Chapter 16

sixteen

Seth paced back and forth behind the last row of seats in the waiting room at Tripler Army Medical Center. The rush to get Autumn into the hospital and figure out what was wrong felt like it had taken hours, but it had been quick. Thanks to quick thinking on Del’s part, they had medical teams standing by, ready for any kind of wound.

Peter hadn’t made it. The bullet had pierced an artery, and the blood loss had been too much. He knew that Autumn would probably take it hard. Not that she felt anything for the young man, but he was sure she would see him as another victim.

“You’re making me dizzy,” her brother said. It was about the fourth time in the last couple of hours that Ian had complained about his pacing.

He still said nothing. Had he caused the injury when he landed on her? Yes, he saved her, but at what expense? If he had hurt her, he would never forgive himself.

Ian made a rude sound as he typed on his phone. It caused Seth to pause in his steps and look at her brother.

“What?”

“This woman.”

“What woman?”

“Samantha Charles.”

“Oh, the Barracuda is texting you?” Charity asked, humor threading her tone. It was well-known within TFH that Ian and Samantha Charles had tangled a few times. The former CIA agent was in hiding. Seth really didn’t care why or how.

“Yes. Samantha learned from Jin that my sister was injured, and she’s blaming me.”

The elevator door dinged open, and a rather large man with greying hair and a determined expression came striding off the lift. He was followed by a stunning black woman with long braids and the most amazing tattoos.

“Conner,” Ian said, rising from the chair. “You didn’t have to come down.”

Conner Dillon, owner of Dillon Security, former FBI agent, and Ian’s boss.

“Of course we came,” the woman said. She smiled at the group and sat beside Ian and Sam. “Any word?”

He couldn’t deal with this, so he started pacing again. The need to control the situation and order someone to fix the problem was like a tremor on his tongue. His hands itched to go into the operating room and perform the operation himself. Seth didn’t have the training, but leaving her in the hands of another person was out of the question.

“Seth,” someone said behind him, but he knew that voice. He stopped walking and looked at his team. Nikki shrugged, and that told him who had called his mother.

He turned just as his mother rushed him. She pulled him into one of her bear hugs. His wound smarted, but he didn’t say anything. In all his years as a SEAL, he’d dealt with these things independently. Of course, he had never been in love with anyone before. Seeing her collapse was one of the worst things he had ever experienced—and he had been shot and stabbed multiple times.

“So,” his mother pulled back, “tell us what happened.”

He opened his mouth to explain when an older female doctor entered the waiting room. She wore a pair of scrubs and still wore the little hat surgeons wore.

“I’m guessing you’re all the people waiting on Autumn Bradford?”

Sam stood and walked over. “I’m her father.”

“First off, she’s fine. She had a collapsed lung thanks to a fractured rib. We inserted a tube to inflate her lung, and she’s doing well. She’s unhappy that I want her to stay here at least overnight.”

Her father nodded, the relief on his face easy to see. “But you’re keeping her overnight.”

“Yes. She’s not happy about it, as I said. Truth is, I plan on keeping her for at least forty-eight hours. She’s healthy, so there should be no complications, but I felt it was easier to fight the small battle over tonight. Now, on to the other business. Is there someone here that she calls SEAL?”

Everyone turned to face him. The doctor’s blue gaze followed their lead and turned to face Seth.

“Ah, yes. She wanted me to tell you that it wasn’t your fault. Someone had tackled her earlier in the day. She said it had been hurting for a while. I think you might have sped up her having to come in, but then, if she had been shot, she would have probably died—according to her. Also, she said she wanted to see you first.”

His stomach finally settled a little bit, but his heart still felt battered. Somehow, he forced his feet to follow the doctor. Seth knew Tripler well, as they had brought people here several times that they’d rescued. They accepted civilians and military, so it was sometimes the closer hospital.

They were heading back to the ICU. While the logical part of his brain told him that it was just a precaution and it made sense, the emotional side of his brain was freaking out.

When they made it to her room, his heart seemed to settle. She looked so small and pale, but she was breathing and fine. There was a tube under her nose for oxygen. The backs of his eyes burned slightly, and he had to blink. Relief filtered through his entire body. She was fine.

“She’ll have to have that oxygen on for a little while. We want to ensure her oxygen levels stay up while her lung recovers.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and he watched as her gaze came to his. Relief filled her face. She held up the hand that had an IV in it. Seth took two steps, then took her hand in his.

She smiled at him, then winced. He figured that split lip was going to hurt for a while.

“Doc?” she asked without taking her gaze from his.

“Yes, Ms. Bradford?”

“Seth was grazed by a bullet and only had a quick repair job in the field before I passed out. He needs to have a doctor look at it.”

“Is that true?” The doctor stepped closer and looked at his shirt. “I didn’t see the blood because of your dark shirt. Come on.”

He tightened his hand on Autumn’s. “No.”

“Don’t be a baby,” Autumn said. “I had a tube inserted into my lung.”

She said it with such disdain he smiled. If she was feeling feisty, that meant she was feeling a little better.

“I mean, can someone look at it in here? I don’t want to leave.”

The doctor looked back and forth between them. “If it needs more than a couple of stitches, you must step out.”

He nodded.

“Okay. Be right back.”

Once they were alone, he looked down at her. “Your brother and father want to see you.”

There was a long moment of silence. All the machines beeped, and he heard murmuring from the room beside them.

“So, I guess you know.”

“I figured that out before anyone told me.”

She sighed. “Sorry about that.”

“No, you aren’t.”

Her lips twitched. “First, I needed you back here because I know you wouldn’t have let a doctor see you.”

This woman. She always took care of other people even while she was in a life-threatening situation.

