SEALs of Honor: Shadow by Dale Mayer Page A

She’s asleep?”
    “Yeah, the last attack finished her.”
    “Tell me?”
    Still standing, Shadow quickly explained what happened. Hawk and Dane joined them.
    Hawk stared down at the woman in Shadow’s arms. “She killed them?” he asked incredulously. “All of them?”
    Shadow nodded.
    Dane whistled. “She’s a keeper.”
    Shadow glared at him. Hawk slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s lie her down on the back of the truck. We need to check out that leg. See if the bastards made it any worse.”
    That made sense, but it was damn hard trying to let her go. It took three tries with his friends watching before he could finally lower her down to the back of the truck and step back.
    Finally he managed it.
    Swede, a hand on his shoulder said, “It’s tough, isn’t it?”
    “What is?” he asked, frowning down at the woman who had somehow gotten under his skin.
    “Finding what you want and knowing it’s yours but also knowing you don’t have the right to keep her.”
    He lifted his head to stare at his friend and finally understood what he meant.
    Damn.
    Swede was right.
    It sucked.

Chapter 10

    W aking to pain sucked. Waking to horrific pain, sobbing, and with tears rolling down her eyes, yeah that topped her list of shitty mornings. Arianna tried to roll over to get away from the fire in her leg and couldn’t. Not only couldn’t she get away from the pain it seemed she couldn’t move at all. And someone was blubbering over and over again. She couldn’t think for the noise. She shuddered at the onslaught mental, auditory, and physical.
    “Arianna, take it easy. We’re working on your leg. You’ve just woken up. You’re okay.”
    It was that last sentence that got her.
    “I’m not okay,” she snapped, bolting upright only to get instantly forced back down by Swede and Shadow. As she stared up at them, her breathing raw, she slowly realized where she was and why.
    And that she was the one blubbering.
    How humiliating. By this time she wanted to really bawl. Rail at the unfair world that saw her still in the wilderness being treated to field kit type medical treatment. Like really, wasn’t she supposed to wake up in a hospital somewhere with nice white sheets and shitty food? Not staring at these two bad-asses who were holding her down.
    Tears filled her eyes. Then someone lit her injury on fire and she screamed. Then whimpered as the waves of darkness pushed her back under. She could see oblivion. Escape was there – just out of her reach.
    She reached for it – and fell under its spell again.
    When she woke the second time it was to the cold. Shivers slid up and down her long frame like fingers on guitar strings. How had it become so chilly outside? It was summer, right?
    And the sun shone overhead, didn’t it? As she lay there shivering she couldn’t help but think her world had completely spun out of control. She was so tired. And there were men all around her. She could hear the strange voices outside and could see some of them. Did they know she was here? She studied the face of the man closest to her, but she didn’t recognize him. Her glance slid over to the two men talking together beside him, and she didn’t know them either. Her panicked mind didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad. Shaking so badly she could barely move, she huddled back against the side of the truck.
    A man’s voice reached her. “She’s waking up. Where’s Shadow? Swede? Even Cooper.”
    The man who’d been sitting closest to her reached out and gently grabbed her hand.
    She snatched it back. She knew this man was dressed the same as the good guys, but her mind couldn’t make heads or tails of any of this. Inside she couldn’t seem to think or do anything rational. All she wanted to do was get up and run, but everything below her waist hurt like shit.
    “Arianna, take it easy.” In the background she heard someone say, “Get one of the other SEALs.”
    She partially recognized the voice, but she