Under Fire Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  About the Author

  UNDER FIRE

  Rebecca Deel

  Copyright © 2018 Rebecca Deel

  All rights reserved.

  Cover by Melody Simmons

  #

  To my amazing husband, my knight in shining armor.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Someone had been in her house. Delilah Frost fought back the panic threatening to overwhelm her as she stared at the almond milk carton on her counter, the almond milk she hadn’t used that morning. She listened for any sounds that might betray the continued presence of an intruder and didn’t hear anything. Maybe the person had left already.

  Should she go further into the house? Only if she wanted to be the too-stupid-to-live woman in a B-grade movie. Besides, she could destroy any clues the police might gather to catch the person who broke in. Delilah set her bags of groceries on the kitchen counter and turned toward the door.

  She had to get out of this house. Now. The person could still be here. Hand shaking, Delilah reached for the door knob, intent on escaping and calling the police.

  A heavy footstep sounded behind her.

  Heart racing, she grasped the knob. Before she could flee into the yard, hard hands shoved her into the door. Delilah’s head slammed against the panel hard enough to edge her vision with black.

  She fought the darkness as she slid to the floor. If she lost consciousness, Delilah wouldn’t be able to defend herself. Not like she’d done such a great job to this point. Awake, she had a chance to fight back if he tried to haul her out of the house or kill her.

  She heard a siren in the distance and a frantic whisper. A low growl preceded a kick to her side. Delilah yelped and curled into a ball to protect her ribs. The man cursed, kicked her away from the door, yanked it open, and fled.

  Gasping with her hands pressed to her side, she scooted toward her purse in slow motion. That creep kicked like a mule.

  Delilah snagged the strap and tugged her bag close enough to thrust her hand inside and find her cell phone. She called up her contact list and called the one man she knew could save her. As soon as his voice greeted her, she dragged in a painful breath and said, “Help me.”

  #

  Adrenaline poured into Matt Rainer’s veins at Delilah’s words. “Where are you?” He gave a hand signal to his teammates from Bravo unit that had all of them grabbing their gear and slipping into battle mode.

  “Home.”

  “Are you sick?”

  “Intruder.”

  Matt raced from the main building on the campus of Personal Security International and sprinted toward his SUV. His best friend, Cade Ramsey, caught up with him and held out his hand for the keys.

  He didn’t argue, just tossed them to his friend. “Is the person still in the house?”

  “Gone.” Delilah wheezed in a breath. “Hurts.”

  Cade cranked the engine and threw the SUV into gear. He peeled out of the parking lot followed by the rest of Bravo in their SUVs.

  “Did you call the police?” Matt’s hand tightened around his cell phone.

  “Only you. Coming?”

  “I’m on my way, but I’m at PSI.” He was five minutes out which was five minutes too long in his book. Depending on how bad she was injured, Delilah might bleed out on him before he reached her. His gut knotted. He didn’t want to lose her.

  Matt glanced at his friend. “Call the cops and send them to Delilah’s place. Somebody broke in and, from the sound of it, roughed her up.” Someone who would pay when Matt caught up with him.

  He turned his attention back to the woman on the phone. “How bad are your injuries?” he asked as Cade talked to the dispatcher for the Otter Creek police department.

  “Don’t know. Shoved me into a door and kicked me.”

  Rage blinded him for an instant before the medic side of him surged to the forefront. “How is your vision?”

  “Blurred.”

  Possible concussion. “Where did he kick you?”

  “Side. Ribs. Black boots hurt.”

  Bruised or cracked ribs, he though as he gave a short bark of laughter. “Yeah, they do.” He’d had enough booted feet strike his body to know firsthand how much they hurt. “We’re three minutes out, Delilah. Bravo is with me. Just hold on.”

  “Hear sirens.”

  “Good.” He wanted to be the one to help her, not Otter Creek’s finest. “When the police arrive, leave the call to me active. Tell the cop not to move you until the EMTs arrive.” If something more happened before he got there, Matt wanted to know so he and his team would be prepared.

  Seconds later, a male voice identified himself as law enforcement and relayed to dispatch a request for a detective and an ambulance.

  Matt heard Delilah’s voice as she answered the cop’s questions, but not her exact words. The phone was too far away from her mouth. Patience, he reminded himself. He’d get all the information once Delilah was checked by a doctor. He didn’t care if she protested. The woman was going to the hospital. She might have internal injuries.

  As soon as the SUV stopped in front of Delilah’s house, Matt threw open the door and sprinted up the walkway. Inside the house, he called out, “Delilah.”

  The cop stepped into the living room, hand on his weapon. He relaxed when he saw Matt. “In the kitchen. Ambulance is two minutes away.”

  Matt recognized the rookie as one of his students in a first-aid for first-responders class Ethan Blackhawk, Otter Creek’s chief of police, was having his officers take. “How is she?” he asked Cooper.

  “The intruder whaled on her, but I’ve seen worse.”

