Page 14 of Finding Lexie
Lexie nodded, and was just on the verge of losing consciousness when her eyes popped open.
She was surprised to see Midas standing very close to the edge of the bed, staring down at her. She thought he’d left, or at least would’ve been halfway out the door. “Midas?”
“Yeah, Lex?”
“If things get crazy later and I forget…thanks for finding me. I mean, I know it’s your job and everything, but still. Thanks.”
“This has been one of the most enlightening missions I’ve been on in a very long time,” he said enigmatically. “I’ll be back soon. You’ll feel better once all that fluid is in you.”
Lexie nodded. She wanted to ask him why rescuing hostages was enlightening. She’d assumed that, as a SEAL, he did this kind of thing all the time.
Too tired to think about it any longer, Lexie closed her eyes and slept.
Chapter Four
Midas forced himself to walk out of Lexie’s room and down the hall. The woman had him tied in knots for reasons he couldn’t begin to understand. She was shy, generous, funny, and so damn trusting it was almost scary. He had no idea how she wasn’t jaded and disillusioned from working in some of the poorest areas of the world.
It wasn’t until she was talking to the doctor that he fully realized she didn’t really blame her kidnappers for holding her hostage. She honestly believed they were simply desperate men doing desperate things for money.
Midas shook his head in disbelief. Lexie held little or no ill will toward the men who would’ve killed her without a second thought if he and his team, and the Danish special forces soldiers, hadn’t surprised them.
But he couldn’t deny that her…goodness, called to him on a level he hadn’t experienced before. He knew next to nothing about the woman Lexie had become; hell, he didn’t know much about the teenager she’d been all those years ago. But that didn’t seem to matter. She intrigued him, and he was feeling extra protective of her.
Midas ran into Slate in the hall on the first floor and got an update on Dagmar. As Lexie’s doctor had said, he wasn’t doing well. He was hanging in there, but seemed to be getting weaker and weaker rather than stronger, now that he was finally getting medical attention.
“We shouldn’t stay here too long,” Midas warned.
“I know. I want to be gone yesterday,” Slate agreed. “And so does Mustang. He’s been talking to the doctors about when we can move him. He needs advanced cardio care, which he won’t get here. So the longer we linger, the more damage could be done to his heart.”
“What’s the holdup then?”
“His brother is working on chartering a jet to fly him straight back to Denmark. But apparently there’s a lot of red tape involved, not to mention the question of whether Dagmar is strong enough to even make the flight.”
“That’s a good thing, though, right?” Midas asked. “The brother obviously has enough money to get Dagmar home sooner rather than later.”
Slate shrugged. “I think so, but so far the doctors haven’t agreed to release him. And we’ve been asked to help the Jaeger Corps provide security from here to the airport. It wouldn’t do for him to get kidnapped again right when he’s about to fly out of here. So until the doctors, Dagmar’s brother, and the Danish government figure out their next steps, we’re in a holding pattern. And you know how much I love that. How’s Lexie?”
Midas wasn’t thrilled about waiting around any longer than they had to, but he couldn’t deny he was relieved Lexie was getting some much needed medical attention. “Good. Dehydrated, but overall she was lucky. She’s sleeping upstairs while we’re waiting on our next move.”
“You okay?” Slate asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“You just seemed…extraordinarily concerned about Lexie.”
“I know her,” he admitted.
“What?”
“I know her. We went to high school together.”
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Slate asked, flabbergasted.
“It wouldn’t have changed anything. I mean, I haven’t seen her since graduation. It’s not like we were friends or anything.” Midas did his best to keep his words nonchalant. But he should’ve known his teammate would pick up on his conflicted feelings.
“But there’s something there, isn’t there? It’s why you insisted on being the one to watch over her while we’re here,” Slate pressed.
“I just… She’s gotten under my skin,” Midas finally said. “I don’t know why.”
