His protective hackles rose. Had Nigel’s eagerness to place one of his top agents back in the field caused Elise further damage? Why had he risked it, especially after she had suffered such a severe injury? Harry shook his head, unable to fathom his officer’s intent.

Elise’s skillsets more than made up for a slow run. Harry had never encountered such a tough competitor—Elise bested him often at the shooting range, and he was a top marksman. A number of her outstanding citations lined Nigel’s wall. Harry would be lucky if he earned half that many. If Elise was given the full leave for her recovery, Harry was positive she could cut back her time. Elise was nothing if not determined. And not many agents kept such a cool head when under fire.

“Cold?” he asked, reaching for the thermostat controls.

“I’m good either way.”

But she wasn’t. She sat stiffly on top of that funny cushion she used to protect herself from road bumps. Every half hour he stopped so she could relieve the pressure from her hips. And with each stop, his concern increased. Was she physically unfit for future field work?

It hardly bore thinking.

When he had picked her up, the wheelie suitcase she brought outside instead of her usual duffel had left him flummoxed. Obviously, she shouldn’t lift heavy objects, but he had a hard time making the mental adjustment. Elise was a go-getter, impatient to be doing. Even in the hospital, she had been more animated than this quiet, white-faced stranger beside him.

“Bad news from the doctor?” Harry didn’t see a reason to beat around the bush. He had spent too many years in the military to play pattycake with uncomfortable topics.

“You might say that.”

Her freeze-out rankled. In the past, she had trusted him with her life, but the doctor’s verdict appeared to be out-of-bounds territory. Perhaps she needed time to consider the situation or seek a second opinion.

“That’s it?” he questioned.

She crossed her legs and didn’t reply.

“Elise, if you had good news from the doctor, you would have said. Out with it.”

“You aren’t my partner any longer, Benson. I don’t owe you a thing.”

Surprised that her words had the power to sting, Harry frowned at the road through the windscreen. “No need to go aristocrat on me, Lady Elise.”

She sighed. “I don’t mean to be witchy. Give me some time. I’m processing a lot right now.”

He nodded curtly and drove in silence after that. Late afternoon sunlight bathed the congested suburbs of Reading, with their cramped houses along the M4 corridor.

“Harry, would you mind terribly if we stopped?” Elise asked.