Page 91 of Her Unflinching Warrior (Omega Sky)
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When Gideon walkedthrough the door, it took everything Jada had not to burst into tears. She’d called her mother yesterday just so she could have that feeling of being hugged. She hated being so needy.
She wanted to get up off the couch and rush to Gideon, but her legs were becoming one big scab, so Gideon did the rushing.
“Jesus, Angel, look at you,” he said as he knelt down beside her. He pulled her gently into his arms. He acted like she was spun glass, and God help her, this time she needed that.
Don’t cry.
Don’t cry.
She started crying.
“Sweetheart, I have you. I have you. Let it out.”
Jada tucked her face into Gideon’s neck, needing to smell him and feel the comfort that she could only get from him. His big hand gripped her nape and pressed her even closer.
“That’s right, Angel, you cry as much as you need to. I’ve got you, I’ll always have you. Just remember one thing. We know who he is, and that bastard won’t get you again.”
“I don’t care about that,” Jada sobbed. “I thought he would kill you. You can’t ever be dead. I love you too much. You’re my everything.”
“I love you too. I’m not going anywhere. Just hold on to me, I’ve got you.”
Finally, Jada could take a free breath and she kissed Gideon’s neck. Licked him. Proving to herself that he was here. Alive.
Gideon chuckled. “I guess they did get you to take the pain meds.”
She pulled away so she could look him in the eye. He had such a warm and loving look on his face that she thought she would melt all over him.
“Yep, I took some pain meds. Lark’s friend Amy threatened to come down from D.C. and whup my ass if I didn’t. But what was worse was when Lark said she’d tell my mother what had happened.”
“Brought out the big guns, did she?”
Jada nodded.
A phone rang. Jada turned around and looked at the coffee table to see if it was hers.
The front door opened.
“Goddammit, Chief Petty Officer Smith. When I tell you to stay in bed, I mean stay in bed!” Kostya’s voice boomed across his living room and Jada winced.
Gideon pulled out a cell phone from the front chest pocket of the scrubs he was wearing.
“Yeah?” Gideon said into the phone. He looked up at the angry Kostya. “I’m going to need your laptop. Kane and the others have set up a Zoom call, and we need to log into it.”
Kostya shook his head in disgust, then stomped over to a room off the side of the living room. Gideon stood up from his crouch and went to follow him.
“Now wait a damned minute. I might be injured, but you’re not excluding me from this.” Jada heard the whine in her voice and flinched.
“You’re right, I’ll bring the laptop out there,” Gideon called from the other room.
“It’s okay, I can come to you,” Jada said as she started to move her legs.
“Get real,” Gideon said as he came back into the front room holding the laptop. He set it down on the coffee table which he then pulled closer to Jada.
Gideon brushed his finger down her nose. “Stay put, I don’t want you hurting any more than you already do. Of course you were going to be on the call, Angel,” he assured her.
“And me,” Kostya said.
