“Body armor doesn’t cover that part of my torso.” He didn’t flinch even when she probed a deeper cut. Finally, she bandaged him in several places. Some smaller scratches had already clotted and didn’t require more care.
She straightened and picked up the box to move on to the next man in line. Before she took a step, Archer whipped out a hand and circled her wrist with his warm, rough fingers.
She snapped her gaze to his.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
Unable to do more than nod, she moved to the next man and got to work. She’d fixed up playground injuries and the occasional split lip, but she never expected to face trained operators after whatever the hell just went down.
But people needing someone to step in and take control? That part she knew.
When she finally reached the man with his sock off, she stared down at what looked like a perfectly healthy foot. “Uh, what was your complaint again?”
He grinned. “Got an ingrown toenail.”
The guys broke out laughing.
She gave him a look. “I think you can take care of that. Any other injuries?”
He held out a hand and showed her a finger bent at an awkward angle that made her stomach drop.
“What a pussy. You couldn’t put that finger back in joint on your own, Townie?” Cannon harassed him from across the room where he stood watching with arms folded.
Townie grinned. “Sure I can. I just wanted to see what little momma here could do.”
A low noise came from the very end of the group. Jolie didn’t need to turn her head to know Archer made the sound. She just wasn’t sure she wanted to know why.
She eyed Townie’s injury.
The man beside him leaned closer. “Let me take a—” He grabbed the finger and yanked.
Townie let out a howl, and there was a smallclunkas the finger went back into joint.
Jolie’s stomach gave a dangerous wobble, and she swallowed hard to keep down the rush of nausea.
Townie straightened, looking down at his hand. “Damn. That worked. Thanks, man.”
The group cracked up laughing.
She moved to the next injury. When she finished with Rivers, taping the bandage and pressing lightly to be sure it would hold, she met his gaze. “You’re done. Don’t push it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After the guys dispersed to other parts of the base, Archer hung back. She felt his stare on her.
She packed up the items in the first-aid kit and threw away the scraps of packaging. Without looking up from the kit, she said, “This feels like old times fixing up my siblings.” She turned her head and looked at him. “I’d like to call my sister.”
“You can’t call anyone, Jolie.”
She tried another tactic. “She’s in nursing school. I’d like to ask her if I took care of all these injuries right.”
“We can’t let you use your phone. But I’ll talk to Cannon again—see if he’ll allow you to use the secure line.”
Her chest tightened. “What kind of base is this anyway? Is it secret?”
He didn’t respond, just drifted across the space to stand in front of her. She found herself staring at his chiseled chest, the pecs rounded with muscle and his torso dotted with bandages.
Her fingers twitched to touch him again, to feel that warm skin beneath her fingertips. She curled her hands to keep from doing that.
