“I think you held up better than most people would have,” Decorah said.
“Why do you think so?” Cash challenged.
“Because you made it here.”
“With Sophia’s help. I couldn’t have done it without her—and Phil.”
“Yes. They played a very important role. But I’m sure Sophia didn’t get you from West Virginia to Maryland.”
“Cash and I made a good team,” she murmured.
Decorah turned back to Cash. “And don’t minimize your achievements. You gave us a very coherent account of the past few weeks.”
He hadn’t thought of it that way.
Sophia covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “See. That’s what I’ve been telling you.”
He wasn’t sure what he would have said if he’d been alone with her. To the group, he said, “I need to get my memories back.”
“I may be able to help,” Jonah Raider said. He hadn’t spoken much, but now Cash turned to him. “How?”
Jonah kept his gaze and his voice even. “A lot of the agents at Decorah Security have special talents. One of my specialties is finding kidnap victims—because I have telepathic abilities.”
“What?” Cash challenged. Had he heard that right?
“I can communicate with other people mind to mind. That was how I was able to rescue my wife, Alice, when she was being held captive by a serial killer.”
Cash glanced from Jonah to Sophia. “Did you know about that?”
“No.”
Cash sat up straighter, all his attention focused on the man. “You’re going to work some kind of mind control on me?”
“No. I’d like to join my mind with yours while you think about the mission to Afghanistan.”
“What good will that do?”
“I may be able to see things you don’t want to focus on—and help you get in touch with them.”
Cash considered—knowing there were definitely aspects of the mission he’d struggled to push out of his mind. Was he strong enough to deal with them now?”
“What would we do?” he asked.
“I think this is going to work better if we don’t have an audience,” Jonah countered.
Cash glanced around at their audience. “Yeah.”
“Why don’t you and I go down the hall to one of the other rooms where we can have some privacy.”
Cash stood. “Let’s do it.” Before I chicken out, he silently added.
He glanced at Sophia, seeing the anxious expression on her face and knew she wanted to come with him.
“I’ll be back soon,” he told her.
When she started to speak, he shook his head. “This is better than your trying to hypnotize me again.”
She swallowed hard. “Yes.”