“I was ambushed by J-20s.”
She squinted. “Okay… so you’re flying, and you’re up against two other guys?”
Ace grinned faintly. “Yeah.”
“Where were you?”
“Can’t tell you that.”
Couldn’t she just look up who flew J-20s? “Of course you can’t.”
“We had stealth and a superior electronic warfare suite,” he continued. “I broke their radar lock and closed to visual range.”
She lifted both hands. “I don’t understand half of what you’re saying.”
“I know.”
Okay, it was still interesting. “So what happened?”
“I took out two, but I sustained a strike to my hydraulic lines.”
“That’s bad?”
He didn’t smile. “Critical failure point.”
She swallowed. “Then you crashed.”
Ace’s jaw flexed. “Let’s just say I stayed with the aircraft until I was over deep enough water that it would sink. No tech recovery for anyone hostile.”
Her eyes widened. “And then?”
“I ejected.”
Her heart stuttered. “You landed in the water?”
“Yeah.”
She watched him more carefully now. The casual tone didn’t match the tightness in his shoulders, the shadow behind his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“This is all covered by privilege, since I can’t talk about it. I’ve definitely said too much.”
Yet he trusted her. She felt that as a woman and not a doctor. Even so, she bit back a wince. “So you’re talking to me as your doctor. I understand.”
“No. I wouldn’t tell my doctor any of this. But I need privilege.”
Okay. That was fair and a definite gray area, but she wasn’t letting go of this sense of trust she’d just found between them. She’d deal with that information later. “If you survived and won, why is it eating you up so much?”
Ace shrugged, but the movement carried weight. “I lost a friend. A good one. Two weeks before that.” His eyes drifted, unfocused for a second. “His mission was less dangerous than mine, and he should’ve survived.”
Oh. Now she hurt for him. This wasn’t her area of expertise. “Survivor’s guilt?”
“And nightmares.”
Something inside her softened. Without thinking, she shifted closer on the sofa and tugged the blanket aside in silent invitation.
Ace hesitated only half a beat before moving. The couch dipped under his weight as he slid in beside her, bringing warmth and that masculine scent that always scrambled her thoughts. He didn’t touch her, not exactly, but his shoulder pressed lightly against hers. Solid. Steady. Entirely distracting. “That’s all I can tell you,” he said, turning his head to face her.
She didn’t feel like a doctor with him. Never had. This was a bad gray area. “Is there anyone you can talk to?”
