Page 38 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

Lifting the last box from the center island, she stopped short when she saw the note Adam had left for her beneath it.

I love you.

That was it. Just three words, not even his name beneath them.

The sight of it made instant tears blur her eyes.Oh, Adam…

They’d both agreed it was probably better that she move out while he was away for work, so it was less painful. He’d flown out of town on a training mission this morning. But now she realized that leaving was going to hurt no matter when she did it, and whether he was here or not.

Thishurt. Thissucked. But it had to be done.

She didn’t want to admit their marriage was over, that she’d had preliminary separation papers drawn up. At this point she wasn’t even sure what had kept her from going through with the legal separation, to be honest. Some part of her simply refused to accept the idea of losing him forever, she guessed.

Except she couldn’t see them ever reconciling after this. Adam saw her leaving as a proverbial line in the sand. Once she stepped over it…

She pushed aside the tiny voice of fear in her head. The one that warned her there was no going back once she left.

Her fingers shook slightly as she picked up the note and slipped it into her pocket. “I still love you too,” she murmured into the empty kitchen.

But unfortunately, love wasn’t enough. Not for her. Not for him. And she couldn’t stand to hurt him anymore by staying.

Better to yank the bandage off in one shot, rather than little by little.

Steeling herself, Summer turned off the light on her way out and locked the door behind her.

****

Present day

Tarek paused in reading the contents of the file he’d opened on the laptop twenty minutes before, a new, deeper rage burning inside him. Because of the translation it had taken him a while to figure out the specifics detailed in the document before him, and now that he had…

He turned his head to aim a lethal glare at the female captive. She was seated against the wall, her knees drawn up, her cheek resting on them. Asleep now, exhausted from the constant questions he’d thrown at her, and because of the sleep deprivation they’d subjected her and the others to.

“Wake up,” he snapped.

Her lids flashed open, her eyes blurry with sleep as she focused on him. He saw the moment she was fully aware of where she was. She stiffened slightly, her lips pressing together in a mutinous expression he longed to wipe off her pretty fucking face.

Soon enough, he would.

He jabbed a finger at the screen. “This report. It says there are spies in our network.”

She didn’t answer, just stared back at him with that defiance burning in her blue eyes that made him want to break her.

“Is it true?” he demanded. “Answerme,” he barked when she didn’t respond right away.

“I only know what it says in the report.”

Oh, she knew far more than that. He had no doubt.

The urge to take out his knife and cut the answers out of her was nearly overwhelming. With effort he reined it in, forced himself to pull in a slow, even breath. He would not let this bitch best him. Her little act of defiance was nothing. And she would soon learn the true meaning of pain.

The thought sent a pleasurable shiver rocketing down his spine.

He’d learned enough to know that he had to be careful. Even more careful than he had been. If spies had infiltrated their ranks, he couldn’t trust anyone.

He turned off the laptop and shut it with a thud. For all he knew the Americans might be able to trace a signal to it somehow, even though he wasn’t connected to the internet. He’d send it with Akram tomorrow, have him deliver it to one of the generals across the border. Tarek would be there in person soon enough.

The woman continued to stare at him, wary, watchful. He thought of his dead fiancée and family. His parents and siblings. All killed when their village had been destroyed by an American and Jordanian airstrike.

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