Lethal Pursuit Read Online Free PDF Page A

first just to be sure.”
    The urine sample was easy enough. Salar thought it was hilarious to pee into a cup. The blood sample, however, didn’t go so well. In the end, Maya had to pin the child down while Fila held his free hand and stroked his hair, speaking to him in a calm voice. A sudden memory slammed into her brain. Of her sister taking care of her during that awful, violating exam after their uncle’s nocturnal activities had finally come to light. The tenderness Fila showed her brother reminded Maya so much of Pilar, a hard lump formed in her throat. She quickly swallowed it down and pushed the painful recollections from her mind before they could tear into her.
    Samples in hand, the doctor left the room and returned a half hour later with the news that Salar had a bacterial infection that required IV antibiotics. That procedure didn’t go so well either.
    Two hours later with tears drying on his cheeks, a bandage on the back of his hand and a lollipop in his other, Salar was ready to go home. Fila had a little vial of pills for him, and the doctor checked twice to make sure she understood how the medication was to be administered.
    None of them could get out of there fast enough. Stepping outside, Maya pulled in a deep breath of air, that uncomfortable pressure in her chest easing the moment she exited the hospital. After grabbing Fila and her brother something to eat, Maya took them back toward the main gate. Salar was getting sleepy, and Fila was obviously tired too. Maya held out her arms and gave Fila a questioning look. The girl immediately handed her brother over. Maya expected him to squawk but he never made a sound, just looped his arms around her neck and settled his head on her shoulder. Her heart squeezed at the feel of him nestled against her.
    On the way across base, they spotted a group of soldiers playing soccer with some local kids. Salar craned his head around to watch. The ball hurtled past the players and bounced toward them. Maya paused as it rolled near her feet.
    “Hey, little help over here?”
    Startled by that deep Texas drawl, she glanced up into a familiar pair of smiling dark eyes. He wore a bright orange Texas Longhorns ball cap.
    A sharp pang of excitement flashed through her and her heart rate picked up as she turned around fully to face the man who’d haunted her fantasies these past few months.
    * * *
    Jackson grinned at the flare of shock in Maya’s eyes and set his hands on hips as he waited for her to respond.
    “You have time to run soccer clinics?” she asked in that Latin-tinged accent he was coming to crave the sound of.
    He grinned wider. “Now and then, yeah. Who’s that with you?” He indicated the two children with a jerk of his chin.
    “Friends of mine.” She made the introductions, and Jackson stepped closer to offer his hand to them both. Fila shook his shyly, blushing and avoiding eye contact, but Salar quickly buried his face deeper into the curve of Maya’s neck. Not at all offended by the rebuff, Jackson smiled. He knew from personal experience just how good Maya smelled up close. The lotion or whatever it was she used was scented with vanilla and the tart bite of tangerine. He’d love to lean in and nuzzle the side of her neck to get more of it, but the boy was getting to enjoy it instead.
    She shifted Salar on her hip. “We’re just leaving the hospital. Poor little buddy has an infection that needed some needles. It wasn’t fun.”
    “Sorry I didn’t see you earlier. I’d have been happy to help.”
    She looked started for a moment, as though she wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Thanks, but we managed okay.”
    “I’d say you did better than okay. They both seem pretty attached to you.” And damn, that maternal side looked good on her, too, confirming what he’d suspected about her all along. Beneath that tough exterior lay a big heart she didn’t seem to want anyone to know about. He’d bet that very few people ever got to see