No Greater Love by Cate Dean

Author:Cate Dean
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Time travel romance, military romance, WWI France base hospital war, witch nurse condemned men soldier Earl architect Highland laird, attraction love redemption sacrifice hope, pendant curse emerald, historical romance
Publisher: Pentam Press
Published: 2016-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

EXHAUSTION AND PAIN conspired, dragging Nick into the dream again.

He recognized the broken down village, surrounded by cracked, mostly barren hills.

His team had been ambushed here.

He screamed a warning at his dream self—but the attack still happened, his men shouting as they ducked behind walls for cover. The bomb still went off.

Pain exploded in his shoulder, knocked him off his feet. Like he did during the actual ambush, he ignored the pain, the blood, dragging his stunned and injured men to safety.

Then the dream twisted, like it always did.

This time, a second bomb exploded, throwing Nick halfway down the crumbling dirt path. By the time he crawled back, his men were dead—all of them this time.

“No—” He lifted Davis, pressed his hand to the gaping wound in his sergeant’s chest. “Come on, man, breathe!”

Davis stared up at him, his blue eyes fixed and unseeing.

“Damn it, Davis—I gave you an order! Breathe!”

His dead sergeant continued to be dead.

Nick moved to Madden, swearing when he turned the corporal over and half his face was gone.

“No, damn it—you survived—you all survived—” He stared at the blood that coated the walls, soaked into the ground, stained his hands. This was his fault—they were here because of his intel—

“No!”

The final shout jerked him out of the dream.

He bolted up, fighting for breath. It took endless seconds to recognize his surroundings, remember where he was.

“Shit.” His left hand shook as he wiped at the sweat stinging his eyes. His right shoulder throbbed, like he’d been actually dragging his men.

“Bad dream?”

Nick leaped out of bed at the voice, his hand at his hip, where his pistol should be. Major Reed leaned against a support post, his arms crossed.

With an effort that left his right arm shaking, Nick straightened his shoulders. “None of your damn business.”

Reed pushed off the post. “Nice reflexes. I would most likely be dead if there had been a pistol at your waist.”

With a sigh, Nick lowered himself back to the camp bed, his legs weak. “Sorry. I don’t normally have a stranger staring at me after I—” He cut himself off.

“From what I could hear, it was more memory than dream.”

“A twisted memory. Being here brought it back.” He’d left the VA hospital early because being there had triggered them, almost every night. “Off duty?”

“For about five minutes.” Reed moved over to his nightstand and splashed some water from the basin on his face. He looked at Nick as he rubbed a towel over his chin. “We were never properly introduced.” He walked over to Nick and held out his hand. “Gavin Reed, doctor and resident pompous ass.” He sounded amused by the title.

“That doesn’t seem to bother you.”

“It would, if this was my permanent hospital.” Reed dropped the towel on the end of his bed and sat. “I’m here to do a job, and no personal connections makes that easier for me.”

Nick understood. Every man found his own coping mechanisms. “Is that the reason for the numbers?”

A wry smile flashed across Reed’s face.

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