Page 50 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

He’d only been able to squeeze a few days off in between contracting jobs, so instead of the tropical vacation she’d wanted, they’d taken off to the Blue Ridge Mountains together. They’d spent their honeymoon in a snug little cottage he’d rented for them, hiking and canoeing during the day, making love by the wood-burning fireplace at night.

During one of their hikes they’d stopped on top of the slab of rock they’d climbed to and taken a selfie. The shot showed her snuggled into his chest with his arm curled around her, and the spectacular backdrop of the fall foliage of the Shenandoah Valley in the background. She’d had it framed as soon as they’d gotten home from their honeymoon.

She smiled now, an impossibly sad smile that managed to break his heart even more. “You know how much I love that picture of us, I take it everywhere with me when I travel. I always keep it with the things that mean the most to me.” She let out a deep sigh, her mouth quirking in the semblance of an ironic grin. “I wish I’d listened to youin the first placeand stayed home this time. Anyway, whatever happens, just know that I’ll always love you. I need you to remember that, remember the good times.”

The camera panned out, showing her standing there staring at the camera in silence. And mounted on the wall behind her, a digital clock reading nine hours, fifty-four minutes was counting backwards, the seconds melting away as he watched.

A deadline. The message was clear. If Summer was still in the ATB’s possession by the time the clock hit zero, she was dead.

The screen turned blank, and he bit back a cry of protest, feeling like he’d just lost his last connection with her.

In the ensuing silence, everyone in the room turned to look at him.

Fuck.Adam doubled over, covered his eyes with shaking hands and fought to breathe. He felt shell-shocked. Was practically reeling on his feet.

Someone dragged a chair over.

“Sit down.” Schroder practically muscled him over and pushed him into it. Adam dropped down, barely aware of his surroundings. The medic was bent on one knee beside him, a big hand splayed over the taut muscles of Adam’s back. “Somebody get him some water.”

“No,” Adam snapped, just wanting everyone to go away and leave him the fuck alone. He felt raw inside and out, like someone had peeled his skin away with a dull knife and left him bleeding out slowly from a thousand separate cuts.

Schroder dropped his hand and stood. Adam closed his eyes and focused on breathing in and out no matter how much it hurt. Every atom in his body was now clinging to the hope that the NSA or whoever could somehow get a location for them to target. Anything that would allow them to reach Summer before the time ran out.

The room remained silent as they played the video again. And again, over and over, analyzing it repeatedly. Looking for some hint, any clue that might help locate the hostages.

Eyes closed, Adam kept listening to Summer’s voice as it repeated her personal message to him at the end. Through the fog of pain and despair, something about her words kept calling to him. No, the cadence of her voice. The part where she was talking about the picture, and how she wished she’d listened to him and stayed home.

In the first place.

She’s emphasized those words above the others. It sounded strange enough in the sentence and context to catch his attention.

He looked up, gaze pinned to her on the screen. She was smart. Fucking brilliant, actually. And resourceful. He wouldn’t put it past her to try and give him a secret message somehow. But what? What was she trying to say?

“Play that bit back again,” he ordered suddenly, his urgent voice cutting through the room. People shot him surprised looks but the analyst controlling the video feed did as he said.

Adam stared at her, trying like hell to decipher whether there was any hidden meaning to her words or whether he was just hoping for something that wasn’t even there.

“You know how much I love that picture of us, I take it everywhere with me when I travel. I always keep it with the things that mean the most to me.” That deep sigh, followed by the wry grin. “I wish I’d listened to youin the first placeand stayed home this time.”

“Stop,” he said, shoving to his feet as a chill ripped down his spine.

DeLuca and the director were staring at him. “What?” his commander asked. “What do you see?”

He shook his head. “It’s not what I see, it’s what she said.” Adrenaline poured through him, his heart a staccato drumbeat in his ears. “I think she gave us a clue.”

They all stared at him like he’d just lost his mind. And maybe he had, he was sure desperate enough to grasp at any straw available right now. But wasn’t it worth checking it out?

“The picture she talked about,” he continued. “She literally takes it with her when she travels, including here. I think she was telling me that she’s got it in a place where we can find another clue. Listen to how she emphasizesin the first place. That’s no accident or coincidence. It’s another clue. We need to go to her hotel room and find that picture.”

DeLuca and the director exchanged dubious looks, but then his commander faced him and nodded. “Okay. It’s worth a shot.”

Adam was the first one out the door. He literally ran to the SUV he’d ridden there in and jumped behind the wheel.

Evers was two steps behind him, snatched the keys out of his hand. “Nuh uh, brother. You’re in no shape to drive right now.”

Scowling, Adam just slid over the center console into the front passenger seat. “Fucking hurry up then.”

Thankfully the team was loaded and ready to go in just another few seconds. The short drive to the hotel seemed to take forever. Two guys stayed down in the lobby while the others followed Adam up to her room.

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