Running Fire. Lindsay McKenna

lips, she said, “He’s always like that.”

      “Like what?”

      “A control freak,” Leah muttered with distaste. And sexually and physically abusive toward her, playing with her mind, her emotions. A shiver coursed through her and Leah forced herself to hold it together.

      Kell saw genuine terror in Leah’s eyes. She was easy to read, plus he had his SEAL instincts that never led him wrong and had kept him alive throughout the years. She was frightened. Of her ex? It seemed like it. He watched as her right hand shook as she placed the packet on the MRE bag.

      Something repulsive hit him. Ballard couldn’t define it. Didn’t know what it was about, but God help him, he felt it around Leah. Like a dark, ugly shadow. And she wouldn’t look at him.

      Leah forced herself to speak. “What was the decision?” The last place she wanted to go was Bagram, where she’d have Hayden in her face, making her life utterly miserable.

      “Master Chief told him no,” Kell offered. “I was going to add that the CIA is picking up a lot of radio and cell-phone chatter around the border. When that happens, it means a big push by our enemy is coming shortly. And right now, every forward operating base is on high alert. We’ve got air assets piling in to be used and every SEAL is out in teams at choke points, working with the Rangers and Delta Force operators. It’s a big assault that’s coming our way.”

      He held her shattered-looking gaze. More gently, Kell added, “You’re safer here with me for now, Leah. I know this isn’t great digs and I’m sure you’re looking forward to a hot shower and hot food...” And he was going to miss her when she left. All day, he’d been looking forward to coming home tonight, seeing her here. Talking with her. Getting to know her. Kell couldn’t ever recall a woman making him feel like this. It was Leah, he realized. There was a special connection between them. Kell had felt it from the outset. Now, it was stronger, tighter, more palpable than ever. He could feel it and he knew Leah did, too.

      “I’d rather stay here, Kell, if I have any say in it.”

      “You have every right to have a say in your rescue. The master chief asked me what I thought you’d want to do and I took a risk and said you’d rather stay with me until we can get a safe opening to get you out of here.” His mouth crooked. “Glad I made the right call.”

      Relief flooded through her. “You did.” And then Leah shook her head. “Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself.” She said it in jest, but Kell had shown repeatedly he could read her, see right through her, ask the right question or have the correct observations about her.

      “Aren’t you going to eat?” Kell urged her in a quiet tone.

      “No. I’m...not hungry.”

      “Because you’re upset?”

      “Yes.” She shouldn’t bare her soul to Kell, but dammit, she felt like doing exactly that. He was a good listener. But she was afraid Kell would judge her if she told him the sordid story of her marriage to Hayden Grant. “I’m just not feeling good,” she muttered, setting the MRE aside.

      “What can I do to help?”

      Leah sat without reacting, but inwardly, her heart just somersaulted and her pulse began to race. Her lower body went hot and dammit, she felt the dampness between her thighs. Again. Pushing her fingers through her dirty hair, she growled, “Nothing.”

      Kell got it. Another land mine. Only this time, it had a name attached to it: Major Hayden Grant. He didn’t know the Army officer, having little interface with the 80th except to hitch a ride on one of their MH-47 helicopters.

      He finished his MRE and stood up. He had an idea, maybe something that could divert Leah’s attention to something a little more positive. He walked over and picked up her uneaten MRE. She was pale, agitation in her eyes. Kell could feel the terror around her, even though she didn’t say anything.

      Going to the other cave, he picked up a large aluminum bowl, found some unscented shampoo he kept for whenever he got a chance to wash up on a sniping mission, and brought it back to the other cave. Going over to the pool, he got fresh, cold water by holding the huge bowl over the drips coming off from the rocks above.

      Leah frowned as he brought the bowl of water over and set it nearby. “What’s that for?” She met his gray eyes and felt some of her terror dissolve. That powerful sense of protection wrapped around her with just Ballard’s kind gaze.

      “I think you’ll feel better if you can at least get your hair washed.” Kell set up the other sleeping bag, rolling it out and putting his ruck where a pillow would have been.

      “But...I can’t wash my hair,” Leah said, longing badly to get the dirt off her scalp, get rid of the dried blood so she’d stop smelling it. “I only have one hand.”

      “I’ll do the washing,” Kell told her. Holding out his hand, he said, “Come on, I have to move you over here. I want you to lie down on your back and let your head hang over the end of my ruck.”

      Leah sat there, stunned. He was serious. Her heart opened, catching her off guard. “But—”

      “When my grandma Inez was alive, I used to wash her hair once a week. I was a kid, only thirteen, but I usually did a pretty good job. She was happy with my efforts and my mother was relieved I didn’t dump the water all over her bed.” Kell gave a bashful grin. “I’m not a hairdresser, but I am pretty good at washing a woman’s hair. Want to give it a whirl? Live dangerously?”

      Leah stared at his long fingers, seeing the calluses on them, the width of his palm, the inherent strength of him as a man. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his. Fingers warm and strong around hers, Kell easily lifted her to her feet. Dizziness struck Leah big-time and she felt herself pitching forward.

      “I got you,” Kell rasped, placing his arm around her waist and holding her upright. “A little walking is going to be good for you, anyway. It will force your brain to get back to normal quicker.”

      Leah’s mouth went dry. She was plastered against Kell’s body, felt the hardness of his muscles, his stability and strength. Her heart was tripping all over itself. Overwhelmed with too much going on, she simply surrendered to Kell and let him slowly guide her over to the other sleeping bag.

      He handled her as if she were a feather in his arms and she knew she wasn’t. The man’s strength was hidden, but she felt it now as he lowered her to the floor.

      Closing her eyes for a moment, Leah wanted to cry. The tears came out of nowhere. Kell was being incredibly gentle with her. As if she were a rare vase that might shatter between his hands if he wasn’t careful enough with her. Compared to Hayden’s heavy-handedness, his need to hurt her, make her scream for mercy, Kell was the exact opposite.

      Somehow, Leah forced back the tears as Kell guided her shoulders onto the ruck, making sure she was comfortable. The difference was pulverizing. Eye-opening.

CHAPTER FOUR

      “THIS IS VERY cold water,” Kell warned her, settling the bowl between his knees and sliding his fingers through Leah’s thick, tangled hair.

      “It’s okay. I’m just so glad you’re going to get the blood out of my hair. The smell is terrible.” Leah bit back a gasp over the pleasure of his fingers sifting through her strands. It was sensual. Heat scattered from her scalp, down to her breasts, tightening them and then flowing to build in her lower body, making it clench and grow needy. She closed her eyes, dragging in a deep, unsteady breath.

      “I understand,” Kell soothed. Cupping his hand, he drizzled the water across her scalp. With his other hand, he supported her neck and the back of head, feeling the tension in her.

      As he worked with her hair and scalp, Leah gradually began to relax and surrender to him. It was such an intimate act to Kell. She trusted him with herself. Another man might have