Her Loyal Seal(12)
“But seriously Clint, we don’t know what I’m like. You’re the one who’s been tested. I am still just taking classes. You’re the one who’s serving his country.”
“Okay, so now I know you can’t take a compliment. Let’s table this conversation for a while and talk about something we can agree on. What have you been doing for fun in this place?”
Lydia looked guiltily over at the drawer in the table next to her bed.
“Toys? I always like finding toys in a woman’s nightstand.” He reached for the drawer and opened it up. “Score!” He reached in and pulled out her computer, headset and game controller. “What do you play?”
“Lots of things.” God this was embarrassing.
“Please say League of Legends.” He couldn’t actually like the same online game that she liked, it wasn’t possible, not in a million years.
“You’re messing with me. If you play, you play Counter-Strike.”
“Honey, I live Counter-Strike. Nexus all the way.”
“Oh my God, you’re serious. You actually play. League of Legends? Clint this is amazing!”
Lydia’s heart sped up and a wide smile spread over her face. “Tomorrow I’m bringing my computer when I visit and I’m going to kick your ass.”
“You’re going to be here tomorrow?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I took some leave. I’ll be here for the next four days. You’re stuck with me until they whisk you away into hiding.” Her grin got even wider.
For the next hour they discussed game strategy, and she realized inside the armor of a SEAL beat the heart of a fellow nerd.
Chapter Three
“Beautiful, we have to quit meeting like this.”
Lydia looked up in shock. Clint couldn’t be here. After leaving the hospital the first time, the US Marshalls gave her a new last name, and she resigned herself to never seeing him again.
“Clint! How did you know?” She started to cough so hard, her chest rattled.
“Fuck Lydia, do I need to get the nurse?” He rushed over to her. He saw her reaching for the glass by her bed and helped her position the straw to her mouth. She drank and the coughing finally subsided.
He pushed her damp hair off of her forehead. His eyes looked so soft and worried she had to force herself not to cry. Dammit, she hated this illness. Her emotions were all over the board.
He put the glass down, gathered her up, and tucked her face into the crook of his neck.
“Let it out, Baby, I’m not going to think less of you if you cry. It’s going to be all right.”
“I’m not going to fucking cry. There’s no crying in football or soccer, or whatever you call it.”
“Baseball.”
“Fine. Baseball.” Lydia bit her lip so hard she could taste blood. “Dios, it’s never going to be all right ever again.” And it wouldn’t.
“Tell me. How the fuck did you end up back in the hospital. On one hand, I’m so damn mad you let yourself get run down again.” Despite the tone of his words he pushed her gently away so he could look her in the eye.
“On the other hand, I’m so fucking thankful you got sick again so I could find you.” He kissed her forehead. “Now tell me how you got sick.”
“Mama got ill. It was just the flu. Papa got so worried she was going to die he said the stress of being in hiding was killing his family so he wasn’t going to testify. When I ended up getting ill too, I knew I couldn’t let on.”
His eyes glinted fire.
“You could have died! Pneumonia is serious shit. Jesus Lydia, I could just shake you.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Papa would have had more second thoughts. He has to testify. Those agents have to testify against Guzman.”
“So if you didn’t tell them you were sick how did they find out?”
She burrowed closer to Clint wanting to sink into his warmth. She didn’t want to answer him, because she knew how mad he would be. He let her get away with it for long minutes. He seemed to need the connection as well.
Finally. “Answer me, Lydia.”
“Apparently I didn’t wake up. They had to call an ambulance.”
“You’re so getting a spanking when you get better.” She laughed, and then it turned into a cough. He held her up while helping her drink some more water. Then he adjusted the bed into an upright position.
“How long are you here for?” she asked.
“Nobody knows I’m here. This is one of those ‘ask for forgiveness’ kind of things.”
“What?”
“You know the old saying, ‘It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission’. If I asked for permission, they might have said ‘No’. Not my lieutenant. Mason would have said ‘yes’. But our captain might have said ‘no’.”