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His last few words came out as a hoarse whisper, and he swallowed hard.

Haven had to hold back her tears at the sight of this strong man having a moment of grief over the recollection of the event that changed her life completely.

She reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

They sat in silence as they both struggled to regain their composure.

Finally, Frisco cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. After all my missions and being on the front lines of battlefields, you’d think I’d be used to it, but it never gets any easier when you see that, even if it’s a teammate you barely know or, in our case, hadn’t met yet. ”

“Jordyn told me you’ve lost teammates before.”

Sadness filled his eyes as the memory of those men clearly swirled to the forefront of his mind. He squeezed her hand. “Yeah. Seven of them in two separate incidents, although even one is too many.”

Laughter broke the tension hanging in the air as two young children ran past their table toward the lake, while their mother shouted for them not to get wet from where she was spreading out a blanket on the grass nearby.

Frisco cleared his throat again. “Anyway, back to that day. I saw you falling, knew what’d happened, jumped to my feet, and ran toward you. ”

Before he could say anything more, she interrupted him. “You can skip the part where I was an ungrateful bitch.”

The corners of his mouth turned upward. “Okay, skipping that part. After that, Hollywood and Sawyer covered us. Sawyer’s sniper, Donovan, took out the shooter, and then the Trident helicopter swooped in to extract us.

And if you haven’t met Babs yet, I’ll tell you, that woman is freaking awesome.

Definitely earned her handle for being a bad-ass bitch.

She landed the Blackhawk and got us out of there in record time. ”

“I haven’t had the pleasure, yet, but I’ve heard all about her. So, that’s it? Nothing else stands out?”

“No,” he answered while shaking his head. “Sorry. But you know that when the shit hits the fan it’s hard to recall specifics afterward. I can review my report and see if I forgot anything.”

Haven shook her head. “Don’t bother; I’ve already read it and everyone else’s from that day.”

Frisco snorted. “I can’t imagine what security clearance you have for that—and I’m probably better off not knowing. So, I guess my stroll down memory lane didn’t help, did it?”

“Unfortunately, no. Who knows, maybe I didn’t know the guy and just thought he looked familiar.”

“But you don’t think that’s the case, do you?”

“No.” Haven suddenly realized Frisco was still holding her hand as if he’d been doing it for years.

She wasn’t sure if he knew his thumb was caressing her wrist. The gentle rhythm was sending sparks to the nerve endings under her skin, through her body, straight to her core.

While she didn’t have full use of her legs yet, the feeling had returned to her lower abdomen and all the way to her toes—and everything in between.

And right now, what she felt between her legs was lust and desire.

Before the shooting, she would’ve acted on that, seducing him until she got what she wanted—him in her bed.

She’d always been picky about which men she hooked up with, even dating a few for several months or enjoying an occasional friends-with-benefits relationship.

But since the wheelchair next to her had become such a huge part of her life, she hadn’t been attracted to any male—until now.

Why this man? He’d seen her at her absolute worst. She’d begged him to do what he considered to be an unspeakable act, yet, here he was, having granted his forgiveness, enjoying lunch with her.

Pulling her hand from his, and immediately missing the warmth of the contact, Haven stacked their plates together.

“I really need to get back to work. I’m an intel tech now.

” While she wasn’t as adept as some of the hackers and specialists at Deimos headquarters, she was still able to gather a lot of information needed by the field operatives.

Her field experience helped because she was able to zero in on intel they needed instead of making them weed through the excess it was buried under. “Thanks for lunch.”

“My pleasure.” Grabbing the plates and empty soda cans, Frisco stood and tossed them into a nearby trash can before returning to the table, while Haven got situated back into her chair. “So, why here?”

His question threw her off as she began to propel the wheelchair toward her van. “Huh? Why here, what?”

“From what I understand, your headquarters is somewhere in California, so why are you in Texas?”

“Ah. Even though the main compound is out west, we have operatives all over the States, preferably near military bases in case backup is needed on a grand scale. The rehab hospital here is one of the best for my injury, so Harker Heights is where I now call home—the first one I’ve slept in for more than a month straight during most of my adult life.

My superiors set everything up for me. I’ve got a handicapped accessible home, the van you saw, and it’s close enough to Fort Hood.

