Hot-Blooded by Karen Foley Page A

the thought of him in danger.
    “Best we can tell, they’re hoping to overrun the compound after nightfall. Charlie Platoon was in the one of the villages outside Spera to pick up this guy who the villagers say has ties with the Taliban. But now they’re on their way to intercept these guys.”
    “Tell them to avoid the wadi,” Chase said. “That entire riverbed is an ambush point.” He pulled Elena to a halt outside the Tactical Operations Center. “Go back to your living quarters and stay there, understood? Mike’ll have someone escort you to the chow hall, and then back to your hut. Under no circumstances are you to leave it without a military escort. And remember what I said. If those sirens go off, you get your ass into that bunker.”
    Elena nodded. “What about you?”
    For just a moment, his face softened and he reached out to stroke her cheek. “Don’t worry about me. This is what I do best. Just take care of yourself.”
    But as he turned and took the stairs to the operations center two at a time, Elena realized she wasn’t afraid for herself at all.
    All her thoughts were centered on Chase.
    The knowledge that he might be killed caused her chest to constrict. She’d told herself that what they’d done hadn’t meant anything. They’d been two strangers who had briefly taken pleasure in each other, knowing that such enjoyment might not be available to either of them again for a very long time. Whatever connection they shared went no deeper than a physical attraction. So why, then, did it feel as if he’d taken a part of her with him when he left?

6
    “W E’LL JUST COLLECT your roommate and then I’ll bring you both over to the chow hall now,” Mike Corrente said as he and Elena walked swiftly back to her living quarters. “I’ll have one of the engineers walk you back afterward. I think the orientation brief may have to wait until tomorrow.”
    Elena agreed. From the activity surrounding them, she understood that the troops on the base had more important things to do than provide a tour to the recently arrived civilians. They skirted groups of soldiers who were busy prepping their weapons and shoving their gear into rucksacks, and the energy level seemed to have ratcheted through the roof. Elena could almost feel the excitement of the young men as they prepared to confront the enemy and realized they were actually looking forward to the encounter. Beyond the housing area, Elena saw more men loading Humvees and armored vehicles with weapons and ammo.
    “How long will Ch—Sergeant McCormick be gone?” she finally asked.
    The sergeant shrugged. “Hard to say. He and his men could be gone overnight, or they could be gone for a week.”
    “What is it that he does, exactly?”
    Mike slanted her a quizzical look. “You really don’t know? He and his men do recon, and they’ve actually taken out several key Taliban leaders.”
    Elena frowned. “But he just arrived this morning, right?”
    They’d arrived outside the door to Elena’s hut, and the sergeant paused to consider her. “This is McCormick’s fourth deployment to this region. His was one of the first special ops teams to be dropped into this zone after the war began. Hell, he helped to establish this as a base when it was little more than a series of mud huts surrounded by stone walls. If anyone knows this region, it’s McCormick.”
    Elena digested this information. She wasn’t surprised that Chase was special ops; he oozed confidence and capability. It was just part of who he was, and Elena knew instinctively that she could trust him with her life.
    But she also understood that a man who was on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan, after having spent a year in Iraq, was a career military guy. He didn’t have the time or luxury for long-term relationships. She couldn’t feel bitter about this, since Chase had told her up front that he couldn’t offer her anything more than one night.
    Now she understood why.
    Opening the