  Matt pushed past him and entered the kitchen. Delilah was on the floor on her side, her breathing shallow. He dropped to his knees beside her.

  “Matt.”

  “Let me take a look at you.” He brushed her long, dark tresses away from her face. She had a large goose egg on her forehead. Looked like she might need stitches where her delicate skin split from the violent contact with the door.

  Cade walked in with Matt’s mike bag. “What do you need?” he asked as he squatted next to him.

  “To clean the blood from her face and get a better look at that injury.”

  Bravo’s EOD man dug out the medical supplies Matt needed.

  Matt frowned. Yeah, she needed a few stitches. He applied a pressure bandage to stop the bleeding.

  “Delilah, I’m going to roll
you to your back. Let me do the work.” Between them, Matt and Cade shifted Delilah to her back with minimal discomfort for her.

  Despite hearing the ambulance sirens coming closer, he ran his hands over Delilah’s arms and jeans-clad legs. No obvious breaks. He turned his attention to her torso. “Where did this clown kick you?”

  Cade scowled when he heard that.

  Delilah indicated her right side.

  With a gentle touch, Matt pressed lightly on her rib cage, focusing on one rib at a time. When she hissed with pain, he froze. “Here?”

  She nodded.

  He explored the rib carefully. “I don’t feel a break in the bone. The kicks might have cracked a rib.”

  “Still painful.”

  “Unfortunately.”

  The EMTs hurried into the kitchen with Cooper on their heels. “What do we have, Matt?” asked Jay Rogers, an EMT who had taken classes from Matt and Rio, Durango’s medic.

  “Head injury that needs stitches. Probable concussion, possible cracked ribs and internal injuries.”

  “No hospital,” Delilah murmured.

  “You don’t have a choice.” Matt pinned her with his gaze. “Either you go with Jay and Harry or I’ll take you myself.”

  “Can’t you treat me?”

  “I could, but I specialize in battlefield medicine.” He brushed the compression bandage with a light touch. “Gets the job done, but you need someone with better technique so the scar is minimized.”

  Cade patted Delilah’s hand. “Better heed his advice. We all have the scars to attest to his medical skills.”

  When he glanced at his friend, Cade just grinned at him. Whatever. As long as Delilah went to the hospital, he’d take the razzing from his teammates.

  “Listen to Matt,” Jay said as he knelt by Delilah’s left side. “He knows what he’s talking about. If he says you need to see the doc, you can take that to the bank.”

  She gave a slight nod.

  Excellent. Matt squeezed her fingers. When he loosened his grip, Delilah grabbed his hand to hold him in place. Matt’s gaze flicked to hers. While Jay and Harry checked Delilah’s vitals and reported to the hospital, she held his gaze.

  Probably needed reassurance, Matt concluded. Delilah hadn’t hinted at feelings for him beyond friendship. That was something he hoped to change in the near future. Bravo team had to stay home long enough for him to actively pursue a dating relationship with the candle shop owner.

  If she would give him a chance. Delilah might not be into him or willing to involve herself with a man who chased terrorists for a living. Not exactly the safest job on the planet.

  “We’re ready to transport,” Jay said to Matt. “You riding along?”

  He glanced at Delilah. “Yeah, I’m going with her.” He refused to stay behind while she was injured and vulnerable to attack.

  “I’ll follow in your SUV,” Cade said. “That way you’ll have wheels when Delilah is released.”

  “Thanks.”

  Delilah squeezed his hand. “My groceries are on the counter. Some of it needs to be refrigerated.”

  “I’ll take care of it before I come to the hospital,” Cade said.

  The EMTs shifted Delilah to the gurney they’d brought in and rolled her from the house with Matt on their heels, his mike bag slung over his shoulder. He never left home without it.

  He climbed into the back of the ambulance with Delilah and Jay and forced himself to act like a friend instead of a medic. As they drove away from her home, Matt wondered who had broken in and roughed up his beautiful friend. Would he return to finish the job?

  CHAPTER TWO

  Matt leaned against the wall across from the exam room where Dr. Anderson was checking Delilah. He willed the old country doctor to move faster. If the exam took much longer, Matt would hunt down his team leader’s wife and have her check on Delilah. Grace St. Claire worked as a nurse at Memorial Hospital and was currently working in the ER. She’d passed him a few times rushing from one place to another.

  Just as he pulled out his phone to text Grace, Dr. Anderson walked out. Matt shoved the phone into his pocket. “How is she, Doc?”

  “Your assessment was correct, Matt. Delilah has a concussion and cracked ribs. No internal injuries.”

  “And the cut?”

  “Required eight stitches. I think the scar will be minimal. I was careful.”

  Matt clapped Otter Creek’s favorite doctor on the shoulder. “I never doubted that. Can I see her?”

  “She’s been asking for you.”

  His heart skipped a beat. She’d been asking for him? A comfort thing, he reminded himself. Didn’t mean she saw him as more than a friend no matter how much he wanted her to.

