Diego had fallen asleep with his arm around Leila. The pads of her fingers rested on his inner wrist, unerringly over his pulse, as if that steady beat reassured her. He pressed his face into her neck and inhaled.
“Wake up, Warrior Woman.” He kept his voice low and soft,not wanting to startle her. He should have known better. She was instantly alert. Her breathing changed, but she lay still, clearly doing as he had done, reaching for information outside their shelter.
“The men pursuing you are about three miles out and coming this way fast. They have to know something is wrong since not one of the soldiers from their unit contacted them. Once they find the bodies, they’ll be out for blood.”
“I can get up,” she said. “I’ll back you up. The pain is less today.”
“No, sweetheart, you’re going to stay right here and defend our den. You have a couple more days to heal before we can move you up to the cabin. Let’s take care of getting you ready.”
She made a face. “Lovely. My favorite thing is waking up and having you have to take care of me like that.”
“Are you getting modest on me?” He traced her cheekbone with the pad of his finger. “I’ll go out for a few minutes and start to set things up. You’ll have some privacy that way.”
“Thanks, Diego. I appreciate everything you do for me.”
He didn’t acknowledge her gratitude. He wasn’t used to having anyone thank him or treat him the way she did. He had a bad feeling that she was capable of ripping out what was left of his heart. It wouldn’t take much to fall off the proverbial cliff with her.
He examined her before he did anything else, needing the assurance that she was healing. Each morning, he performed another healing session on her, in the hopes it would speed up the process. Without her spleen, he knew she was susceptible to infections. He wanted to stimulate her immune system and defenses as best he could. Moving her was going to be difficult on her. He wanted her in the best shape possible before they started the long trek up the mountain to his cabin.
Leila caught at his arm when he made a move to go. “Tell me what you’re going to do.”
“What I do best. Hunt.” He was abrupt and he didn’t mean to be. Those men looking for Leila had been part of the attack on her, and his intention was to leave their dead bodies for the vultures and ants. He didn’t want her to see that ruthless side of him, although it would be best if she did.
“Are you upset with me, Diego? I know it must be difficult to stay here taking care of me. I’m getting stronger, and then I’ll be able to take care of myself,” she assured him. Her voice was strong, but once again he caught that small note that tugged at his heartstrings. Deep down, she believed he wanted to be away from her.
He swore under his breath as he leaned directly over her, forcing her to tilt her head back, her vivid green eyes meeting his. “We’re a pair of idiots. You know that, don’t you? Doesn’t matter that we might have high IQs. The bottom line is we’re letting others dictate how we feel about us. Luther would not be happy with either of us.”
Her eyes widened. “My uncle?”
“The man can give a lecture, woman. You haven’t experienced the full extent of Luther’s annoyance. He’ll tell you something most likely spot-on, and if you don’t learn right there and then, he thinks you aren’t quite bright, and he has no problem letting you know.”
He found her confusion adorable.Adorable.Good grief, it was too late for him to act normal or to run. He was already gone. It made no sense unless he considered they were in life-and-death circumstances and they’d formed a bond to survive. He told himself that was the reason he was head over heels for her, but he wasn’t a man to lie to himself.
“You think Luther would lecture me?”
“I know he would. He would tell you to quit thinking you aren’t worthy of love and admiration or respect. You are. I am. We’re just doing this crazy dance around each other, and we’ve got to stop.Every time you think badly of yourself, change your thinking. Tell yourself you’re a good person.”
At once her face flushed and she lowered her chin, but not fast enough. Her eyes had welled up with tears, and she gave a little shake of her head. “I’m not, Diego. You don’t know the terrible things I’ve done. I don’t want you to think that I’m something I’m not.” She sounded near panic-stricken. Her fingers tightened on his wrist. “You can’t go out there and put your life on the line for me. You’ve already done it and you shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have allowed it. I stayed alive because…” She broke off, turning her face away from him.
He curled his palm around the nape of her neck and traced the line of her jaw with the pad of his thumb. Her body trembled, betraying her very real agitation. “Share with me, Warrior Woman. I realize you have no reason to trust me, but I swear to you, I’ll help you figure it out.”
He knew she was used to being alone. She’d only had herself to rely on. She may have had a good early childhood with her parents, but he knew from experience that age ten was still very young. She’d had to make decisions regarding her life. Her sister had been ripped away from her—the sister she’d promised her parents she would look after.
Growing up in a laboratory, even if it wasn’t a facility like Whitney’s, was brutal on a child. He couldn’t imagine what Leila’s training had been like, especially when he’d witnessed the way the soldiers had callously treated what amounted to a dying woman. That revelation struck him. He’d thought the soldiers coming from the lab would be decent men, because Luther, his one example, had been. But the five soldiers he’d killed to keep them off Leila had failed to show compassion, empathy or even decency. Had she been exposed to those kinds of men after she’d turned ten?
“Leila, talk to me. You have to trust someone. Let that someonebe me. I don’t consider myself the best of men, but I’m loyal, and I don’t break promises.”
Leila shook her head and looked at him. He read despair in her eyes. All that look did was make him want to gather her up and shelter her in his arms.
“You are the best of men, and that’s the problem, Diego. I know you think because you killed a few men that makes you irredeemable in some way, but it doesn’t. You were at war. Fighting for your country. It doesn’t matter if war was declared; you know we sometimes don’t have choices.”
His thumb continued to stroke along her delicate jaw, tracing that line, committing her features to his physical memory. That declaration shook him, whether he wanted to admit it or not. She wasn’t a liar. She spoke to him what she believed was truth. And she saw into him, past the bullshit persona he put out there for others to see. He knew she could see into that place in him that was all killer. Almost pure predator. The hunt was sacred to him. As necessary as breathing. Why didn’t she see that as a negative trait?
“Sweetheart, you’re looking beyond my worst characteristics because you think you need me to survive. Or you feel you owe me a debt.” He tried to be practical, not let her opinion of him wrap her around his heart. Who knew she would manage to gut him in such a short time? He had a high respect for Leila and the gifts she obviously had. “You’re at a place where you could do this on your own. It would be difficult, but you don’t need me.”
Her lashes were so damned long. That little flutter, the sweep up and down, veiling her expression and then revealing the vivid green of her eyes sent flickering flames dancing through his veins.
“I might not need you, Diego, but I want to be with you. I see darkness in you. You view that as a bad trait. I believe it’s what allows you to be so effective at what you do.” Her gaze shifted fromhis and then returned, the green going so vivid it appeared as though two jewels had been pressed into her face. “I have a child. A daughter. I killed her father.”