“And I didn’t tell you because…”

He shook his head. “We can discuss it later because the doc will return here shortly.”

She nodded. He leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers.

“I love you.”

Her eyes widened, and, for the first time, there was panic darkening them. She had stared down Joseph as he held a gun to her, but she looked scared when he told her he loved her. Huh. That was interesting.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yep. I do. You’ll get used to it.”

The funny thing is that he felt relief as if some enormous burden had been lifted off him. Autumn’s mouth pursed, and her eyes narrowed, but she held back whatever she was about to say because the doctor returned with a nurse.

“Now, let’s see that wound.”

A few hours later, Seth finally let the nurse bully him into changing into some scrubs. Autumn’s father had stayed with her until she had ordered him home. There was no reason for him to be there now that she was out of the woods.

As Seth followed the nurse out, he gave her a look before he slipped out the door.

“What was that look for?” Ian asked. He was sitting at the foot of her bed.

She sighed, still hating the oxygen tube. It was weird having air forced up into her nose. “He’s still mad that I made him come back here and be seen by the doctor.”

Ian made a rude noise. “That means I’m gonna have to be nice to him now, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were more worried about him, Autumn. You care about him. You didn’t ask about me or Dad. You asked about him.”

“He got shot.”

“And you knew that Rami had taken care of it. Admit it. You care about him.”

She didn’t want to face that. Caring about someone was always a dangerous game, especially for the person she cared about. Joseph was gone, but the True Believers would probably not give up for a while. Yes, they were scattered now, but they could come back. They would blame her once again.

“Autumn.”

“I had sex with him.”

He made a face. “Ugh, I know.”

“That’s all it is. He’s confused.”

“Why do you say that?”

She swallowed another sigh. It was more than a little irritating that she wanted his declaration to be true. She wanted him to love her. It had never happened in her life before. Romance had been fleeting. She’d always expected that Joseph would kill her. Why get involved with someone and make them a target? It would make her a complete asshole to do that.

“He thought I was near death.”

“A collapsed lung can kill you.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re always so overdramatic.”

“And you are trying to change the subject.”

She looked away from him. “I’m not good at relationships.”

He snorted. “That’s a lie.”

Anger surged, and she frowned when looking back at him. “What the hell?”

“You are excellent at non-romantic relationships. Also, you aren’t giving Harrison credit for his feelings. I don’t like the man?—”

“Because we had hot monkey sex.”

He frowned down at her and crossed his arms. “That man was falling apart on the scene. The well-trained SEAL, always in control, lost it when he thought you were dying.”

“That’s what I mean. He’s confused.”

Her brother leaned down. “Stop lying. You know he cares about you.”

“I’m toxic.”

“Please. Who isn’t in our business? One thing is that he understands that. Also, you no longer have Joseph hanging over your head. Don’t belittle his feelings because you’re a coward.”

“Don’t say that.” She blinked rapidly against the burning in her eyes. She was close to crying in front of someone for the first time in years and did not like it.

“What would you call it?”

Her vision wavered, but she never got to answer him. Instead, a furious Seth stepped into the room.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Ian gave her a smug smile before straightening and facing Seth. “Having a chat with my sister.”

“You can leave now,” he said, slipping between her brother and the bed, practically shoving Ian. He was protecting her again, and it was an odd feeling.

“Okay. Later.”

“Ian.” He turned to face her. “Samantha said hi.” She knew it needled him that he couldn’t find the former CIA operative.

He flipped her off but still smiled as he left them alone.

Seth was tucking the sheets around her, being a mother hen, which was…nice. Her brother had been right. She was being a coward when it came to Seth. That’s why she had avoided him for months. It had been more than just her attraction to him. Deep down, he was good and would always do what was right. And he would love her so hard that it scared her.

“Sit down, Seth.”

He frowned. “You aren’t going to change my mind.”

She knew what he was talking about.

I love you, Autumn.

“Jesus, you’re difficult. Sit down, SEAL.” He looked like he would refuse until she patted the mattress beside her. He did her bidding, but still looked like he wanted to argue with her.

“We haven’t had time to talk, and I wanted to explain things to you.”

“I don’t care about your money.”

She rolled her eyes. “Good God, you really are a pill. I know you don’t. You have to understand that we have to go slowly.”

His expression relaxed. “I can go slow.”

“Really? Because we just had sex last night, and you’re professing your love to me.”

He shook his head. “Do you really think that’s what made me fall in love with you?”

“Was it my pleasant personality or my uncomplicated family life?”

His mouth twitched, and he took her hand. “You know when I started falling for you?”

“No.”

“The first time you called me SEAL.”

She snorted. “If that’s all it takes, you must fall in love daily.”

“Stop it and listen to me, Bradford. You said it with such snark that I couldn’t help but be intrigued. It wasn’t that you didn’t respect my service. I know how you feel about people who serve. It told me that you were no pushover. That a SEAL had to prove himself worthy of your attention, and, dammit, woman, that intrigued me.”

“And so you knew you were in love with me?”

“No, Jesus, I avoided it. We work together, you are…a lot.”

“Hey,” she said, laughing, but she knew it was true.

“But you know what I discovered?”

“What?”

“You were worth all the trouble you brought my way. You make me laugh, and when I get too serious, you call me on it. I know you aren’t ready to tell me you love me, but you will.”

“Oh. My. God. You are so full of yourself, SEAL. What makes you think I love you?”

“Instead of calling your brother or father back here, you made sure I came here to see you first.”

“You got shot.”

“Hmm,” he said. “I can wait. I’m patient.

Insufferable. “You might be waiting a really long time.”

He shrugged. “Get some sleep. The better rested you are, the quicker you can get out of here.”

“So bossy.”

“You better believe it.”

She was still smiling when she drifted off to sleep.