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“A couple months. We’ve been teammates for five years, though.”
“You look happy.”
“He’s the best gift I’ve ever received,” Sam admitted. “I loved being his teammate. Being his wife is beyond amazing. Joe treats me like a princess even though he respects my skills and abilities. He trusts me to do the job even though his first instinct is always to protect me.”
“I’d say your instincts are to protect him, too.”
“Keeps things in balance.” She followed Bridget into the guest room. “Let’s take a look.” The medic ran her hands over Bridget’s ribs, testing for broken bones. Minutes later, Sam straightened. “I don’t feel broken ribs. Do you mind if I raise your shirt to look at your ribcage?”
Bridget shook her head.
After a moment, Sam said, “I see fresh bruises. That coupled with the increased activity aggravated your previous injury. Looks like your athletic tape is holding up well. Do you want me to leave it in place?”
“Might be a good idea.” Who knew what she would face at Trace’s side with Hugo and his men. She tugged her shirt into place. “Can we not tell Trace about the bruises? He’ll be upset if he finds out.” He had enough pressure on him to prepare her to deal with Hugo and his guards. The bruises would fade in time.
“You can try to keep it from him, but he’s smart. He’ll figure it out and be unhappy you held back information he needs to know.”
She frowned. “Why does it matter?”
“On missions, partners don’t have secrets. Your ribs and lack of training are your greatest weaknesses, and you compounded the injury. Injuries compromise your reaction time. He can compensate for that in a combat situation if he knows.”
Bridget blew out a breath. “All right. Thanks for checking me.”
“Ice the bruises. Twenty minutes on, two hours off.” She slid another packet of familiar capsules out of her pocket and handed them to Bridget. “Take the pain meds tonight. Otherwise, you won’t rest well. You can’t afford to be tired.”
“Veronica told me an exhausted operative makes mistakes and mistakes can be fatal in this business.”
“She ought to know. Vonnie spent months at a time undercover without backup for years when she worked with the DEA.” Sam led the way downstairs and headed for the refrigerator. She grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and handed it to Bridget along with a towel to wrap it in.
After downing two capsules for pain, she climbed on a barstool and pressed the cold pack to her side.
Concern filled Trace’s eyes. “What’s the verdict, Sam?”
“New bruises along with a lot of activity aggravated Bridget’s ribcage.
Ben and Joe scowled.
Trace’s gaze locked with Bridget’s, regret filling their depths. He tipped her face up to his with the side of his fist. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Your efforts will help me stay alive. A few bruises are a small price to pay to keep breathing and stealing kisses from you.”
He chuckled and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “You don’t have to steal them. I’ll gladly share.”
His cell phone rang. Trace checked the screen and placed the call on speaker. “You’re on speaker with Sam, Joe, Bridget, and Ben. What do you have for me, Rafe?”
“Plenty, and none of it’s good.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Trace’s grip tightened around his cell phone. “What did you discover?”
Rustling sounds came through the speaker as Rafe Torres settled somewhere with a groan. “Sorry. We spent three hours in close quarters combat training followed by seven hours in Crime Town. Cahill and his buddies are relentless.”
The Fortress operatives in the kitchen laughed. “Bravo and Durango have no mercy,” Joe said.
“Just tell me I don’t have to go through this training regimen again for a long time.”
Ben smirked. “Grew soft when you left the Teams, huh?”
