“Where is the first-aid kit?”
No one spoke.
“How many blows to the head did you all sustain?” She set her fists on her hips and cocked her head at them.
Archer’s gaze traveled over her body in a slick glide that left her skin prickling in places it had no business prickling.
“Uhh…”
“I got it.” A guy with a carved build like an athlete and serious expression took off to find the kit.
When Jolie spun again, she fixed a glare on Archer. “I thought I asked you to sit down.”
A snort escaped from Rome, but he stifled the sound as soon as she whirled toward him.
“If I’m going to take care of all these injuries, I need to see them first. Archer, shirt off.”
She swore his eyes went a little hazy as he reached for the hem, making her worry he might fall over in a dead faint any second. As soon as he pulled his shirt off, someone wolf-whistled.
Jolie took one look at his thickly muscled chest and her nipples began to pucker. Oh god. Now was not the time for her body to remember she was a woman and he was a very hot guy who went still in a way that felt more dangerous than movement.
Down the line, people rolled up a shirt sleeve or pants leg. One kicked off his boot and pulled off his sock, which had the rest of the team complaining of the smell of sweaty feet.
She didn’t blink. “I raised two boys. I know what feet smell like.”
At last, the man returned with the first-aid kit. She reached for it, but he didn’t hand it over.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Rivers. Reid Rivers.”
She looked him over. “You’re injured too, Rivers.”
He grunted. “I’m the team medic.”
She took the box from him and set it down. “Good, then you’ll know where to place yourself in the triage lineup.”
“What makes you qualified?” he asked.
She rummaged through bandages and packages of gauze. “I’m almost a mom.”
The room hushed. She glanced up to see Rivers eyeing her body.
She waved a hand. “I never gave birth. I raised my siblings.”
Rome seemed to have sustained the biggest injuries, and she got to work cleaning out his wounds. As she worked over him, she was aware of the guys talking around her, trading stories of their battle wounds and joking around.
Rivers demanded to take over with Rome when he decided Rome could use a staple or two where the bullet grazed him.
Though she was unshaken the entire time, when she approached Archer her breath came faster at the sight of all that warm flesh covering pure steel. As she cleaned out the first wound, she had to wet her lips twice because her mouth kept drying out and she tried to ignore the way he tensed under her touch.
“You were shot?”
He issued a low noise in his throat like paper tearing. “Bullet ricocheted off a rock. The shards hit me.”
She paused, meeting his eyes. Which was a big mistake because his deep stare burned into her and left her feeling hot and sweaty.
“Well.” She dabbed the blood again. “It must have been pretty sharp to slice through your clothes.”
