Page 12 of Finding Lexie
Knowing she was probably turning bright red, Lexie did her best to hide her embarrassment. “Right, okay… I was just…um…wondering if this detour would make someone wonder when you’d be back home or something.”
Lexie had no idea what she was saying, but she had to at least try to explain why she was checking him out and wanting to know if he was married.
“When we go on missions, we can’t talk about where we’re going or how long we’ll be gone,” Midas said. “National security and all that.”
“That makes sense. Although I’d think that would be hard on you.”
“Hard on me?” Midas asked, his brows furrowing. “Don’t you mean hard on my nonexistent wife?”
“Well, sure. I mean, it would suck not knowing where you were or what you were doing, but I can imagine that it would be just as stressful on you. Wondering what your wife was doing, if she was all right, if the toilet was overflowing, if the yard was being mowed…you know, that sort of thing…” Her voice trailed off at the end and she felt stupid. “Never mind. I’m obviously delirious.”
Midas shook his head. Had he leaned even closer?
He had. Holy shit. It took everything in her not to reach up and pull his head down to hers. She wasn’t normally a very sexual person, but now that she was safe, clean, and feeling much better, she couldn’t seem to help her crazy thoughts.
“Mustang is married,” he said softly.
“He is?”
“Yeah. He met Elodie on a mission. Not too far from here, actually. She was on a cargo ship that was taken over by pirates.”
“Oh my!” Lexie exclaimed. “She’s okay?”
“Yeah. Anyway, she ended up in Hawaii and they started dating. Some other shit happened, but they’re good. They got married…and you’re right, Mustang does worry about her. I think it’s just part of who we are. We solve problems. We know too much of the dark side of life, and knowing he isn’t there if something goes wrong eats at him. Elodie can take care of herself, and she’s got people who look out for her when we aren’t there, but it’s not the same.”
“Elodie. That’s an unusual name.”
Midas nodded, but Lexie saw his gaze flick down to her lips, and she couldn’t help but lick them.
He leaned even closer, and just when Lexie was sure he was going to kiss her, the door opened and a dark-skinned man wearing a long white coat entered the small exam room.
Midas stood and backed away from the table, but he didn’t go too far. He stayed near her feet, as if ready to protect her if the doctor did anything he didn’t like. Lexie wanted to protest, to tell him he was being ridiculous, but after being on her own for what seemed like her entire life, she couldn’t deny she liked having him there.
“It is so good to see you, Lexie Greene,” the doctor said with a smile. “All of us here at the hospital have been worried about you.”
“Thank you,” Lexie told him, overwhelmed.
“When you were taken, we feared for you,” the doctor went on. “We were not sure you’d return.”
Lexie scrunched her nose and nodded. “Me either.”
The doctor glanced at Midas, then looked back at her. “Somalis are good people. Not all of us want to harm Westerners.”
“I know,” she told him. “I’ve been here long enough to see that for myself.”
The doctor nodded, then said, “You look good. Better than your friend.”
“How is he? I was afraid he’d had a stroke. He started slurring his words and he seemed weak on his left side,” Lexie said.
The doctor nodded, but said, “I am sorry, I cannot offer particular details about other patients.”
“I understand,” Lexie said immediately.
The doctor glanced at Midas once more. “I need to examine my patient,” he said.
Midas crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not leaving. My mission is to return Miss Greene safe and sound, and I’m not letting her out of my sight until I complete that mission.”
Lexie’s heart dropped just slightly at the knowledge that she was just his “mission.” It was a good reminder, though, that Midas was doing a job. He hadn’t come to Africa because of her specifically, but because he’d been ordered to.