” It took her less than twenty minutes to reach the base where, with her extremely high government clearance, she had access to almost every inch of the place.

“That’s great ... I mean, of all the places you could have ended up, I’m glad it was here.”

When they reached her van, Haven pulled out her keys and activated the remote that would unlock the door and bring the lift out and down for her.

While they waited for it, Frisco stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his pants and rocked back and forth on his feet.

“So, when can I see you again? I’d like to take you out to dinner or something . .. you know, on a date.”

If she’d been standing, she would’ve been knocked off her feet. She gaped at him, trying to make sure she’d heard him correctly. “What do you mean ‘a date’?”

“A date.” He shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

“You know—a guy like me, with a really hot woman, like you, who turns him on, going out somewhere that has waiters, wine glasses, and china. They order from leather-covered menus, and the whole time, he’s wondering what his chances of getting a goodnight kiss are. That kind of date. ”

Frowning, Haven shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Frisco.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not? Is there someone else?”

“No, there’s no one else.” She should have lied and said there was, but it was too late now.

God, what she wouldn’t give to be her old self again.

She would’ve loved to see where the attraction she felt for him would lead.

“I don’t go out much—it’s a bit of a hassle with the chair and all.

Besides, you should be with someone who can keep up with you and do fun things.

There’s not much fun I can have in a wheelchair. ”

Rotating the right wheel forward and the left wheel back, Haven spun around and then backed onto the platform, locking herself in.

But before she could hit the control to raise it, Frisco put his right foot on the edge of the platform and his hands on the armrests of the chair on either side of her.

When she glanced up in surprise, she found him glaring at her, bending down so they were face-to-face.

And, damn, he was pissed. His voice dropped low, sending an unwanted chill down her spine.

“Do you really think I’m so shallow that this chair bothers me?

I’m attracted to you , Haven, not whether or not you’re standing on two feet. I can handle you being in a chair.”

Anger boiled within her. She pushed on his arms, but they wouldn’t budge. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want you to have to handle anything. I’m not the woman I used to be, Frisco. I’ll never be her again.”

“So what? I didn’t know that woman beyond the three or four minutes she was begging me to fucking leave her to die. I don’t want to know that woman. You, right here, right now, are the woman I’m attracted to. The one I’m asking out. The one I want to get to know better.”

“I don’t need your pity, Frisco.”

He huffed harshly and stood erect again.

“Is that why you think I’m asking you out?

Because I pity you? That’s rich. That’s fucking rich.

Give me a little credit, will you? I’m not the type of guy who asks a woman out because I feel sorry for her.

I ask her out because I’m attracted to her.

Because I want to spend time with her, learning everything about her.

“Sure, I’ve had one-night-stands—I’m a guy after all—but I’ve never led a woman to believe there was something more. Trust me, my interest in you extends beyond a one-night-stand and the last fucking thing I’d do is pity you. ”

He thrust a hand through his hair and scoffed.

“Jesus. All this time I’ve been carrying around these guilty feelings I might’ve made your injury worse.

At first I thought that’s why I couldn’t get you out of my head.

But when I saw you today, I knew it wasn’t guilt that had me dreaming of you at night, it was this intense attraction I felt toward you.

But whether or not I made the injury worse shouldn’t matter.

Do you know why?” He didn’t pause to let her answer.

“Because you’re still alive, and I think someone who works for one of the baddest agencies on the damn planet should be tough enough to get past any curveball life throws at them.

The alternative would mean I’d never have the chance to see you again, and up until five minutes ago, that would’ve really sucked.

“I hope you track down whoever’s got that nuke.

If you need help with trying to figure it out, call me—I’m sure you can find my number—but don’t worry, I won’t ask you out again, because you’re not the kick-ass woman I thought you were.

You’re still feeling sorry for yourself . .. and that ... that’s what I pity.”

Turning on his heel, he stormed over to his car, gave her one final furious glance, then shook his head and climbed into the driver’s seat.

He floored the accelerator and, with a screech of tires, headed for the exit.

Within seconds he was on the main street and out of sight.

Haven’s heart clenched, as she tried to convince herself turning him down was for the best. But if that was the case, then why were unwelcome tears rolling down her cheeks?