Hot Zone (Elite Force #2)(37)
Author: Catherine Mann

Surprise slowed his stride for a step. “And your father?”

“Is dead,” she said unemotionally, smoothing a hand over her pulled-back hair as if to restore… composure?

“I’m so very sorry.” He wasn’t sure what to read into her flat tone, her stiff spine. Her ponytail barely moved she was so in control of her every movement. “You must miss him…”

“All the more because I’m not close to my mom? If only it could be that simple. There’s no easy way to put this. My issues with men go back further than my ex-husband. My father was a convicted criminal… statutory rape was the charge… I have another far worse term for him.” She scraped a hand over her pulled-back hair again. “He killed himself rather than go to prison.”

Hugh tried to wrap his brain around what she’d said, definitely not where he’d been expecting this conversation to go. He searched for the right thing to say… and came up dry. Emotional stuff? Not his forte. He absently patted the toddler’s leg to keep him content, to give Amelia the quiet to gather her thoughts.

“He was caught with my brother’s girlfriend. She was fourteen, and she was not anywhere close to consenting.” She swept ahead of her with her walking stick, drawing semicircles in the sand ahead of them. “Dear old dad was going to cut a deal with the prosecution. He would get out after five years. He and Mom would move to the Keys afterward and start a new life away from the scandal. Away from others who might come forward to accuse him.”

“Your mother stayed with him?” Where had their children been in all of this? Defensiveness for the child Amelia had been seared through him.

“She vowed my brother and his girlfriend set him up, but I knew better.” Her upper lip curled. “I was the witness.”

The realization of how things unfolded struck him deep in his gut. He felt her pain, wanted to fix a wrong for her already over a decade old. “And your mother didn’t believe you?”

“She explained that away, as well. Said I was upset over not being Daddy’s little girl…” She rolled her eyes. “If he hadn’t killed himself, she would be with him now, starting off with her morning mimosa.”

“So you became the incorruptible lawyer.” Her quest for justice fell into place. What career would she have chosen with a different kind of childhood, a different father?

“And my brother is a surgeon with a specialty in genetics. Spends his spare time traveling for programs like Doctors Without Borders and Operation Smile, fixing the smiles of kids with cleft palates. Fixing children’s smiles… there’s symbolism there if ever I saw it.” She whacked a tree, sending a flock of birds flying.

He grabbed her shoulders, stopping her there under the sprawling branches. “You don’t have to pay for what your father did. It’s okay to live your life.”

“You’re one to preach about moving on with life,” she snapped.

Her words struck home. Hard. He should have followed his first instinct and stayed away from deep conversation and soul-searching today. But he couldn’t simply walk away from her. Maybe if he just… hugged her? He tugged her closer.

Her eyes went wide and he had to admit he was glad to have surprised her. Maybe that meant he was on the right track. She reached toward him…

Past him?

She shoved him aside with one hand and fell past him. Her push was surprisingly strong and he stumbled once before realizing she held a snake in her fist.

Shit.

She threw it away as he drew his gun and shot the head off.

The world went still. His ears rang, the gun in his hand pointed toward the headless snake, still thrashing. A scream split through the aftermath. The baby. Joshua grabbed and clawed at Hugh’s shoulders. He reached around and pulled the boy out, holding him.

Amelia slumped down with her back against a tree, drawing in shaky breaths one after the other. She hugged her knees to her chest.

“Amelia”—he knelt beside her, holding Joshua—“I thought you were scared of snakes, but good God, woman. You didn’t even flinch.”

“I was afraid if I took the time to say something…” She turned toward him, burying her face in his chest. “It was so close to Joshua. I didn’t have a choice.”

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm. If they were alone he would have done more. His insides were shaking with relief. “You did well.”

Her breath hitched one after the other, visibly pushing back hysteria. “Hugh, I need to know. Was it a poisonous snake?”

Hugh looked at the thin length—about five feet long. “A brown racer, a mature adult. They carry a minor poison, for small animals.” He tucked Joshua closer. “A child would have been particularly vulnerable. Even some small adults, given its size.”

“But Joshua’s okay?” She skimmed her fingers along her nephew’s cheek. The little boy hiccupped as his cries died down.

“He’s fine.” Hugh scanned his tiny arms and legs again to be sure. “Just scared. I don’t see a mark on him.”

“Good, good.” A sigh of relief shuddered through her. “Hugh?”

“Yeah, Amelia?” He rested his chin on her head, willing his heart to slow.

“You were really great there, doing your Superman PJ rescuer.” Her fingers toyed with his survival vest.

“You weren’t so bad yourself.”

“Yeah, well, I need you to be the medic PJ now.” She looked up at him, the fear finally showing on her face as she held up her arm, her hand puffy and red. “The snake… It bit me.”

Chapter 11

Amelia’s hand hurt. Really hurt.

It throbbed as if she’d been stung by a wasp a million times. She glanced down and—

She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the two puncture marks on top of her puffy, red hand. She’d been bit on the same hand that had been cut in the earthquake. She resisted the urge to make a fist. Something told her she needed to hold still, not circulate the venom around. Tough to do when she was shaking like a leaf in the aftermath. Or maybe that was another aftershock buzzing the ground under her feet.

Hugh clasped her trembling fingers in his. “Keep it below the level of your heart. Don’t panic. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Joshua? Where is he? If there are more snakes…” She shuddered. She wasn’t feeling nearly as brave now as she had a few minutes ago.