Special Forces Rendezvous by Elle Kennedy Page A

said twenty minutes later.
    When they abruptly stumbled onto an honest-to-God road, Julia was startled. Well, it was more of a trail, if anything, unpaved and bordered by towering trees on each side, but it was definitely wide enough to accommodate the beat-up Jeep parked ten yards away.
    Sebastian took her arm. “Come on, Nick’s waiting.”
    His strides suddenly became hurried and she had to struggle to keep up with him. When they reached the olive-green vehicle, the man in the driver’s seat hopped out and made a beeline for Sebastian. The two men joined in one of those manly man side-hug/back-slap type of embraces, while Julia hung back and warily watched the exchange.
    “Julia, this is Nick Prescott,” Sebastian introduced. “Nick, this is Julia Davenport, the doctor I told you about.”
    Nick extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Davenport.”
    She returned the handshake, a tad surprised by the warmth that radiated from Nick’s amber-colored eyes. He was around the same height as Sebastian, boasting a head of shaggy brown hair and an attractive face, and though he wasn’t as blatantly masculine as Sebastian, he possessed his own version of sex appeal—the sweet, boyish kind that so many women foolishly overlooked.
    Sebastian tossed his duffel in the back of the Jeep. “We should go,” he announced. “None of us can afford to be out in the open like this.”
    His matter-of-fact observation was an unwanted reminder that her life was officially in shambles. Twenty-four hours ago, she’d been doing rounds at the clinic, checking on potential malaria patients and awaiting the arrival of the journalist who’d requested an interview with her.
    Now the clinic had been reduced to ashes, her patients and coworkers were dead and the journalist turned out to be a Special Forces operative who was living on the run.
    And now she was on the run.
    God, how was any of this happening?
    “You should try to get some sleep during the drive.” Sebastian’s voice was gentle as he opened the door for her. “I know it sucks being in those wet jeans, but I’ll find you a change of clothes soon.”
    Julia climbed into the vehicle and settled on the tattered backseat. “I doubt I can sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see...”
    Lissa. Simone. Marcus.
    White-hot agony streaked through her chest. She blinked rapidly, trying to control the tears threatening to spill over.
    “I know, Doc. I know how hard this is,” Sebastian said gruffly. “But it’s only gonna get harder, so you might as well get some rest before the next catastrophe strikes.”
    She croaked out a laugh. “Gee, how reassuring. You should become a motivational speaker.”
    He shot her a crooked grin. “I won’t apologize for being a realist.”
    “More like a pessimist,” Nick piped up as he slid into the driver’s seat. “Stone over here always expects the worst, Doc. His glass is forever empty. Bone-dry, even, not a single drop of moisture in there.”
    Julia glanced over at Sebastian to hear his rebuttal, but he didn’t deny any of it. For some reason, that caused a wave of sadness to swell inside her. Despite the pain and heartache she’d suffered in her life, despite the death and destruction she witnessed on a daily basis, she’d somehow managed to cling to hope. Hope that life would get better, hope that her efforts would actually make a difference. If that made her naive, then so be it. But no matter how bad things got, she couldn’t bring herself to let go of that hope.
    Nick started the engine and sped off, raising a cloud of dirt behind them. In the front seat, the two men spoke in muted voices, but after a while, Julia quit trying to follow the conversation. Her eyelids had begun to droop, her head so heavy her neck could no longer support it. She’d claimed that she’d never sleep again, yet as the wind hissed past her head and the scenery flashed in her peripheral vision, she surrendered to the fatigue.
    She didn’t know how