Shane laughed even as his heart was being torn in two. He needed to keep Yael focused. He couldn’t let her slip away from him. “I know you’re still mad at me for being suspicious of you and snooping on your phone.”

“If it helps, I’m also mad at him,” Alex said, leaning over the back seat. His gaze told Shane he knew what he was trying to do. Keep her awake. Keep her alive. Alex glanced at Laura but there was little they could do. The only way they could save these two women was by getting them professional medical attention ASAP.

“Somewhere along the way I discovered I enjoy spending time with you. Watching your mind work, watching you type away at a thousand words a second…total turn on.”

Yael’s brows crinkled and he could tell she was being hit by a wave of pain. “You get aroused by touch typing?”

“Kill me now,” Ashley grouched from the driver’s seat but it was obvious she was trying to inject a little humor into a dire moment.

“And you’re wicked smart. Without you, the task force would still be sitting around in Virginia waiting for the next crime scene.” He cleared his throat. “I love your brain and badass computer skills and those sexy tattoos of yours.”

“Not the tattoos.” Ashley slapped her own forehead.

Shane spotted an ambulance coming their way and felt a collective sigh of relief go through the three of them.

“What I’m trying to say if the spectators would quiet down.” He sent them a mock quelling glance but didn’t miss the way Yael’s lips quirked at the corners. “I’m sorry for being less than honest at the outset, but I’d really like a chance to prove myself to you even though we all know I will never be truly worthy.”

Yael’s teeth started to chatter as Ashley lowered the window and flagged down the approaching ambulance. Shane hoped to hell Laura lived. But if anything happened to Yael he wasn’t sure he’d survive.

Her eyes started to drift again.

“So, what do you think, honey?” he said loudly, desperate to keep her attention here in the moment. “About giving me that second chance?”

Her beautiful eyes opened again, briefly, and she smiled. “I think I’d like that. I think I’d like that a lot.”

36

Two days later

Laura groaned in the bed beside hers. They were in a private room of a private hospital in Colorado Springs.

“Hey, you’re awake.” Yael tried to sit up and winced. “How are you feeling?”