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medic gave him a funny look but retrieved it from one of his pockets and Dec silently smoothed some on her cracked lips. Jesus, it must have been bad for them in that cellar. She 53

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross
    made a small murmur, barely audible above the wind, but it made something ache deep inside him.
    Without a word Spencer went to work on Daoud, checking his eyes with a penlight for even dilation. "Pupils are slow to respond," he reported, dabbing an alcohol-soaked piece of gauze over a long cut on his patient's temple. "And he's still disoriented. We'll have to wake him every half-hour to check him, make sure he doesn't slip into a coma."
    "Well, it's not like we're going anywhere in this." The good news was, neither were the terrorists. But once the storm eased enough for them to move, they better haul ass to the extraction point before the enemy got moving.
    Silent, but for the wind keening outside the tent, they waited.
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    54

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross

Chapter Five
    Day 4, In the Syrian desert
    Dawn
    Bryn's eyes snapped open. Something had brushed against her hip. In the dimness she stared up at the lieutenant looming over her to hook up another bag of saline to her IV, her body uncertain whether fight or flight was necessary.
    With effort, she slowed her racing heart. "Hi," she whispered.
    She didn't remember a thing after the lieutenant had put the stuff on her dry lips. She'd fallen into a sleep as dreamless as if someone had knocked her unconscious.
    He smiled down at her, revealing dimples beneath the camouflage paint. A handsome man, and one she would be eternally grateful to.
    "Morning," he answered, studying her.
    His eyes were an amazing shade of caramel.
    "How are you feeling?"
    "Much better." She felt like she might make it after all.
    "The wind's starting to die down a little, so we'll have to move out soon. One last bag of fluids for you—"
    Her stomach growled ferociously, and he grinned, those fascinating golden-brown eyes lighting up.
    "—and something to eat first."
    The medic—Spencer, she'd heard someone call him—
    crouched down beside her and checked her pulse, then wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her upper arm and 55

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross
    inflated it, a stethoscope in his ears. "Bet you've never eaten an MRE before."
    He had eyes the color of a summer sky.
    "I have no idea what that is," she admitted, watching him study the dial on the cuff. "Is it awful?" Her heartbeat throbbed under the pressure of the Velcro strap.
    "Depends," the lieutenant answered. "Do you want to start out with a cracker to see how it settles, or do you want to try the MRE version of beef stew? Or maybe spaghetti with meatballs?" He held out two silver pouches, labeled accordingly.
    "Take the stew, ma'am," one of the other men advised.
    "The spaghetti tastes like hell."
    Spencer removed the cuff before she could answer. "One-ten over seventy," he announced in satisfaction. "Your blood volume's way up from last night, blood pressure's normal.
    You're doing great, ma'am."
    Compared to a few hours ago, she felt fricking fantastic.
    "Please, call me Bryn." Thirty-one was still too young to be ma'amed. "How's my father? Is he awake?"
    "No. His symptoms are getting worse," Spencer told her without mincing words. "He'll need surgery once we evacuate him on the chopper. He'll go straight to a hospital in Beirut."
    So he did have a serious head injury. Her stomach clenched. She twisted around towards him. Her father was lying on the other side of the tent, eyes closed, and he looked gray. Her chest constricted. "What about his vitals? Did the fluids help him?"
    "They've kept him alive so far, yes."
    56

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross
    "Lieutenant—"
    "Call me Dec. Short for Declan," he explained when she frowned. "My family's Irish. Here, start with this." He fished out a packet from one of the equipment bags, then handed her a flask of water and