Black Opals by Crystal Jordan

Author:Crystal Jordan [Jordan, Crystal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-08T00:22:35.504000+00:00

Chapter Three

It had been one hell of a night. His SWAT team had a man in intensive care. Someone had screwed up. Grit burned his eyes. Now that the adrenaline rush had passed, exhaustion slammed into him. He should be home in bed, but somehow he ended up knocking on Lorna’s door. It was midnight. Would she even be up?

Her door creaked open and his heart stopped at the look in her wide eyes. He stepped inside and wrapped his fingers around her upper arms. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She pulled away, twisting her pajama bottoms between her fingers and not meeting his gaze.

No, she wasn’t. Every protective instinct inside him went on high alert. His gaze swept the apartment, looking to see if something was out of place. Everything looked fine—until he glanced at what was on the television. It was the news coverage of the bank robbery gone wrong he’d just been at. SWAT officer in critical condition trailed across the bottom of the screen. Now he understood the terrified look on Lorna’s face. Shit. “You shouldn’t be watching that. It’ll just make you crazy, baby.”

She sniffled and stepped further away from him. “I usually don’t, not when I know you’re on duty. But I needed some background noise tonight…and it was on every station.”

“Lorna—”

“Are you all right? I—it didn’t say who all was hurt, or if the one officer was the only casualty.”

He wanted to reach for her, but the way she stiffened held him back. “It was a guy on my team. The new rookie made a mistake and Brandon stepped in to save the kid’s ass and got shot. He should pull through.”

Her breath escaped on a ragged sigh. “His poor wife.”

His shoulders went rigid. Wariness flooded him. “He may never walk again, so I’m thinking his wife has fewer problems right now than he does.”

She waved her hand. “You think his wife isn’t freaking out right now? That his job doesn’t affect her as much as it does him? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

Anger flashed somewhere deep inside him, like a dam had ruptured and let the feeling rush over him. This was his worst nightmare come to life again. Only it was with Lorna, the one woman he trusted with his life. His best friend. His fists balled at his sides and he spoke slowly, deliberately. “You’re sounding just like Sherona.”

“What the hell do you expect? You have a dangerous job, people die and the people who love you have to pick up the pieces. And let’s not lie about this, either. You aren’t in SWAT just because you like to help people, you’re also there because you’re an adrenaline junkie. You’re addicted to the thrill, and that means you don’t always think about how your job affects the people around you. Like me and your parents.” Squeezing her eyes closed for moment, she didn’t manage to hide the sheen of tears there. It hit him hard, seeing her in pain.

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