Flash Marriage To The Alpha Colonel

sure they don't overcook it. The last tim

ton Finch. Financial analyst. Ivy League graduate. The eighteenth

g it to trace the lines of text like he was grading a paper. A drop of sauc

at her, his chin tilted up. "At my club in New York, we have a sommelier who actually knows t

dress. This was her life now. Sitting across from arrogant men who though

ave her a look that was probably supposed to be charming but

ected automatically. "At Wash

ips. It was a look of dismissal. "Must be exhausting. All that cleani

d. "It's a residency. I

ecret, "why work so hard? A pretty girl like you could just find a guy who actually prov

her mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove h

e. But right now, rudeness was the only thing keepi

It was the hospital. Not just any number, but

" she said, already p

d. "We haven't

he practically sprinted toward the back of the restaurant,

d the call.

never called her by her first name. His tone was stripped of its us

ck, Dr. Cromwell

a drill. We are at Code Atlas. I say again, Code Atlas. All leave is

ne wen

interning, she had only heard that term whispered in the break room. It meant catastrophe. It meant mass casualt

n autopilot. Preston was sippi

e grabbed her coat from the back

ou're joking. What kind of emergency could a nurse pos

not expecting him to understand

nd dropped it onto the table next to his water g

-" Preston started, h

rned on her heel and walked out of the restau

. She didn't have an umbrella. She stepped out onto the curb, raisi

lingering disgust from the date. She finally spotted a cab dropping someone of

r," she gasped, sliding into the

nst the cool glass, watching the city lights blur through the rain. She t

the hospital, the rain had slowed to a mist. Carolin

toppe

parked across the driveway, their headlights cutting through the fog. Men in combat gear,

casualty event. T

ing for her ID badge. The guard, a young man with

s area is r

r hand trembling slightly. "Caroline T

cking it against a clipboard. He looked up at her

ain desk. Do not devi

haos of the ER was gone, replaced by a suffocating silence. A handful of doctors and

omp

oked ten years older than he had that morning. His white

3. You will monitor the patient's vitals. You will not speak to him about anything other than his comfort. You will not touch any personal effect

s,

. N

elled different here-sharper, like ozone and disinfectant. As she turn

th medals gleaming on their chests. And in the center, walking slightly

rm, the digital camouflage looking out of place in the sterile hospital, but the rank on his chest-a silver ea

s, a cold, piercing gray, swept the corridor. For a f

ectric awareness shot down her spine, freezing her in place. Those eyes didn't just s

f the aides murmured, h

the tablet without breaking his stride. He started firing of

e hadn't realized she had stopped w

nto the alcove near the nurse's station. Brenna's eyes were wide, her freckle

ed, her throat d

od around here. My cousin works at the Pentagon and she says he's the guy they call when the world is endin

el the lingering chill from that brief eye contact.

d. "But what a way to go

ell's special

That patient... he's not just a soldier. This whole thing is off the book

roline said, trying to convince herself

doors hissed shut behind her, sealing her away from the chaos of th

de of the door, their faces blank. They chec

s the only sound. In the bed, a young man lay motionless, his

icked up the chart, scanning the notes. Alston Petersen. Li

ood pressure stable. Heart rate steady. She let out a

shake the feeling that she had just walked into the eye of a storm. An