Phoenix Read Online Free PDF Page B

to stay here overnight, though.”
    “They’re setting up a temporary room for us,” Gig said. “Just until we can have a little orientation tomorrow. Will you be able to make it?”
    “As long as Little Miss Sunshine lets me out, I’ll be there.” Caroline turned to Jones. “I heard you almost went off on that jackass who put me in here.”
    Jones grinned sheepishly. “If it hadn’t been for Gabe here, I might have succeeded.”
    “Thank you for defending my honor,” Caroline said.
    “It wasn’t just Gabe,” Crunch said. “The commander held him back, although I think he was tempted to join in.”
    Caroline didn’t want to hear a damn thing about Jack. Tick tick tick, she couldn’t avoid the topic forever but she could try. “Don’t talk about my husband.”
    Crunch stepped back from the bed, surprised by her response. “Sure thing.”
    “We all wanted to beat the crap out of that guy,” Gig said. “But the rest of us can hold our tempers better than Jonesie.”
    “Or me,” Caroline admitted.
    “Dipshit had it coming to him,” Jones said. “He gets to lie in the comfort of his own bed while Diana – I mean, Caroline – is here in the hospital.”
    Caroline sat up a little straighter. “I broke his jaw,” she said. “And kicked him in the crotch.”
    Gig laughed. “I think you broke his nose too.”
    Jones gave her a fist bump. “Nicely done. Even if the damage to his man junk makes me a little queasy.”
    “Is that why you listen to what I say?” she asked. “Because of my mad combat skills?”
    He let his face relax into a grin. “Don’t get a big head. I taught you all your best moves.”
    Crunch shoved Jones in the side. “I taught her too, asshole.”
    “Were you the one who helped her perfect the technique of turning men into eunuchs?” Gig asked him, amused.
    “No, that’s pure Princess,” Crunch said.
    “What’s a eunuch?” Jones asked.
    Crunch rolled his eyes. “Are we back to calling you Caroline now?”
    It would be easier that way. “I guess so. It might get confusing otherwise. I have a feeling the people here are going to want to call me by my given name.”
    “You’re Gerard to me,” Gig told her. “Easier to remember.”
    “Cop mentality,” Caroline said.
    Gabe stroked the back of her hand. He’d been disturbingly quiet. “How are you really feeling?” he asked.
    She wasn’t going to get into the emotional stuff, but she could answer questions about her physical condition. “I have a monster headache.”
    He cleared his throat. “I was afraid that something bad had happened to you.”
    He looked so upset that she reached up to caress his cheek, leaving her hand there. The kind of intimate gesture she would have never engaged in before they arrived in California. “I’m fine.”
    Jones scowled. “Get a room, you two.”
    “They are in a room,” Crunch pointed out.
    “If they wanna go in for hospital makeout fantasies, I ain’t having no part of it,” Jones said.
    “Maybe we should give them some alone time,” Gig said, trying to be diplomatic.
    Apparently the guys did think they had something going. Was now the time to correct them? There was a knock at the door and before Caroline had a chance to acknowledge it, Jack burst in.
    “It’s been more than a few minutes. I told you gentlemen I-” He stopped short when he saw Caroline and Gabe. “I told you I was coming in,” he finished.
    She didn’t bother hiding her scowl as Gabe hastily pulled away from her.
    “We should go,” he said. “I’m sure Commander McIntyre wants to talk to his – to Caroline.”
    The scowl evolved into an eye roll. “I want you to stay.”
    “We need to get settled anyway.”
    At least he was trying to sound apologetic. Ditching her like that. “Come back and visit me later tonight,” Caroline said.
    “I don’t know if that’s-”
    “Come back later.” She forced the scowl into a smile. “I’ll be waiting.”
    She’d caught him by surprise.