Page 19

Nadia

“Fine,” Rose snarls, grabbing her camera and pushing some buttons on the back. After a few moments, she turns the camera so Cole can see it, clearly displaying that the pictures are gone. “Happy now?”

“Not completely,” I say, still pissed but doing my best to stay calm. God, this woman – she says she’s a professional journalist, but does that seriously entail having absolutely no empathy for the people she’s reporting on?

Rose scoffs and turns to me. Cole does too.

“I don’t want you taking any more pictures of my patients.”

“ Your patients,” she spits out, her face going red.

“Yes,” I snap, stepping forward aggressively. “ My patients.”

Cole clears his throat, and I look to him. He shakes his head subtly as a growl rumbles in Rose’s chest, letting me know that my step was…not a great idea. I step back, believing him but not backing off completely.

Still, I realize that in this moment he’s letting me fight my own battle.

And I…like that too.

Damn it, I wish he’d stop doing things I like.

“Yes,” I say, raising my chin at Rose but not moving into her space anymore. “ My patients. I’m the head of the nursing staff. Until they go elsewhere, these patients are mine .”

Rose looks to Cole. “You’re going to let her pull rank like this?”

“I’m not letting her do anything,” he says, his voice humming with even calm. “She has the rank. It’s her command.”

“I have a job!” Rose says, shaking her head at him, ignoring me. “I was sent here to document this! I can’t just take pictures of the landscape ! If I can’t take pictures of the people, then there’s nothing for me to do here!”

I tilt my head to the side, considering that it’s a fine justification for her to fuck right the hell off.

But Cole sighs and turns back to me, seeking reconciliation. I narrow my eyes at him, thinking that he’s far too comfortable with being the peacekeeper. Stupid diplomatic Prince.

“It would be good to have documentation of this,” Cole says. “She’s a talented photojournalist, Nadia – she’s got the awards to prove it. And the nation does deserve to know what’s going on down here from someone outside the military. We can’t be as unbiased as someone trained in the arts.”

This response surprises me. As does the logic behind it.

As does the fact that these two wolves are just…looking at me, waiting for me to decide what should happen next.

Which is not something I thought I would ever experience. The shock of it makes me softer than I assumed I’d be.

“Two days,” I say, raising my chin and again leveling a glare at Rose. “You give my patients two days to settle in before you take pictures of them –“

“But they’re leaving in the morning!” she says, casting out a hand toward the fire. “There’s no time to –“

“Not all of them will,” I say, shaking my head. “Some we can treat here. You can take pictures of them after two days, and only after you get their consent. If they say no, you walk away, no pushing. Deal?”

She scowls and looks at Cole.

My hand flies up, my fingers snapping between us. “You look at me,” I hear myself say. “This deal? It’s with me.”

Rose’s eyes flash with a very dangerous level of hatred, and she bares her teeth at me again. “Fine.”

“Good,” I say, lowering my hand and looking her up and down. “Try not to fuck anything else up.” I turn on my heel and walk away.

It’s only ten or fifteen steps later when I realize that I’m not heading in the direction of the nurses’ tent and that I don’t have anywhere to go in this direction. I curse under my breath, not wanting to turn sharply and change direction because then I’ll ruin my exit.

So, I just move over to the dying fire where the group gathered earlier and sit on a log, staring into the embers. When I get cold thirty seconds later, I get up, grab some wood, and toss it on to burn. Then I sit down and glare at it, my own emotions still simmering.

God damn Rose, so selfish.

As might be predicted, I’m not alone for long.

“You good?” Cole asks.

I look up at him and don’t answer.

He laughs a little, I think getting used to my taciturn silences, taking them for the answers they are. He sits on my log – not too close to me, but not far, either. “You’re going to want to be more careful with Rose.”

“Why?” I snap, pissed off again.

“Because,” he murmurs, “she’s a bully. And she’s not above doing some nasty stuff to you to make you miserable if you make her miserable too. She is…well practiced in the art of sabotaging girls she marks as her enemies.”

