The soldier’s eyes fluttered, then the gunfire returned, closer than before.
Rachel ducked instinctively, then threw herself over the soldier, arms braced, her body covering his. Dirt exploded beside her as rounds hit too close for comfort. Her pulse roared in her ears.
Suddenly, whit hot pain tore through her side, slicing just under her vest. She cried out, the sound ripped from her throat before she could choke it down. Shrapnel. She clenched her jaw, pressed harder against the injured man.
A body slammed into her from behind. Arms wrapped around her with brutal precision, covering her fully and pressing her further into the soldier she was covering.
His voice came rough against her ear. "Stay down."
Ghost.
Then quieter, barely audible over the gunfire: "I've got you, baby."
Rachel's breath stopped. Not from the rounds snapping overhead, but from that word. Baby. He said it low and raw like it slipped out before he could catch it.
His arms stayed locked around her even as bullets chewed into the rubble above them. His chest rose and fell hard against her back, his breath warm on her neck.
She should focus on the wounded soldier. Instead all she could feel was Ghost wrapped around her, the word baby still echoing in her head.
He shifted, one arm tightening around her waist, pulling her closer as another burst of fire ripped past. The movement pressed them together from shoulder to hip. Rachel's pulse kicked harder. She felt his breath hitch once against her neck before he got it under control.
"Are you hit?" His voice came quiet, tight with control she could hear fraying at the edges.
Pain throbbed down her side where the shrapnel had caught her, burning hot under her vest, but it didn't matter. Not compared to the soldier bleeding out ten feet away.
She twisted slightly, trying to see the wounded man. "He's hit."
Ghost lifted his head just enough to scan the area. His jaw was tight against her temple. "You're a goddamn pain in my ass, baby."
There it was again. Baby. Like he couldn't help it.
Rachel's mouth pulled despite everything. "Yeah, well... you're not exactly sunshine and rainbows."
His chest rumbled against her back, something between a laugh and a curse. Even now, in the middle of chaos, her body responded to him. The heat of him. The roughness in his voice. The way his arm stayed locked around her waist like he wasn't letting go.
The wounded soldier groaned, weaker this time.
Ghost moved fast, shifting beside her, his hands replacing hers on the makeshift bandage. Blood welled through his fingers. "I need two men over here now!" His voice cut through the chaos. "Critical casualty!"
Two soldiers sprinted over. One cracked open a med kit. The other crouched to help lift.
Rachel moved back to give them space, then realized her shirt was gone beneath her vest, she'd torn it off to use as a bandage. Her skin was streaked with dirt and blood, ribs visible under the edge of her vest.
Ghost's eyes dropped, just for a second. His jaw tightened.
Ghost held her gaze, long enough that Rachel's pulse jumped again. Long enough to know he was feeling this too, whatever this was.
The team lifted the wounded soldier onto a stretcher. Ghost stepped back but his eyes stayed on Rachel.
She was still kneeling there, shirt torn, sweat cutting lines through the dirt on her face. Wrecked and steady and not backing down.
“You could’ve been killed,” Ghost said.
Her eyes flicked to his. “I wasn’t.”
He shook his head once, like that wasn’t good enough. “Don’t do that again.”
Her voice stayed quiet, “I’m not sorry.”
