Behind Enemy Lines by Cindy Dees

get comfortable. We’re gonna be here the rest of the night.”
    “And you live like this voluntarily?”
    He shrugged under her ear. “I don’t like war zones. But somebody’s got to do this job, and I’ve got the skills to do it safely.” He paused while another burst of gunfire exploded outside. “Or at least as safely as is possible under the circumstances,” he added.
    Annie shivered against him.
    “Relax and try to get some sleep.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “No, not at all. There’s nothing we can do but ride it out.”
    “There’s no way I’ll ever sleep with bullets flying outside my window.”
    Humor tinged his voice. “You’d be surprised. If you get tired enough, you can sleep just about anyplace, anytime, including the middle of a war. Besides, this isn’t that bad. There aren’t rockets and mortars exploding all around us.”
    “Gee, that’s reassuring.”
    A silent chuckle vibrated his chest. She snuggled closer to him, grateful for the solid feel of him against her. Just knowing he was beside her was reassuring. As long as she was with him, she’d be safe. He’d promised to take care of her, and he would keep that promise.
    He rolled on his side and gathered her against his chest. “I have to say, you feel a lot nicer to hole up with than any of my guys.”
    “You mean you cuddle with them like this, too?”
    A snort of laughter escaped him. “Hardly. I may be close to my guys, but we’re not that close.”
    “That’s a relief.”
    The moment of humor subsided slowly as they enjoyed a lull in the shooting.
    After a particularly prolonged and loud exchange of gunfire, Annie whispered, “Tom, are you asleep?”
    “No.”
    “Do you mind if we talk some? Maybe it’d help keep my mind off the shooting.”
    “What would you like to talk about?”
    She thought about it for a second. “You said the name Jackie in your sleep. Who’s he?”
    Tom’s voice was ice. “She. Pick another topic.”
    Wow. She must have hit a raw nerve, there.
    “You seemed really upset by your dream. I’m just trying to look out for your health and well-being, here.”
    “So you’re a psychologist, now, are you?” he challenged.
    “It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to know when something’s upsetting somebody,” she retorted.
    He exhaled hard. “You’re not going to leave this alone, are you?”
    “Nope.”
    His voice went dangerously calm. “Jackie is a woman who betrayed me and my team. She led us into a trap, and her father—a world-class drug smuggler—and his cronies shot the hell out of us. They killed one of my guys, ended the career of another and damn near killed the rest of us. We all got out of there with multiple gunshot wounds.”
    “Was she beautiful?”
    “Now why would you ask a question like that?” he challenged.
    “Call it female intuition.”
    She felt him shake his head in the dark. “Yeah. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. I think every guy on the team was half in love with her.”
    Including him? Annie gulped. Wow. Being betrayed by someone he fancied himself in love with must have been awful.
    Her arms crept around him of their own volition. He’d suffered so much in his career. It was too much for his country to ask of him. If only she’d known him before she had to make that decision over the jungle. Maybe she’d have chosen differently. And maybe he wouldn’t have been hurt. And maybe, a reasonable corner of her brain argued, they would all have died.
    For all she knew, a stray bullet could ricochet into this room and she or Tom might die tonight. Nothing was certain in war. She cast about for another topic that would distract her.
    “Okay. Here’s another one for you, Tom. How did you get the nickname Hoss?”
    He grunted. “We’re not going there, no matter how scared you are.”
    “Aw, come on. There must be story behind a name like that. Are you named after the television cowboy?”
    “No, and I’m not going to tell you any more about