I scoff at him. “Why do you like her?”

Cole turns to me, a curious smile playing at his mouth. “Why gives you the impression that I like her?”

“Cole,” I say, snapping my eyes shut. “Don’t even make me roll my eyes at that – they’ll go so far back they’ll never come forward again –“

He laughs, and I open my eyes to renew my glare.

Cole just smirks and shakes his head. “I’ve known Rose for a long time, Nadia. Our relationship is complicated. She wasn’t like that at the start – or at least, I wasn’t aware of it. And she’s not always like that. Rose has many…layers.”

“Yeah, but you know she’s horrible now,” I say, shaking my head, not getting it. “So why do you like her? Why don’t you just kick her out ?”

“Is that what you want?” he asks, glancing at me and then staring into the fire.

“Me to just…remove obstacles for you? You took charge of the nursing unit, and your dad let you have it, Nadia. If you’re going to be a leader, then you have to manage these kinds of opposition, not just shove them away. ”

“I am managing it,” I growl. “By making you kick her ass out .”

He laughs, I think unable to help it. But he doesn’t look at me. “She is talented, Nadia. If you want her to leave, then I’ll make her go. You’re in charge. But my dad sent her for a reason – she is the best.”

I sigh, not liking it.

But then my curiosity overtakes my discontent. “So, is she your ex or something?”

Cole goes still.

I smirk.

“Or are you guys like, still dating?”

Slowly, he turns to me and holds my gaze. The steely seriousness of him makes me go still for a moment before, quite slowly, he shakes his head. “No, Nadia,” Cole says, his voice a low, powerful hum. “I’m not dating Rose. I’m not dating anyone.”

I cock my head to the side. “But you used to date her. Didn’t you?”

Another beat before he slowly nods.

“So?” I ask, quirking my brow, leaning back against a hand that I place flat on the log, pretending for all things that this is just a very casual chat between friends. “How long did that last?”

The edge of his mouth twitches. “Why do you want to know, Nadia?”

“I’m taking a survey of everyone in camp,” I say, twirling a finger in the air, breezy and casual. “Mostly for Shay. She needs everyone’s sexual history before she can decide her next target.”

Slowly, Cole shakes his head, smirking at me and playing along. “I’d prefer to remain mysterious in Shayne’s book,” he says quietly. “She’s a heartbreaker, and I doubt I’d survive her. But if you want to know, Nadia…I’ll tell you .”

I study him for a moment, my eyes moving over his steady features, his well-defined mouth and stubbled cheeks below high, carved cheekbones.

“Fine,” I say, my voice softer now. “I want to know.”

“Then again,” he says, leaning incrementally closer. “Why do you want to know?”

My eyes, damn them, move back to that mouth.

“Hi, guys!” Shay calls, sauntering over, two bottles of water in her hand. “You thirsty?”

Cole takes a deep breath and leans away from me.

I gasp in a breath myself – not realizing that I’d stopped breathing. That my heart is pounding .

Shay stops before us, water bottles held out, a cute little grin on her lovely face.

“Thanks, Shayne,” Cole says, polite as usual, smiling up at her and taking the water bottle from her hand. “This was thoughtful of you.”

“No problem!” Shayne says, grinning at him and then turning to me, the water still held out.

I snatch the bottle from Shayne’s hand as I stand up, looking down at the ground, feeling…much more unsettled by that moment with Cole than I want to admit.

Because seriously – why do I want to know? It’s not like I care . It’s not like it matters to me. It’s not like I’m jealous . It’s not like I – like I – like I like him or anything –

“I’m getting back to work,” I grumble, pausing to meet Shayne’s eyes, hoping that she doesn’t take me storming off personally. I just…can’t be here right now.

“’kay!” Shay says, grinning at me, nodding, letting me know that she gets it.

I nod and walk away, headed for the nursing tent, wanting to get it ready in case more patients come tonight.

Behind me, I hear Cole sigh.

But I absolutely refuse to look back.