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  “His men like him?”

  “They respect him, sir.”

  Grimacing, Morgan muttered, “Great.” There was a fine line between like and respect. Morgan was hoping that this officer was the type of leader a team would go to hell and back for. Quinn carefully using the word respect spoke volumes, and not in Roc’s favor. Scowling, Morgan rasped, “Okay, you’ve met Dr. Andrews?”

  “Yes, sir, I have. She’s a human dynamo.”

  Morgan saw Quinn brighten and sit up even straighter. He also saw the gleam of respect in the man’s eyes for the woman doctor. Sam Andrews was a one-woman tornado in the hospital. She’d brought the facility up to speed to meet the overwhelming crisis they’d had to deal with when the quake victims started being flown in. She had been responsible for a lot of triage ideas and changes that affected the way patients were brought in and handled at the understaffed facility. She had saved lives by looking at the larger picture, and then making the necessary tweaks and adjustments that made the medical unit more responsive to the needs of the avalanche of incoming patients. Morgan liked her a lot.

  “Okay, what’s Gunnison’s problem, Quinn? And be damned straight with me. I don’t have time to pussyfoot on this one.”

  “Yes, sir. You know the saying, ‘pride goeth before a fall’?”

  Rolling his eyes, Morgan muttered, “Yes, unfortunately.”

  “That about sums it up, sir.”

  “He’s pigheaded. He can’t admit he’s wrong?”

  “Yes to both of those, sir.”

  “Great…!”

  “He’s very competitive, sir. But that’s not a bad thing, usually….”

  Nostrils flaring, Morgan glared across the desk at Quinn, who had an apologetic look on his face. “Except, if I’m reading between the lines on this one, your evaluation is that Dr. Andrews and Captain Gunnison are going to get along like oil and water.”

  “Uh…maybe like cats and dogs?”

  “You’ve made my day, Lieutenant.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “Don’t apologize.” He shut the file dejectedly.

  “I’ve seen a lot of Dr. Andrews,” Kerry said, hope in her tone. “She’s tough, sir. Firm and tough. I don’t think she’ll let this Recon officer run over her.”

  “Oh,” Morgan chuckled, “I know she won’t. Sam—er, Dr. Andrews, doesn’t suffer fools lightly.” He gave them a brief smile. “Thanks for your input. Both of you. Are you ready for your 0700 flight back home, Kerry?”

  She smiled. “More than ready, sir. Thanks for all you’ve done to help them—and me. You’re an angel in my eyes. A guardian angel of the best kind.”

  Morgan tapped his head. “Yeah? Well, I got a lot of people cursing at me and thinking I’m the devil incarnate back East in the Capital. I’ve been raising more hell. They’re so tired of me that they’re actually starting to give me what I want for these poor folks in the quake zone.”

  Kerry wanted to stand up and hug Morgan. He looked like he could use a hug about now. She’d realized from further talks with Quinn that Morgan was like a one-man army on behalf of all the people out there in the L.A. basin. He was truly a knight in shining armor in her eyes.

  Rising, Quinn smiled down at Kerry. “You ready?”

  She moved gingerly. Although healing, her head injury was still on the mend. Even now, Kerry moved carefully and not with her usual confidence. “More than ready.”

  Morgan lifted his hand. “Stay in close touch. And expect that medical unit in tomorrow, possibly the day after. My people will be in radio contact with you about it.”

  “Yes, sir,” Quinn said, and he opened the door for Kerry.

  Out in the passageway, they hugged the wall to avoid the stream of human traffic. Like a well-oiled machine, the Logistics department hummed in high gear twenty-four hours a day, with three shifts of people working at top speed.

  Quinn opened an exit door for Kerry. There were no elevators in the building, and she would have to take the concrete steps slowly and carefully so as not to jar her head. He moved to her side. They were alone now, and he slipped his hand beneath her left elbow to steady her.

  “Thanks,” she whispered, looking up with a soft smile. Her heart swelled with such love for Quinn. Over the past week, now that their love was out in the open, their feelings had grown stronger, more beautiful and deeper. She cherished his touch, though it didn’t come often enough. Out in the real world, they had to act with decorum and restraint. Touching or kissing wasn’t allowed, unfortunately.

  As she slowly took each step, Quinn at her side, Kerry said, “Do you think Dr. Andrews is going to get along with Captain Gunnison?”

  Snorting, Quinn said, “No. That’s like putting a fox and a chicken in the henhouse together.”

  “Who’s the hen? Who’s the fox?”

  Laughing, Quinn said, “I don’t know, sweet pea.” He gave her a warm look. “But we’ll be there to see it happen.”

  “My money’s on Dr. Andrews. She’s an amazon. A real Princess Xena.”

  “Roc Gunnison is nothin’ to mess with, though,” he pointed out. “When he thinks he’s right, he’ll move heaven and hell to prove it.”

  “Well,” Kerry said dryly, “let’s keep score. They’re supposed to set up a medical tent city near our place at the shopping center, so we’ll get fifty-yard seats to watch the battle of the titans.”

  His fingers closed around her elbow and he leaned over and gave her a swift kiss on the cheek. “What kind of a bet do you want to place on them?”

  Her skin tingled pleasantly where he’d kissed her, and she smiled at him. “My money’s on the doctor.”

  “Okay, I’ll back Roc.”

  “You marines always stick together.”

  Chuckling, Quinn said, “Yeah, I know….”

  “I love you anyway.”

  “Whew, that’s good to know!” And they laughed together as they started down the second flight of stairs on the way to their new life together.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4035-7

  THE WILL TO LOVE

  Copyright © 2002 by Lindsay McKenna

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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  ΔΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: Ultimate Rescue

  *Kincaid trilogy

  *Kincaid trilogy

  *Kincaid trilogy

  †Love and Glory

  †Love and Glory

  †Love and Glory

  †Love and Glory

  **Women of Glory

  **Women of Glory

  **Women of Glory

  ††Moments of Glory Trilogy

  ††Moments of Glory Trilogy

  ††Moments of Glory Trilogy

  ‡Morgan’s Mercenaries

  ‡Morgan’s Mercenaries

  ‡Morgan’s Mercenaries

  **Women of Glory

  °Men of Courage

  °Men of Courage

  °Men of Courage

  ‡‡Morgan’s Mercenaries: Love and Danger

  ‡‡Morgan’s Mercenaries:
Love and Danger

  ‡‡Morgan’s Mercenaries: Love and Danger

  ‡‡Morgan’s Mercenaries: Love and Danger

  ◊Cowboys of the Southwest

  ◊Cowboys of the Southwest

  ◊Cowboys of the Southwest

  ΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: The Hunters

  ΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: The Hunters

  ΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: The Hunters

  §Morgan’s Mercenaries: Maverick Hearts

  §Morgan’s Mercenaries: Maverick Hearts

  §Morgan’s Mercenaries: Maverick Hearts

  ◊◊Morgan’s Mercenaries: Destiny’s Women

  ΔΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: Ultimate Rescue

  ΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: The Hunters

  ΔΔMorgan’s Mercenaries: Ultimate Rescue