“When your team raided the island. I wasn’t suntanning. I heal in sunlight and was dumped out there to heal, so they could...”
Bile rose in his throat.
“They could what?”
No answer. Shay clasped her shoulders, forcing her to turn and meet his gaze. “Kel, what did they do to you?”
Shadows haunted her eyes. “They wanted my contacts. I wouldn’t tell them. They found them anyway. And they kept...beating me. They’d dump me into the sunlight to heal and then start over.”
Rage filled him. His hands shook with the urge to kill the Arcanes all over again. Kelly was innocent. And she’d said nothing about the beatings, the torture. He gently cupped her cheek, feeling soft skin beneath his calloused palm.
“Hell, I had no idea. The triskele didn’t protect you?”
“I’d given it to Billy to protect him. I could take what they gave me. Until the last time. Billy gave it back because I guess I looked a little worse for wear.”
Kelly had taken the brunt of the beatings. The gorge rose in his throat, along with protective rage. He wanted to hold her close, whisper promises that no one would ever hurt her again.
“I got through it thinking of you. The times before, when we were together. I remembered how much you cared, and then I remembered how much I missed you,” she whispered.
Red suffused her face.
“I thought you had no more feelings for me,” Shay said quietly.
Kelly struggled to contain the moisture brimming in her eyes. But a tear slipped free and cascaded down her cheek. It dropped onto her shirt, a splash of acid on his heart.
She turned around. Shay gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze. He wanted to enclose her in his arms and promise no one would ever hurt her again.
But he couldn’t. Because eventually, he’d have to turn her over to the Mage authorities. And this time, he’d be the one hurting her.
The harder Kelly tried to fight her emotions, the more tears slid down her cheeks.
Feeling his gentle touch, she stiffened. Tears always got to Sam and brought out his masculine tendencies to comfort and protect. She couldn’t risk emotions around him.
Searching through her gear for something to wipe her streaming eyes, she kept the backpack as a shield between herself and Sam. And then a clean blue bandanna dangled in her face.
Muttering thanks, Kelly wiped her face and then stuffed the soggy cloth into her backpack.
“Always keep a spare. Never know when Renegade is going to have one of his weepy moments. The wolf cries at Hallmark commercials and specials on Animal Planet.”
He winked.
“Let’s go.” Enough of the waterworks.
But he caught her wrist. Kelly felt his physical strength, but his touch was absolutely gentle.
“Listen, I won’t let anyone get to you, okay? I’ll keep you safe.”
Long ago, he’d made the same promise and then vanished. It hurt too much to think how shattered he’d left her. “I’m fine, Sam. Those days are behind us. I don’t need you. Not as my bodyguard. Just get me to the village, help me bring those kids home and...”
With a hard tug, she freed herself and dusted off her hands. “Your duty is done. What we had between us is long gone. And I never want it back. I’m sticking to my own kind after this.”
The tender look vanished. Sam shouldered his pack. He set off at a steady clip, the broad expanse of his back rigid as brick. Hoisting her pack, she followed him as he hugged the road’s edge and headed into the woods. Despite his heavy boots, Sam made little noise in the undergrowth. She became painfully aware of each branch crackling beneath her soles, every snapped twig.
Intense heat stripped her energy. Sweat dampened her shirt and molded her jeans to her body. When they reached the wooden bridge spanning the river, he glanced upward at the sun and turned south.
A narrow dirt path flanked the steep riverbank. Her sneakers were worn and slipped in the mud. Kelly brushed away a tendril of hair, hating the silence between them, but knowing it was best.
With every step Sam took, she felt him slip emotionally away from her. The SEAL was fast, moving quickly. He wasn’t a Mage, she thought grimly. He was a damn Pegasus, the mythical horse with wings.
“Can we take a small break?” she asked, gasping.
Sam turned into a small clearing in the woods. When they were off the path and out of sight, she sat down and unscrewed her bottle of water. Sam uncapped his, drank deeply and then wiped his mouth. His flat gaze studied her without emotion.
“How long have you done this?” The silence between them was too thick, too tense.
“Long enough. You ready?”
Kelly replaced her water. Sam peered into her pack with a frown. “You only packed two bottles of water.”
“I have a small drinking problem. I’m trying to cut back.”
“Always pack enough water. You never know how long you’ll be on an op. I’ll save a bottle for you. I thought you were smarter than that.”
Kelly’s temper rose. “Excuse me, Petty Officer Shaymore. I didn’t take army survival training like you. I got a little sidetracked trying to rescue Mages.”
“Navy. I’m navy. And if you’re going to use titles, it’s chief petty officer. I worked damn hard to study and pass the chief’s exam for enlisted men.”
Kelly trudged after him on the path as he took off again. “Enlisted? Why? You’re college-educated, Sam. You should be an officer.”
“I am an officer.”
“Noncommissioned.”
No reply.
“Maybe being a commissioned officer was too tough? Doesn’t seem so. You enjoy being in charge and giving me commands.”
The taunt worked. He stopped hard and turned. Kelly took a step backward.
“It’s different when you’re a SEAL. I signed up to spend time in the field, not behind a desk. Being enlisted meant more time in action, as an operator, not a paper pusher. It meant discipline, training and learning to control my emotions.”
He took a deep breath and then blew it out, as if struggling with those emotions. “The navy saved my sorry ass. I was mindless with rage and grief over what your father did to my family. If not for the navy, I’d be dead by now.”
Guilt twisted her stomach. Kelly couldn’t skirt the issue lying between them like a land mine. “There are no words to say how sorry I am about what happened to your family. But my father didn’t do it.”
Sam’s mouth became a narrow slash. “This is a bad idea. You. Me. Teaming together to find lost children. Let’s go back. Dakota and I will find them. Wolf’s a damn good tracker. I’ll cut a deal with him. He’ll keep you safe on the base until we return.”
The shock of his words ripped her like a blade. Trying to get rid of her, before they even started. “Your lieutenant doesn’t know their names, and they’ll be moved before he can even draw close. They need me.”
“Let’s get this straight. They don’t need you. You need them. Saving these children will redeem what your father did.”
