“I think the only correct answer is ‘like I surfed a mudslide,’ but thanks to the drugs, a bit better than that.”

She smiled and pressed her lips to his. “No more surfing for you.”

“I swear, I will never surf mud or water again. My body can’t take this abuse anymore.”

Even exhausted and grubby, she was achingly beautiful as she looked down at him. He needed to hold her, feel her heartbeat as she pressed against him. He moved ever so slightly to the side, his body protesting as each shift sent rivers of pain to all his extremities. But it would be worth it.

“What are you doing? You look—”

“Shh. I’m fine.” He patted the bed beside him. “Join me.”

“I can’t do that. This is a hospital, and you’re bruised from head to toe.”

“I’m not asking for sex. I just need to feel you by my side.”

“We’ll get in trouble.”

He grinned. “Maybe the hospital police will arrest us. C’mon. Live on the wild side.” He scooted again, painfully making more room.

She let out a heavy sigh. “You’re going to keep hurting yourself until I agree, aren’t you?”

He hadn’t planned to, but now that he knew it would work, he said, “Yep.”

She climbed onto the bed, hanging off the edge, barely touching him.

“Closer,” he said.

“But your ribs—”

“The fractures are all on the left side. Left clavicle. Left shoulder. The left got all the major damage.”

“How very sinister.”

He laughed and nudged her closer with his right arm. Once she was fully on the mattress, he pulled up the rail, locking her in with him.

She settled against his side as he lowered the head of the bed until it was just slightly raised. He wanted her to slide under the blanket with him, but he figured that would push her too far. At least he could feel her breath on his skin.

Somehow, miraculously, we survived.

“What’ve I missed?” he asked.

“A captain and some general came to see you a few hours ago. They’ll be back in the morning.”

“General?”

“Oh. Yeah. Maybe it was an admiral?”

“Probably. Although I’m sure the Army is involved in what’s happening in the park now. They’ve probably got Green Berets and Rangers from Fort Lewis searching the forest.”

“They wouldn’t give me an update. Said we’d both be debriefed tomorrow. After being treated, Cohen was taken to NSWC, and my understanding is George was taken there directly. Between the two of them, they’re giving the Navy all the intel they need to figure out who was in the forest with us and why.”

He nodded. First priority was finding the missing teammates, second was figuring out who the mercenaries were.