Page 4 of Rescue Me (Tempting SEALs 6.10)

“Leave my family out of this. All right. You give me no choice. Your surgery will take upwards of twenty hours.” She pulled out some of the paperwork, then took a moment to scan the information.

“You have high blood pressure.” She glanced up at Thadiwe. “I appreciate your state-of-the-art OR, but what happens in the event of an emergency that I can’t handle alone? We’re in the middle of the jungle, hundreds of miles from anywhere.” Her hand was leaving bloodstains on the manila envelope, and it made Sam crazy to see her hurt when he was right there and should have been able to protect her. Even from herself.

“There are dozens of factors to consider. A reaction to the anesthetic. Clotting issues that could cause excessive blood loss. Underlying, undiagnosed pre-existing conditions. Even though you’ve been treating your high blood pressure, there’s still a possibility that you’d stroke out from the stress such a complex medical procedure will put on your body. Especially since you insist on having several procedures done at once. It’s risky. Very risky.”

Sam’s estimation of her b.s. ability went up. The type of surgery Thadiwe wanted would take half a dozen procedures over the span of several months, not hours. Beth was playing along, and buying time.

“How close is the nearest hospital with well-trained emergency room staff and a competent cardiologist?” she asked calmly as she flipped through Thadiwe’s paperwork.

“An hour by helicopter. You’d better not make any mistakes, Dr. Randall. If anything goes wrong, if I should come to any harm while under your scalpel, my men have instructions to torture you. You will die in agony and very, very slowly.”

Her head jerked up. “And you think that threatening me will scare me into doing a better job?” she demanded, letting her annoyance leak into her voice. Annoyance. Not fear. “I’m a surgeon and bound by my own ethics to do you no harm. But to do that, I’ll need to rest first. I’ve been kidnapped at gunpoint, and tied hand and foot for six hours. I’ll perform your surgery in the morning if you give me your word that afterward I’ll be returned to Cape Town in good health. Do we have a bargain?”

Christ, she sounded cool. Everyone in the room knew the second Thadiwe got what he wanted she’d be dead.

“I’ll need post-operative care.”

“Kidnap a nurse,” she said dryly.

“I’ll give you two hours to rest and study my file.”

“That’s not enough time. My God, you want every bone in your face rearranged. Do you honestly think that studying your X-rays and photographs for two hours will be sufficient time? I would never allow an exhausted, ill-prepared surgeon to do major surgery on my face.”

“You’re the best in the world.”

“Be that as it may, I’m not at my best now. And you want the best when it comes to this.” She held up one of the photographs. “Give me ten hours, and I’ll—”

“Two hours.”

“No. You might as well save time and kill me now, then go and kidnap another facial reconstruction specialist.” She thrust the envelope at his massive barrel chest. “But you know, and I know, Mr. Thadiwe, that long before you find anyone else of my caliber, I’ll be ready to do your surgery. You kidnapped me because I am the best. Don’t be stubbornly foolish enough to rush me. You’ll have the face you want by this time tomorrow night.”

Thadiwe glanced at the $200,000 Girard-Perregaux watch on his thick wrist. “I’ll give you six hours.”

“Eight. I’ll be ready.”

“Seven.”

Beth said nothing. Silence throbbed between them. Finally the man caved, and he nodded. “Not one second past seven A.M.”

Sam eased his finger off the trigger.

TWO

A CALLUSED HAND CLAMPED over Elizabeth’s mouth, waking her with a heart-pounding jolt. What the …?

One of Thadiwe’s guards?

God forbid, Thadiwe himself? Chills of pure terror chased over her skin, making the fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand up.

She hadn’t meant to fall sleep, but half an hour after she’d come to the room, the lights had suddenly gone out. She’d fought exhaustion and lost.

The man whispered something, but she couldn’t hear him over the thundering in her ears. Cold sweat replaced the tropical heat of the room as she struggled to break free of the strong gag of his fingers. Whoever he was, his hand covered half her face, making it hard to drag in a breath. What air she could suck in smelled of clean male sweat mixed with the chemical stink of insect repellent. He could be any one of the guards.

There’d been two stationed right outside her door when she’d tried to leave the room just before the lights went out. But this wasn’t one of them, not unless he’d taken a shower recently. It didn’t matter who he was, she’d been scared long before this guy had shown up. Afraid that the guards would add rape to their list of duties.

Elizabeth fought harder.

“Shhh. Promise not to scream, and I’ll take away my hand.” The rough-edged voice, low and elusively familiar, was now only a few inches from her face.

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