Read Online Collateral Damage by Kaylea Cross - Free Book Online

into his pocket he brushed her left hand away from her right shoulder and gently removed her Kevlar vest before peeling the sleeve of her ACU jacket down her arm. She stood very still but he caught the way she sucked in a breath when the sodden material pulled away from her skin and he immediately saw why.
    Shrapnel had torn through her clothes, burying itself into the flesh at the back of her right shoulder and upper arm. She must have hit the ground hard too because both her elbows were bleeding, already swelling and turning color.
    Sweet pea…
    Seeing those wounds in her soft, delicate skin made him feel helpless. Where else was she hurt that he couldn’t see? He battled against his instinct to comfort and soothe. Two years ago he would have automatically gathered her into his arms and stroked her back and she’d have come to him willingly. Now that he no longer had that right, he found he wanted it back. So much that it was a physical ache gnawing beneath his breastbone.
    “You’re gonna need more than a bandage,” he told her, carefully ripping the torn shoulder of her shirt apart to expose the wounds. Four of them that he could see, two small but deep and the others a few inches in length and definitely in need of suturing.
    Liam frowned as he studied them. She was moving her arm okay so maybe there weren’t any fractures but if he’d learned anything over the past two years it was just how tough Honor was inside that feminine exterior. Wouldn’t surprise him if the shards had hit bone and she was merely putting on a brave face.
    “They’ll have to do X-rays then pull the shrapnel out and stitch you up.” She’d be sore and bruised as hell afterward, even with only superficial damage. Goddammit, she could have died today.
    Honor expelled an irritated sigh. “Great. Tell the general I’ll be in to see him as soon as I can.”
    “Don’t worry about that.” And I’m not going anywhere until you’re taken care of. He didn’t bother saying it out loud because there was no point. She’d just argue and he didn’t care what she said, he was staying. It didn’t matter that they’d broken up on far less than amicable terms. Seeing her hurt bothered him so much that he couldn’t walk away, no matter what had happened between them. It also made him feel like an ass for the way he’d treated her, ignoring her when she’d reached out to him before.
    Liam wadded up her bloody ACU jacket and tossed it onto the body armor vest he’d placed at his feet. Hating that she was still doing her best to ignore him, he wrapped a hand around her left upper arm and guided her to a plastic chair set against the far wall. She was stiff and unyielding at first, then gave up and sat down, still studiously avoiding looking at him.
    A wave of pure helplessness washed over him. He knew he deserved this, her indifference. But being reminded once again that he was no longer part of her life and never would be again made him feel cold and hollow inside.
    He took the seat next to hers anyway and slid the gauze from his pocket. “I’m gonna put pressure on them,” he said, gripping her left shoulder to hold her still as he gently but firmly pressed a pad against her wounds. She stiffened and her mouth tightened into a thin line but she didn’t utter a sound. His fingers itched to stroke her cheek, glide over her nape in reassurance.
    They didn’t speak as they waited for someone to come see her. He kept his attention on providing enough pressure to slow the bleeding while she watched the hustle and bustle going on in the room and hallway beyond them.
    The first small pad was soaked through within a few minutes so Liam used another, wishing he could do more. He knew she was hurting even if she refused to show it and it didn’t help that he was basically shoving the shrapnel deeper into her flesh as they waited. If he could have taken the pain for her, he would have in an instant. It drove him crazy to see her hurt.
    After