The Pirate by Katherine Garbera

I don’t think he’s the brains of the operation.”
    â€œExcuse me, Laz.”
    â€œNot now, Daphne. I’m sorry I can’t answer any of your questions.”
    â€œNot a problem. I’m going to bandage you up. Keep doing whatever you are doing.”
    Laz glanced at her. He was so afraid for her. For the first time on a mission he had something personal to lose. And he knew it made him weak but he didn’t care. He had been fighting battles his entire life with no real ties to anyone and now he had her.
    He reached around Hamm and touched her face. Just to reassure himself she was okay. He wanted to kiss her but didn’t think that public displays of affection were called for now.
    â€œI’m fine.”
    â€œNo. You’re not.”
    She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He knew that because she hadn’t asked him if she could help. She’d assumed she could.
    He was taken aback.
    He’d been injured like this more times than he could count and since he was still able to function, taking care of his injuries was at the bottom of his priority list.
    â€œSit on the box over there,” she said.
    Laz did what she asked because he was still bemused. No one had ever…He shook his head to clear it.
    â€œI’m going to go to the northeast corner of the room. I had a signal from there earlier. I’ll try to raise Savage. After the doc patches you up we can regroup,” Hamm said.
    Laz nodded and Hamm walked away. He turned to look at Daphne and remembered the threats that Fridjtof had made against her and the other woman in the group. He didn’t really know any of the doctors who were traveling with Daphne but he’d talked to her. And she wasn’t just a nameless, faceless victim that he wanted to protect. She’d become human to him.
    â€œWhy are you watching me like that?” she asked.
    She had a cotton swab and was putting disinfectant on the larger cuts on his body. The fact that she was doing that told him there wasn’t anything seriously wrong with him.
    â€œI like to look at you.”
    â€œWhy? I’m pretty average looking.”
    â€œMaybe that’s why,” he said.
    â€œGee, thanks.”
    He smiled and took her hand in his. Daphne had a look that was all-American. She was his ideal type of woman, though he couldn’t explain that to her. There was something about her thick brown hair and deep chocolate eyes that reminded him of home and of why he kept doing this job, which was slowly taking a toll on him. A real toll.
    The job had been eating away at him lately, making it harder for him to go back home and blend back into his old life. Even being on the sea didn’t bring back his sense of normalcy the way it used to.
    â€œI meant it in that you remind me of everything that is…home. You are full-on sassy in a way that I’ve only ever seen in American girls.”
    She gave him a half-smile. “Sassy?”
    â€œYeah. I had a sister, so I know sassy is different from bitchy.”
    â€œYou are a smooth talker,” she said, rolling her eyes.
    â€œI am. What do you say we go for a drink when you get done patching me up?” he said.
    Her eyes seemed shadowed as she looked down at him. “I’d like that. But I’m afraid we’re going to have to settle for bottles of purified water and a talk with the rest of our fellow hostages.”
    â€œAre you scared?” he asked her.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWhat part scares you?”
    â€œThe men with the guns. I’m…I’ve seen too many gunshot wounds. Operated on too many people who’ve been hit with a bullet not to really fear them.”
    Laz reached up and touched her face. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
    She gave him a haunted look and Laz realized there was more than just fear hiding beneath the surface of this pretty all-American doctor. He wished they had more time