Danger Close by Kaylea Cross

even been aware of before now. He didn’t want to like her more than he already did, but how could he not after those answers? “Me too.” He was. When the specters from his past came back to haunt him in the years ahead, at least he had that to help balance the scales.
    “Do you have any family?” she asked, watching him curiously. “I mean, that kind of work, for that long… It had to be really hard on your family.”
    “I’ve got an older brother and a younger sister.”
    “No parents?”
    He shook his head. “They died in a car accident when I was sixteen.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry.” She bit her lip, seemed to hesitate before continuing. “Do you still keep in touch with your siblings?”
    “Not since going undercover.” He knew how that must sound to her, when she was so close to her parents. But the truth was, in many ways, the undercover work had been a relief. An escape and a challenge, all rolled into one. “I was pretty tight with my sister, growing up. It’ll be good to see her again when this is all over.” Lot of lost ground to make up between them though. He wasn’t sure why he was telling Erin this when he’d never told anyone else. Well, yes he did. Erin was kind and caring, and he’d already lied to her about so much he needed to at least be honest with her about whatever he could. And, she was so non-judgmental he actually felt relieved to tell her all this.
    Rather than end the conversation or make some excuse to leave, she settled back into the corner of the couch and stretched her legs out, making herself more comfortable. He liked that she seemed relaxed with him again. “So before you started working for the CIA, what did you do? Something in the military?”
    “Army.”
    The hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Not just Army though, right?”
    “No.” What the hell. Wouldn’t hurt to tell her this part of it. “I did nine years in SF.”
    “Ah. That explains your fluency in Pashto and ability to blend in with the locals.”
    He inclined his head. “Yeah.” He still dreamed in Pashto. Most of his inner dialogue was in it too. He’d spent so much of his adult life in Afghanistan, it felt familiar and comfortable to him.
    “Any other languages?”
    She was fishing for information, but in such an adorable, inoffensive way he couldn’t help but answer just to keep her talking. If she was an interrogator, he’d be screwed. “Urdu.”
    “Of course,” she murmured, almost to herself. “And when did you join the Army?”
    “Right out of high school.” Mostly so he could get as far away from his hard-ass brother and find adventure someplace far removed from the ranches he’d worked since his parents died. He’d found adventure, all right. And nightmares, too. “You?” he asked when she kept looking at him.
    She shrugged. “I did a year of college after high school, but hated it and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. There’s a strong tradition of service in my family so I looked into the medical training I could get in the Army and decided to sign up.”
    “And this was your third tour at Bagram?”
    “In four years,” she said with a weary sigh. “Not gonna lie, I was ready for a break.”
    “Why nursing?”
    She blinked at him for a moment, as though the question had startled her. “I like helping people. Always have. My mom’s twin sister died of cancer just before I enlisted, so I spent a lot of time in the hospital with her. Some of the nurses were great, but others I wanted to strangle for their lack of bedside manner. I decided I wanted to be one of the good ones.”
    “I bet you are. I know for sure you’re protective of your patients.”
    She grinned at his teasing comment. “I am, but I was feeling extra protective of Jackson that day because of his involvement with Maya and everything they’d just been through.” Her grin faded at the mention of that.
    Because she knew he’d stood back and let them be tortured to maintain his