When he’d taken the bullet meant for Marcus. The bullet that was still hanging around in his thoracic cavity. She slid back to lie against his side. He was covered in scars, some long and jagged and some short and neat. She’d seen similar scars on military vets she’d treated in the ER and in the clinic. “You were hit by shrapnel.”

“Yeah. IED on the side of the road. Same story as so many others. We were thrown out of the Humvee and one of the guys in my platoon broke his neck.” He swallowed hard. “He was conscious when they gutted him. I tried to get to him, but they were shooting at us. I had to lay down cover for the others.”

She traced the perimeter of the scar a few millimeters from the Star of David over his heart. It was round and puckered. A gunshot wound. “They got you.”

“Yeah,” he said gruffly. “I took another couple in my hip and thigh.”

Those bullets didn’t still reside in his body, though. “This was the one meant for Marcus.”

“Yes. He was working on one of the other injured guys. I saw the gun pointed at him and . . .” He blew out a breath. “We’d met in basic training. I was prepared to be alone for my tour. I trusted Walt Dyson, but nobody else. And then I met Marcus and he just . . . bullied me into liking him. I didn’t meet Stone till later, but he did the same. Just steamrolled right over me.”

“You couldn’t let Marcus get hurt. I understand that.”

He met her eyes once again. “I know you do.” He let his head fall back to the pillow. “I woke up in the hospital and freaked.”

“All the white coats,” she murmured. “They became associated with your trauma.” That explained so many things.

Except for the flicker of hesitation in his dark eyes. She opened her mouth to ask about it, but a phone alarm sounded from somewhere on the floor, and he stiffened.

“That’s mine,” he said as he extricated himself from her arms. He bent to retrieve his cell phone from his pants pocket and Dani hung over the side of the bed, enjoying the view.

“Yes,” he hissed gleefully when he’d checked his phone screen. He stepped into his boxer briefs and wiggled his butt as he pulled them up his body.

“Oh, yes,” she murmured, smiling when he turned to grin at her.

“You were checking me out.”

“I was, and no woman alive would ever blame me.” She pointed to the phone. “Yes what?”

“Ritz is finished. Sorry, but I need to check on the program I was running.”

Dani swung her legs off of the bed, reluctant to leave their haven but knowing their respite was never going to last all night. They needed to get back to the boys because all their friends needed to get home.