Forged in Smoke (Red-Hot SEALs #3)(69)

“Here you go, sweetie,” Marion said, leaning down to pass her son a bottle of water. “Amy brought a bunch, so there’s more if you need it.” She straightened with a hand on her back. “I just don’t understand it. The poor dear was fine when we reached the hub.” A confused shake of her head sent her silver bob flying. “I’ve never seen anyone get so sick so fast. She was fine when she left with you to find the stragglers. You weren’t gone even fifteen minutes. What made her so sick? The flu wouldn’t attack that fast.”

. . . left to find the stragglers . . .

Marion’s words echoed in Faith’s mind. She’d been one of the stragglers. Was Marion referring to Kait’s trip down the tunnel to find and supposedly heal her?

“She overdid it, that’s all,” Cosky said, dragging his shirt over his head. He used the knife sheathed at his belt to slice the material and then tore off a broad strip. After soaking the cloth with water, he recapped the bottle. “She’ll be fine once she rests.”

Overdid what? Was he referring to the healing?

Faith absently watched Cosky pick Kait up and cradle her against his shoulder. He held the water bottle while she drank and then went to work running the cloth over her red, fatigued face.

She didn’t look as bad as she had before. Some of the tomato-soup color had faded from her cheeks, and the lines of exhaustion didn’t cut as deep.

If Cosky had been referring to the supposed healing Kait had done—how in the world did one overdo the simple laying on of hands?

She was still turning that question over in her mind when Beth arrived with a second bottle of water. “How’s she doing?”

“I’m fine,” Kait said, opening her eyes. The smile she offered took obvious effort. “You better hang on to that bottle. There’s no telling how long we’ll be here. We should preserve what we can.”

“We’ll make do with conserving the rest. It’s more important to get your temperature down. It’s too bad there isn’t a glacier-fed lake handy, like there was with Rawls,” Beth said as she set the plastic bottle on the floor next to the wall, where it promptly fell over and rolled a few inches.

“With Rawls,” Marion repeated, a shrewd gleam to her gray eyes. “What happened with Rawls, and what does it have to do with Kait’s fever now?”

The woman obviously suspected that there was more going on than she’d been told.

“I’ll explain later, Mom,” Cosky said. He lifted the water to Kait’s lips again, refusing to remove it until she’d swallowed a good share of the contents.

Beth shot Cosky an apologetic glance and stepped back. “If you need anything, I’ll be right over there.” She nodded across the room toward Zane.

Faith glanced between Cosky and his mother. Apparently, Marion was in the dark about Kait’s supposed healing powers, otherwise Cosky wouldn’t have to “explain later.” Why had he withheld the information from her?

When Beth left, Faith started to follow, only to turn back. No matter what, Kait had risked her life out there for her and Rawls. That alone deserved appreciation.

“Hey.” Faith shuffled her feet uncomfortably. “Rawls says you came back for me . . .” She glanced uncertainly between Cosky and his mother. To avoid additional questions, it would probably be best to keep her thank-you vague. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you.”

Kait smiled as her eyes drifted shut. “You’re welcome.”

Left with nothing else to say, and the strong impression that Kait and Cosky wanted some privacy, Faith turned away. But she had nowhere to go. Rawls was involved in some intense discussion in the corner with Zane, Mac, and Jude, and judging from the explosive frustration on Mac’s face, she’d do well to avoid that corner of the hub.

“I’m so sorry!” Beth suddenly appeared by her side to grasp her hand. “I was so focused on Kait, I completely forgot what you’d gone through out there.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Faith assured the pretty, pregnancy-plumped blonde. “She’s your friend. Besides, I’m fine, really. I was apparently out of it, so I don’t remember anything.” She offered Beth a polite smile.

“Well, you must have been pretty bad off, otherwise Kait wouldn’t be in the condition she’s in,” Beth told her absently, only to freeze and flush. “Oh my God. I didn’t mean it like that! It’s not your fault. Honestly! It’s just that fatal injuries or illnesses require a lot more energy during the healing. So they really wipe her out.”

Fatal injuries . . .

A chill prickled her scalp. “Why do you say it was fatal?”

“Cosky told Zane.” Beth suddenly stopped, blushing even worse than before. “Oh man. I obviously need to stop talking. I assumed that Rawls had told you what kind of shape you were in.”

“He said my heart had stopped,” Faith said slowly, the chill spreading down her spine. It was much harder to dismiss two accounts of her death, than one.

“Oh good.” Relief softened Beth’s face. “Anyway, for what it’s worth, I’m really glad Kait was able to bring you back.”

Interesting . . . Beth completely believed in Kait’s abilities. So did Cosky and Zane, from the sound of it.

She’d already known that Rawls bought into Kait’s ability. But to find out Cosky, Zane, and Beth did too raised a serious question. Rationally, it didn’t seem feasible that Kait could have fooled all four of them. Particularly the men. SEALs were schooled in scrutiny and strategic thinking. They were taught to rely on their logical mind. Maybe Kait could have fooled a SEAL lover by tangling his intellect with emotion. But Zane wasn’t in love with her. Neither was Rawls . . . they would have seen right through her . . . wouldn’t they?