  “I’ll admit her for the night. Provided she doesn’t have complications, Delilah can go home tomorrow morning.”

  Oh, man. Delilah wouldn’t be happy about the hospital stay. “Thanks, Doc.”

  “I assume you and one of your friends will be staying with her tonight.”

  He grinned. The doctor was familiar with PSI and their security measures. “Yes, sir.”

  “See that she rests, but let the nurses do their jobs. You’re here as her friend. When she rests, I suggest you take the opportunity to do the same yourself.”

  He didn’t bother to argue with the physician, but Matt was on guard duty until Delilah was safe.

  “The orderly will be here soon to take her to her room.”

  When Dr. Anderson left, Matt entered the exam room. Delilah reclined against a pillow, her eyes closed and skin pale. He stopped at her side and wrapped his hand around hers.

  She stirred and opened her eyes. “Hi.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Not that great,” Delilah admitted. “The headache is pretty bad.”

  Matt released her and crossed the room to turn off the lights. “Better?”

  “Much. Thanks.”

  He returned to her side and was surprised when she clasped his hand. “Are you nauseated?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Common side effect of a concussion along with light sensitivity. Depending on how bad the concussion is, you could be plagued by headaches for a while.”

  She winced. “Great. When can I get out of here?”

  “Tomorrow morning. Dr. Anderson wants to make sure you don’t have any problems overnight.”

  A light tap on the door had Matt swinging around, his hand resting on the grip of his Sig. He relaxed when his team leader, Trent, walked in.

  “I hear you’re going to be a hospital guest.” Trent stopped at the end of the bed and patted Delilah’s foot. “Grace is working tonight. She’ll check on you during her breaks.”

  “Gives me something to look forward to.” Delilah gave Bravo’s leader a wan smile.

  A brisk knock on the door and the orderly pushed a wheelchair into the room. “Super express transport to the sixth floor,” the man said, a smile spreading on his face. “How you doing, Ms. Frost?”

  “I’m okay, Carlos, considering. My injuries could have been a lot worse than a bump on the head. How is your wife?”

  “Benita is great. She’s planning to stop by Wicks later in the week. Our Marisol is turning sixteen in a couple weeks. Benita wants special candles for the cake and tables.”

  “If I don’t have what Benita wants, I’ll make the candles for her.”

  Carlos beamed at her, his smile broad.

  While the orderly locked the chair’s wheels, Matt helped Delilah sit up and shift to the edge of the bed. She groaned, hand pressed to her stomach.

  Matt grabbed a plastic tub from the counter nearby. “Stay with her,” he told Trent. He went to the nurse’s station. “I need an ice pack for Ms. Frost.” A moment later, he returned to the exam room and placed the ice pack against the nape of her neck.

  Delilah drew a shaky breath. “Thanks.”

  “You’ll be more comfortable in your room. Hold the ice pack, Trent.” Matt lifted Delilah fro
m the bed and placed her in the wheelchair, then took over holding the ice pack in place. “I’ll get you a second ice pack when you’re settled.”

  “We need to go, Carlos.” Delilah’s voice was shaky as she clutched the plastic bin with a white-knuckled grip.

  The orderly got them moving. “If you need to stop, let me know.”

  Matt kept a close eye on Delilah. The trip to her assigned room left her paler than ever. Her face was beaded with sweat by the time he scooped her up and laid her in the bed with the covers draped over her. “Trent, go to the nurse’s station and ask for an ice pack and ginger ale. No substitutes on the soft drink. If they don’t have it, find a vending machine.”

  While Trent was gone, Matt found a washcloth, doused it in cold water, and pressed the cloth to Delilah’s forehead. His teammate returned a few minutes later and handed over the cold pack and soft drink and straw.

  “Turn off the overhead light.” He popped the tab on the ginger ale and dropped the straw in the opening. “Sip this,” he told Delilah. “The ginger will help settle your stomach.” If the soft drink and the ice packs didn’t help, Matt had a few more tricks he used to help his teammates when they were nauseated, including a patch for nausea if he couldn’t convince the nursing staff to provide one.

  “Thanks.” Delilah settled back against the pillow.

  “Did Doc Anderson give you anything for pain?”

  “The nurse is supposed to give me something.”

  “I’ll be on watch in the hall until midnight,” Trent said to Matt. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “You don’t have to stay. I’ve got this.” He wasn’t leaving her to someone else’s protection, not even his teammates.

  Trent raised an eyebrow. “I’m staying. Not like it’s a hardship. I’ll have the chance to see Grace for a few minutes on her break. Simon will take the next shift. You focus on Delilah. We’ll handle security.” He left the room, taking a chair with him.

  “You should go home, Matt. You must be exhausted.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll leave the hospital when you do.”

  “But, Matt . . .”

  He pressed his fingers to her lips to stop her words. Her lips were as soft as silk and he longed to press his mouth to hers. “You’re important to me, Delilah. I’m not leaving you here.” Matt lifted his fingers and trailed the tips over her cheek.