Page 59 of The Hero She Loves
He breathed in her scent to stay grounded. To stay in the present and not the past. “Twenty-two days of hell. I figured no one was coming. That I’d die there.”
“But you survived.”
“I almost didn’t. They beat me daily.”
She met his gaze. “Tell me.”
“No. It…” These were the dark demons he’d been hiding from everyone. He hadn’t told a soul.
“I’m strong enough to help you shoulder this. Let it out, Park. Don’t let it haunt you.”
A shudder ran through him. “They kept the lights on. I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes, they hung me upside down when they beat the shit out of me. They cut me, burned me with acid. They’d put a plastic bag over my head and take me to the brink of death.”
She didn’t say a word, just held him tight. He focused on her warm body against his.
“I’d given up. I thought I’d die there. They wanted intel and I wouldn’t give it to them. I was in agony, my wounds were infected…then my Ghost Ops team came.”
He only had flashes of his rescue. He’d been too far out of it by then.
“Vander had rattled cages Stateside and got permission for my team to track me down.”
“I’m guessing a man like Vander Norcross never leaves a man behind,” she said.
“No, he doesn’t. I woke up in a hospital in Germany and…I was broken. A nurse touched my arm, and I lost it. I knew I couldn’t go back.”
“You’re not broken, Park. You know they didn’t break you.” She cupped his cheek. “They left their scars, sure, but I’ve seenyour grit and determination. You’re alive and breathing, and I’m guessing they aren’t.”
“No, my team took them out. But Leo and the others didn’t come home.”
She nodded. “I understand. I saw my marshals in the morgue in Fairbanks. But I try to remember them before. Calt was always making terrible dad jokes. Lopez loved football, tacos, and his grandkids.” She smiled. “He’d always added that he’d never share exactly what order he’d rank them in.”
Park cupped her face and kissed her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For listening. For understanding. For not asking a million questions.”
“You just need time, Park. That’s all. I guess Alaska’s giving you that.”
No, he was starting to think what he’d needed was Jenna Sheridan.
And that thought scared the hell out of him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jenna woke and saw nylon, then blinked. She was in a tent.
She registered Park wrapped around her from behind, holding her tight. She smiled and enjoyed the moment. Enjoyed the feel of him, and the soft sound of his breathing. He was a man who the word soft rarely applied to anything about him.
It was time to admit that she was falling hard for this scarred, intense hero. She breathed deeply.
And it was too late, she couldn’t stop it.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Maybe she didn’t want to stop it.
Park’s hand moved, sliding up under her T-shirt and cupped her breast. She sucked in a breath at the electric sensations.