Under Fire by Jo Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

remember. Caught flashes of water. Freezing cold. Can’t breathe.
    The not-breathing part wasn’t just a memory, either. An elephant must be parked on his chest. Matched nicely with his screaming muscles and throbbing head.
    God Almighty, why couldn’t he just—
    Soft sniffles interrupted his black thoughts. Muffled sounds of . . . weeping.
    Damn, she was crying.
    Over me? Curiosity finally won over self-pity. He wasn’t going to die anytime soon—oh, goody—so he might as well try to put an end to the waterworks and the red-hot poker French-frying his brain cells.
    And the odd stab in the center of his chest that had nothing to do with illness.
    Zack licked his lips. “Hey.” Unfortunately, the word emerged as a great imitation of a cat hawking up a hair ball. All he managed to accomplish was possibly rupturing a lung in the ensuing fit of coughing.
    “Zack? Easy, there. You’re going to be all right.”
    The warm hand on his arm and the slender fingers stroking his hair went a long way toward bringing him back to the living. Nice.
    The band around his chest loosened and he made an attempt to open his eyes. Success took a couple of tries, but then, he had the best of motivators. He really wanted to get a good look at his guardian angel. Blinking to clear his vision, he wondered why his eyeballs felt like they were coated with sand.
    Turning his head, he peered at the woman sitting beside him. Slowly, her blurry image came into better focus, though still a little fuzzy around the edges. Where were his glasses?
    That fleeting concern quickly gave way to amazement as he recognized the amber-eyed beauty with the honey brown hair. Yeah, even with her eyes red-rimmed and her hair disheveled, the lady was a knockout.
    “Cori? What . . .” He swallowed hard, fighting off another bout of coughing as he stared at her.
    “Thank God, you’re awake! You’re in the hospital, Zack. You sure know how to scare your friends, you know that? Everyone has been waiting for you to come around. Hang on, I’m going to get Dr. Chu.”
    “Wait—”
    Cori hurried out the door before Zack could protest. Her sudden departure left him feeling cut adrift in a sea of confusion. Would she come back? He hoped so. Her touch had been . . . more than comforting. Deeper, somehow.
    The doctor bustled in, beaming and exclaiming how lucky Zack was after drowning, then almost succumbing to pneumonia. What? Christ, no wonder he felt like dog crap.
    Dr. Chu’s brisk questions as the man gave him a thorough exam put Zack’s own on hold. There was a tense moment when Zack had difficulty recalling his occupation and the president’s name, but the doctor’s satisfaction returned when he croaked the correct answers.
    Zack would be just fine in a few days, Chu declared, then sped out after promising to stop by later. The whole visit lasted maybe two minutes.
    Gradually, Zack’s muddled brain cleared. He stared at the ceiling, the silence getting to him a little. If “everyone” had been so worried, where were they? Funny, solitude never used to bother him so much.
    As though in answer to his thoughts, the door opened and Cori returned. And damn, she looked gorgeous in a pair of snug jeans and a blue sweater. Smiling, she resumed her spot at his side and his heart gave an odd leap. Like it might’ve been beating, but hadn’t really been alive before she came back.
    “Dr. Chu says you’re on the mend,” she said.
    “Looks that way.” He tried to return the smile, but, God, his face—his whole head—was killing him. “What happened to me?”
    Her expression sobered. “Do you remember rescuing me from my Explorer? The damned thing fell off the bridge and into the river with you inside. You . . . almost died.”
    Everything came back in a rush. The call, the storm. Cori’s vehicle hanging off the bridge. His determination to get her out alive, whatever the cost.
    The cost had been quite high—but he’d do it again.
    “How did they get me