Page 54 of A Soldier's Temptation
Ari tried to grin at the hurt look on John’s face, but the shooting pain in her cheek brought tears to her eyes. She might not be able to smile, but it didn’t stop the warmth that flowed through her body and filled her heart with joy. It was like they were a little family. “You’ll have more opportunities, I’m sure.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, that’s one promise I can definitely make.”
Chapter 15
Elwood and the rest of the team came by to visit Ari and Shira later that afternoon. It took about five seconds to see that Disco was definitely focused on Shira. John decided to give him a break, for now, since he’d been the only one not teasing him about Ari.
Shira was awake when they came in and John introduced her to them.
“It’s nice to meet you. And I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you saved us. Those fucktards needed an ass-kicking. I hope you gave them a good one.”
“We sure did,” Disco replied as he moved closer to her bed. “How are you feeling. They sure did a number on you.”
“It feels like it, but it could be worse.”
“I really appreciate everything you did for us. I hope you didn’t get into any trouble,” Ari said.
“We’re fine. Colin made sure it was all covered,” Elwood answered.
There was something about the way he’d said Colin’s name that made her wonder if something else happened. “Hey, where is Colin?”
“He’ll be by later. I know he has some questions for you,” John answered.
“Is everything okay?” Ari asked. It seemed weird.
“Everything is perfect, Baby.”
The guys stayed until the nurse came in to do their vitals and shooed them out.
“I’m going to go for a bit and take Mr. Darcy for a nice walk now that you’re doing better. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. If you need anything, either of you, give me a call.” Then he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
John couldn’t have been happier that Ari was going to be okay, but he still had to deal with Colin. Elwood had calmed him down when they first got to the hospital, but the more he thought about it the madder it made him. Sure Colin had a job to do but getting the women out of there should have been his first priority.
As he walked through the parking lot toward his truck he saw Colin pull into a parking spot. If he was smart he’d walk away, but that wasn’t his strength, he’d always been an all-in kind of guy. No reason for him to change now.
For an FBI agent, Colin’s reflexes were damn slow. John had him up against his car before he even knew he was there.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beat the shit out of you. Or at least break a few ribs like the women in that hospital are dealing with?”
“I don’t have to justify myself to you. You shouldn’t have been involved in the first place.”
“And you were the one that brought me in. Are you sure you want to make me more pissed off? I swear I’d happily go to jail right now for the satisfaction of beating you to a bloody pulp. Those women are going through hell and it’s because you didn’t send my team in like we’d agreed.”
“I made a judgment call. I know you don’t agree with it. It was my OP and my decision. I feel bad that they were hurt, but it was worth it all to get this espionage pipeline to China shut off. And if I’m lucky, I’ll uncover the mole in the FBI too.”
“I should put your face through this window. I can’t believe we were friends. That’s over from this minute on. You put the woman I love in mortal danger and it was unnecessary. If the team had gone in sooner you’d still have the same evidence you have now.”
“Not necessarily and if you want to play it this way, then fine. But it still comes down to I had a job to do and that outweighs any one person. You know damn well you’ve dealt with the same thing on missions.”
It took every ounce of willpower John possessed to restrain himself. That and the security guard that pulled up.
“Is there a problem here?”
John backed away from Colin and turned to the guard. “Nope, no problem here. Right, Colin?”
“Everything is fine, thank you for checking.”
