Wolf Haven. Lindsay McKenna

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СКАЧАТЬ Rare for a woman to be captured and tortured. I mean, I’ve never heard of it while I was in.”

      “It was bound to happen,” Iris said bluntly. “Women are serving in combat zones now. There are no lines of demarcation any longer.”

      “I don’t deny that,” Gray said, scowling. Sky Pascal had looked so clean, untouched and beautiful this morning. God, what must she have gone through? “Did she say what kind of torture?”

      “No, and I didn’t ask. I felt it was enough she told me. And it took everything for her to say it. She really struggled.”

      Nodding, Gray felt his throat close up. His mind clicked along at a million miles an hour. “Damn.”

      “Look, Sky knows you were a SEAL. I told her you two shared one thing in common—PTSD.”

      “Yeah, that’s the truth,” he admitted darkly.

      “But I need to warn you she has nightmares. Told me she wakes up screaming from them.”

      His heart ached. For two years, Gray had been numb. Now he was filled with all kinds of emotions, as if his feelings were pulling out of their dormant state and coming to life once again. Reeling from the information, he rasped, “How often?”

      “She said pretty often.”

      “It’s still fresh in her,” he said. “That’s why.”

      “Last I heard, you were getting nightmares about once every couple of weeks.”

      “Yeah,” he admitted. “But initially, especially the first year after the experience, a person can get nightmares three to six times a week. It’s brutal, Iris.”

      “Guess that’s the phase of healing she’s in,” Iris said. “You up to dealing with this? Because the employee house is where both of you will be living when you’re not doing your eight hours of work around here.”

      “It won’t be a problem,” Gray assured her.

      “Maybe you can be of support?”

      “Sure.” Pushing his fingers through his short brown hair, Gray added, “I can help, but damn, Iris, I’m not a psychotherapist. I could do more damage to her than help.”

      “You know,” Iris drawled, sitting back in her chair, “the one thing age has taught me is if you come from the heart, it’s never wrong. Keep that in mind, Gray. Love of a sister or brother human being is pure light and never damages, but heals.” She wagged her finger at him. “I know you haven’t practiced much love as a SEAL, but you have a heart, you have feelings, and I believe that you can be there to help Sky if she needs it. Don’t you?”

      Hell, he was already there, but he wasn’t going to tell Iris. He grinned a little. “Yeah, I can do it.”

      “Good,” Iris said gruffly. “I need you to go over with your truck and pick her up at the Wyoming Inn, where she’s staying. Pack up her stuff and bring her back here. She’s taking the East bedroom. You’ve been assigned the West one. I’m going to leave it up to you to get her up to speed on stuff. Any problems, you come to me. Okay?”

      “Yes, ma’am,” Gray said, rising. He saw the bulldog set of Iris’s mouth and knew she was invested in Sky. And why not? From what he’d seen from a distance, Sky was worth fighting for. Worth caring for. Worth protecting.

      He could sense all those SEAL feelings coming to life once more within him. When Julia had been murdered in South America, because he’d been unable to protect her, he’d died, too, in a different way. Now he was like a grizzly coming out of winter hibernation, coming back into the light of day. The fact Sky had been tortured twisted him in an unexpected way.

      Iris sat there watching him. “I know you’re thinking of Julia,” she said softly. “Maybe this is a way to help you along with closing that wound within yourself.”

      Wincing internally, Gray stood there absorbing Iris’s words. He’d fallen in love with Julia. He had been a military contractor assigned to protect her. And a year later, when she’d been caught in a cross fire, she had thrown herself in front of him. Taken bullets meant for him, such was her love. The guilt he carried was like an elephant sitting on his chest all the time. To this day, he faulted himself. He and Julia were married, and she’d sacrificed her life for his. Gray’s mouth flattened, and he slowly put the baseball cap on his head. “I don’t know about that, Iris.”

      “It’s just a thought,” she said. “Now, skedaddle. Let me know when you have Sky here and acclimated. I’d like her to start day after tomorrow. Give her a ride around the ranch some morning.”

      “Roger,” he said, leaving. Every time Julia’s name was brought up, it was like a branding iron savagely burned into his heart. The pain was insurmountable. The grief, equally serrating. As he took the wooden steps down to the lawn surrounding the building, he scowled. So far, he’d stuffed all his feelings into his kill box regarding Julia’s murder. SEALs learned to completely bury their emotions, leaving them clear-minded and free of distraction so they could operate efficiently. Emotions brought murkiness, indecision and hesitation. It could be a deadly distraction. Unsecured emotions could get a SEAL killed.

      * * *

      A SOFT KNOCK came at Sky’s hotel door shortly after lunch. She had opened up her suitcase, packed her toiletries and was getting ready to leave. She looked through the peephole.

      A man with a weather-hardened face, his hazel eyes large and intelligent, stood relaxed at the door. Sky had seen him briefly the morning of her interview. Remembering Iris had said she’d send one of her wranglers to help her pack and get to the grocery store, she opened it.

      The man wore a black baseball hat, the SEAL symbol embroidered in gold on the front of it. Her heart picked up in beat. He was built like all the other SEALs she’d ever seen at the E.R., lean, hard muscle. Not muscle-bound. She saw the creases at the corners of his eyes, telling her he’d spent a lot of time out in the elements. He had a square face, a nose that had been broken at least once, a scar that ran along the left side of his jaw. His eyes were narrowed upon her, and she could feel him instantly begin to catalog her; that was what SEALs did. They left no stone unturned.

      SEALs reminded her of a primal animal in his element of raw survival.

      “Ms. Pascal?” he asked in a low voice.

      Her gaze moved down his arms. He wore a blue chambray shirt, the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. His arms were darkly haired, his hands large, fingers long and capable. She gulped. “Yes. Did Iris send you?”

      “Yes, ma’am. I’m Grayson McCoy. I run the wildlife center for Iris.” He saw how pale she’d become, her gaze showing her uncertainty. Wanting to put her at ease, not place her on terror alert, he forced a slight smile. “Iris asked me to come over and help you out. I’ll take you to the grocery store and anywhere else you might want to go to before you move into the employee house this afternoon.”

      Her fingers went to her throat. Sky could feel her pulse bounding beneath her fingertips. That was how much this man, this SEAL, affected her. When the corners of his mouth drew up, his game face dissolved. He looked approachable, human. “That would be nice. Thank you, Mr. McCoy.”

      “Call me Gray. I’m not much on protocol, either,” he said. The СКАЧАТЬ