Forged in Smoke (Red-Hot SEALs #3)(29)

Or . . . they could try some of Kait’s magic on Faith’s heart. Kait’s gift had healed his multiple chest wounds, and wrenched him back from the dead.

Okay, so maybe he hadn’t come back alone. Or maybe he hadn’t come back sane.

But Kait’s touch had given him another shot at life. It could do the same for Faith.

“Jesus Christ, Doc. What the f*ck are you moping around here for? You got a camp full of gorgeous women. Maybe the little brunette is damaged goods, but there’re still the two blondes.”

The comment proved how attached the * was to loyalty to think Rawls had any interest in straying in that territory. Cosky was in love with Kait, and Zane with Beth. Both women were off limits. His mind veered to Faith, but he wrestled it back and fought to concentrate.

Frowning, he drummed his fingers against the wood grain of the computer desk. Of course asking Kait for her help meant breaking his patient-doctor confidentiality with Faith. Except that he wasn’t a doctor, and he hadn’t exactly promised to keep her condition private. Besides, breaking any implied confidentiality was for her own good.

Decision made, he shoved back the desk chair and rose to his feet. He’d have to track down Kait first, make sure she was willing to give this new healing a try, but he didn’t foresee her refusing. Kait had a good heart.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to do the hunting. The door opened and Kait entered the room before he’d made it halfway across the floor. She stopped short when she saw him, surprise sharp on her face.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

Pachico’s voice was so loud Rawls almost flinched, but he locked down the impulse just in time.

“Rawls!” Relief lifted her voice as she flew across the room and hugged him hard. “I was just about to hunt you down. Sit.” She tugged him toward the table. “I’m going to make you something to eat.”

Rawls’s lips twitched. Apparently Faith wasn’t the only female determined to feed him.

“Faith brought me a sandwich earlier.” Which was still sitting on the table next to his bed. He kept that bit of info to himself.

“They say the way to a woman’s heart is through words,” Pachico said, appearing beside him and eyeing Kait with a lewd expression. “But speaking from experience, I’d say it’s through their cunt. Hell, I’d trade every one of those cookies for a stab at her.”

“Look, sweetcakes,” Rawls said, concentrating ferociously on Kait’s face and trying like hell to ignore the * by his side. “I need to run somethin’ by you.”

She pulled back to scan his face. “What’s wrong?”

Sudden humor kicked in. His shrug came with a quarter smile. “What ain’t?”

She skimmed his face again before returning his pained smile.

“Do you have any idea how worried everyone has been about you?” She laughed and threw up her hands at the dry look he leveled on her. “Okay, okay, I’ll admit that was a stupid question. Of course you know. That’s why you’ve been hiding out in the woods.” The humor faded from her eyes. “Is this about the healing I did on you?”

The question brought him up short. “No. Why?”

He hadn’t gotten around to questioning her about the healing she’d done on him. He’d been a tad distracted by his unwelcome roommate and far more freaked than curious until now.

“Because something went wrong. I can feel it. You’re different.” Her eyes brimmed with guilt and worry.

So she’d picked up on something, but what exactly? “How so?”

“You’re way too tense and jumpy and well . . . ” She looked away as her voice trailed off, red claiming her cheeks.

She was thinking about the humiliating shouting match his LC and Cosky had walked in on. That was the problem with hauntings. Nobody else could see the damn ghost, so it looked like he’d been shouting at empty air. But everything she’d mentioned was symptomatic of the underlying problem—the big one she apparently hadn’t identified.

Thank Jesus.

“This ain’t about me—it’s about Faith. She’s got a medical condition I’m thinkin’ you might be able to fix.”

Kait’s eyes narrowed. “Did her cuts get infected?”

“No.” Rawls hesitated, guilt stabbing him. Faith wouldn’t be thrilled with his wagging tongue. But damn it, this wasn’t about gossip. He was looking out for her best interests. “Faith had a heart transplant, and the donor heart was damaged durin’ the surgery,” he admitted at Kait’s crinkled brow. “Plus, she’s out of her rejection meds. Wolf’s gettin’ a line on her prescription, but until he can ferry them in, she’s courtin’ disaster. What are the odds you can fix her up with that nifty trick of yours?”

“The odds are much better if we wait until Cosky returns,” she said after a moment, the skin across her forehead tightening beneath her frown.

“Cosky? What’s he got to do with this?”

“His touch amplifies my healing. Together we can heal injuries much faster. That’s how we managed to save you.”

Her words echoed in his ears and that strange waking dream took root in his head. Kait’s hands had been pressed to his chest, while Cosky’s hands had covered hers, and that liquid pool of silver had flowed through their joined hands into his chest. Was that how they’d managed to yank him back from the dead? They’d joined forces? How, exactly, did that work?