Riser didn’t turn until Aaron had lowered her shirt once more and replaced her jeans. Three full weeks she'd been held captive. Three weeks she'd been at the mercy of a monster.
He'd seen what men could do to a woman. Leave them broken and bloody and a hollow shell. Goddammit. Nausea crawled up his stomach with razor sharp claws at the thought of seeing Celine's exotic green eyes all empty and scared when she woke...
“Everything okay?” He heard Ethan’s voice from a distance, but couldn’t talk.
Riser seemed to sense it and answered for him. “She’ll be okay for now, but needs medical attention.”
Aaron lifted her back into his arms and lowered his head to her neck, shuddering. He had to lean against the SUV for support.
Mr. J was a dead man walking. Aaron would slit his throat himself.
“We'll handle cleanup. Ethan, go with Aaron. Make sure they get taken care of at the hospital,” Hunter said.
“Roger,” Ethan answered.
“Aaron, stay with her, make sure she makes it back to the States.”
Aaron glanced up to see his team leader’s face full of understanding and sympathy. Here they were, coming down off a deadly firefight in the middle of Afghanistan and all he could think about was the girl in his arms. “I’ll get her to a hospital, make sure she’ll recover, but I’m coming back. That bastard is gonna die.”
“We got it covered. You don’t have to come back here, you should take care of your woman.” Ranger said.
Aaron glanced down at Celine, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest, telling himself she was alive and would be okay. Physically at least.
The man he and TF-S had been hunting for nearly two years.Mr. J was responsible for the death of Shane Carter, Cord's cousin and former TF-S sniper. He'd tried to have TF-S ambushed and murdered, twice. Now this...
Was he willing to give up his chance at revenge for Celine?
The helicopter’s loud roar filled the valley, touching down and throwing up a small sand storm. There was a hospital in Germany, he could drop her there, have her guarded and come back. He might even be able to get back to her side before she woke, if he was lucky.
“If we find Mr. J before you get back, I'll give him a nice hello from you.” Merc, the biggest badass on their team, the guy who never spoke - hell Aaron didn't even know what unit the guy was in before TF-S.
“Thanks, brother.”
“I've got you headed to the nearest SF medical facility. It's just over the border in Uzbekistan. The doctor there has worked with us a few times, I trust him,” Hunter said. “Good luck with your woman.”
“What about Caroline?”
“We’re gonna circle back to the compound. Try to catch them before they have a chance to run. I’ll have the Colonel keep you posted.”
“You keep me posted. I need to know.” Although he had Celine in his arms, he wouldn’t rest easy until both girls were home safe.
“Will do, brother.” Hunter clapped him on the shoulder and walked away to rejoin the rest of the men.
“Thanks.”
Aaron followed behind Ethan, shielding Celine's skin from the sand blast thrown up by the helicopter blades. Ethan pulled the door open, hopped inside and then held out his arms. Aaron reluctantly passed Celine to him, launched up into the interior and settled back into one of the seats. Ethan gave Celine back without a word and slammed the door shut.
As they lifted off and headed northwest, Aaron focused on Celine and the bruise on her cheek. She’d been struck hard. He'd taken punches to the face, knew the feeling of a blunt fist slamming into his, bones and he was a full-grown man. Celine was a foot shorter and at least a hundred pounds lighter.
He closed his eyes and leaned back, trying to concentrate on the fact that she was alive more than the need to torture whoever laid his hands on her.
Or the cold hard fact that he was the reason she ended up here in the first place. He needed her to wake up more than anything else so he could tell her he was sorry. He should've been there, it was his fault she was kidnapped and nearly sold into slavery.
When he thought about how close he'd come to losing her – Aaron swallowed, he couldn't think about that. He didn't really understand his obsession with Celine or why he needed her like he needed air. They'd only spent a few weeks together. But maybe it was like his grandmother, Noni, had said; she was his soulmate, the one that would change his life, and when she came, he would know.
Before Celine had been kidnapped, he’d been training her along with Ethan and Kate in self-defense. Those two weeks, they spent every day together, sparring and fighting and their attraction growing.
He thought he'd have all the time in the world to get to know her better. No, he hadn’t. He’d rejected her. She’d given herself to him and he’d let his past and present scare him away. Unable to focus on the mission and Celine, he'd chosen the mission, ignoring her after Col. Grey caught him off-post. He’d hurt her and turned his back on her and then, he’d lost her.
