Page 19 of SEAL's Resolve
Minutes later, Kristi was in her temporary bed, huddled under two blankets. After Stan left, she said, “At least I’m not wearing a hospital gown.”
“I asked Anderson to let you remain in your street clothes.”
“In case we have to run.”
“I hope the precaution is unnecessary.”
“What if it’s not?”
“I’ll take care of you.”
“Who takes care of you?”
A spear of pain shot through Rafe’s heart. He breathed past the hurt. “My teammates.” He squeezed Kristi’s hand. “Rest while you can.”
“Who will stay with me?”
Rafe moved a chair to her bedside. “I’ll be in here with you. Rio and Josh are outside the door for the moment. My teammates will arrive soon, and they’ll take over the watch in the hall.”
Shivering, Kristi tugged the blankets higher. “Is that necessary?”
He stilled. “If you don’t want me in here, I’ll have Rio sit with you.”
“I’m glad you’re with me, Rafe. I wanted to know if having Josh and Rio in the hall was necessary.”
The ball of ice in his stomach melted. “Another safety precaution. Someone else may know about your GPS tracker.”
“Dad and I will talk about that.”
“Cut him some slack.”
“I still don’t like knowing he can track my movements. How would you like it if you had a tracker embedded under your skin?”
Rafe’s lips curved. “I do.”
Her breath caught. “Why?”
“Safety precaution for a dangerous job.” He frowned as she continued to shiver. “Are you all right?”
“Freezing.”
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Rafe strode to the door. “Rio, Kristi is still cold. She needs another blanket.”
“Adrenaline dump.” The medic straightened from the wall. “Let me talk to her for a minute, then I’ll find her a blanket.” Rio followed Rafe inside. “Rafe says you’re still cold,” he said to Kristi. “I’ll find you another blanket. You also need to drink fluids. What soft drinks do you like?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I usually drink water or herbal tea.”
A nod. “I can work with that. Does your head still hurt?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Rio turned on the dim light near her bed, then turned off the overhead light. “Better?’
“Much. Thanks, Rio.”
“No problem. I’ll be back with the blanket and a drink.”
As Kristi snuggled deeper into the pillow and tugged the blankets up to her chin, Rafe sat on the chair. Kristi struggled to stay awake as her pain medication kicked in.