms, rubbing her skin. It was several minutes before she did anything more than breathe, and Dodger closed his eyes, thanking the powers that be. He didn’t even try to excuse away his feelings. He didn’t need this threat to make him see the truth, damn it.
He looked down at her, pushed wet clumps of hair off her face. Her lids lifted, smoky gray eyes penetrating his soul and making him hurt. “Don’t scare me like that,” he said, nudging her.
“Where’s the iPad?” she asked hoarsely between coughs.
He laughed softly, hugging her to him, his shoulders sinking in relief. The wind whipped over them and they shivered. It was a chilly sixty-one degrees, and the water had to be at least in the fifties. He kissed her soft, wet mouth and she returned it just as passionately.
“You’ve got it around your wrist. You are something, woman. You’re like a SEAL. Never out of the fight.”
She peered at him through her wet hair. “You were scared for me.” Her laugh brought on a fit of coughing, and when it subsided, she cleared her throat. Her voice was a little raspy. “You like me. You really do.”
His smile was slow, lighting her gray eyes. “Yeah, okay. I like you. That’s a big revelation.” He pushed at his wet hair. “Can you forgive me for going the wrong way on the bridge and letting that guy get the drop on you?”
“I will. But I’m going to use it to get my way in the future.”
“Copy that, but stop bloody scaring me like that, luv.”
Dodger leaned down slowly, as if waiting for her to say they were even now. His mouth settled over hers, taking her with soft movements and a sweep of his tongue. She hummed against his mouth, touched his jaw.
“Thanks for saving my life. Makes us even,” she whispered, and he squeezed her close, the tightness in the back of his throat strangling him.
She pushed away from his arms, then said, “We better get going or we’re going to freeze to death. There’s one more clue and iPad out there.”
“You are a brave little toaster. But we need to get back to Mouse. It would be safer to drop these iPads to him and change out of these wet clothes. Besides, I killed that guy on the bridge, and if we show up in a shop soaking wet, they may remember us.”
Her eyes widened. “You killed him.”
“Yeah. He was shooting at us first. I made my shots count.” He helped her up and they started up the bank toward the car at a slow walk. He kept his arm around her.
She looked at him. “That comes easy to you?” She wheezed a bit as they climbed up the bank and hit the sidewalk, parting as they reached the concrete.
“What do you mean?”
She pushed her wet hair off her face. “I mean killing people.”
“No, Anna. I don’t particularly enjoy killing people, but when a sodding bastard is shooting at me, my teammates, or innocents, the playbook changes. They have to go down. Ammo is cheap, your life isn’t.” There was absolute silence from her as they walked. “That’s how you think of me? A killer?” The truth was, he’d made his peace with death, the possibility of it and the taking of life. His job in the SEALs, more than any other aspect of his life, was black and white. Avoid civilian casualties, protect and rescue American citizens, stop injustices, and fight wars that no one wanted to fight. Kill the people who were evil. Special Forces weren’t called special for nothing. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”
He picked up his pace, separating from her.
“Oliver, wait.”
He grabbed her into his arms so fast, she gasped. She was shivering and his gut clenched at how close that bullet came to her, the agonizing moments when she’d been unconscious, not breathing. He’d gladly strangle that prick with his bare hands for what he’d done. Pulling her against him, he cradled her head close to his chest and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Not here. Not now, Anna.” It was a fierce order, not a request.
“But Dodger.”
“I know what you think.” His voice was harsh from his emotions. A protective sensation rolled over him, clutching at his heart. Gritting his teeth, he tried to squash the reaction, a thick ache in his throat. He knew the score. Anna was a CIA officer, no girl scout. She was in danger everywhere she went. So, she might not have had to kill often in the field, but it was a stark reality.
“No, you don’t, but I’ll drop it for now,” she snapped. The look she sent him was full of frustration, anger, and sadness. It wasn’t lost on Dodger that anger ran strong in the Keegan family. He’d been on the bad end of Max’s temper often enough to know it was just best to leave well enough alone.
They headed back to the square and settled into the car. His arm hurt. He must have been skinned, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Anna was shivering so he jacked up the heater.
He drove back to Mouse’s listening station.
Inside, Mouse was at the counter in the kitchen. He put a mug to his lips. “Why are you guys wet?”
“We took a dip in the Vltava River. It was quite refreshing.”
Anna didn’t say a word. She went into her room and slammed the door.
“Oh, ho, what’s up?”
“Anna and I don’t talk. We usually have arguments. She gets mad.”
Mouse shrugged. “Women. What’s going on with her anyway? You two…you know.” He waggled his brows.
“No, Mouse. We’re not…you know.” Dodger’s voice was rough with bitterness. “At least not yet. Besides, that’s none of your bleeding business.”
“She’s CIA?”
“Yes.”
“So how do you know her?”
“She’s a teammate’s sister.”
“I get it. The bro code.”
“Yeah, that’s it, and it’s Mad Max.” Dodger had shown Mouse a picture of his team and told him a bit about each of them.
“Oh, wow. Yikes. That’s one big dude.” He took another sip of his coffee. “She’s also drop-dead gorgeous. So, you’re going to cross the line.”
Dodger stiffened. Bollocks, the man was right. He’d already crossed the line. He felt guilty, but on the whole, she was so amazing, the guilt ebbed and flowed.
Mouse looked up at Dodger from the rim of his cup. “I’m just mentioning it because, well, she is.”
“Stop talking, Mouse,” Dodger growled. Actually, snarled was more like it.
Mouse grinned. “Yeah, I knew it. You got it bad. Who wouldn’t?”
Dodger pulled the iPads out of his pocket and slapped them into Mouse’s hand. “We’ll talk in a bit. I need to shower and change. We have to get out there again.”
He went into his designated room and pulled off his shirt, hissing suddenly. He looked down at his arm. The wound was a short, swollen channel still oozing blood. He toed off his wet boots and socks, shimmied out of his sodden boxer briefs and pants, then jumped into the shower. The hot water felt good, however brief.
He dried off, slapped a bandage over his wound, and got dressed in a pair of black cargo pants, a red shirt, and a warm, black hoodie, then slipped his feet into socks and a new set of black boots.