Page 34 of Strangers in Love

“Go home, Freedom!”

I winced, hoping Freedom could hear that Cain was worried about her, not angry with her. I didn’t think he was in love with her, but I did know him well enough to know that he took his role as a protector very seriously, whether it was wanted or not.

I assumed the other guys knew about Cain and Freedom’s connection, but with his near shout, I wondered if they’d also known that the call would get heated. As soon as he’d said that he planned to call her, all three guys had volunteered to get the supplies we’d need to leave tomorrow. The main thing I’d needed to bring was still at the airport, waiting and ready, thanks to Dave. I was even already packed. The only thing I didn’t have was a gun, but Bruce had said that they had enough weapons to share.

I just hoped I hadn’t gotten rusty. I hadn’t touched a gun since I’d left the army. It wasn’t a phobia, and I hadn’t experienced any PTSD issues when I’d been around gunshots, but until last month, I hadn’t really felt like doing anything, let alone going to the practice range. Cain hadn’t seemed worried when I’d told him how long it’d been since I’d gone shooting, so I was trusting his judgment, but I was still worried I’d fuck up and cause someone to get hurt. Cain, his guys…Aline.

Just thinking her name brought my attention back to her.

I’d been in Iraq and not Iran, but I’d been close enough to the border to hear stories that didn’t make it into national news. Kidnappings for ransom or for threats was far too common in a lot of places around the world.

I understood military contractors being taken. I didn’t like it, and I thought the bastards who kidnapped people should be held accountable, but there was a huge difference between the sorts of civilians who were armed and getting into areas of conflict and relief workers. Doctors and nurses. Teachers like Aline. Construction workers. Electricians. There were a lot of good people from all over who wanted to help those in need, no matter where they lived.

The one good thing I could say about this situation was that the people who’d taken Aline were interested in money, not making a political statement. Well, actually, two good things. The first was that they wanted money, but the second was that her parents had it to give.

Freedom had told Cain that her parents were working with an agency that handled ransom drops in the Middle East, but she hadn’t trusted that the kidnappers would actually go through with the exchange, so she’d hired us. If we found Aline before the drop-off on Thursday, she’d call off the other team. If we hadn’t found Aline by noon on Thursday, we were supposed to go to the drop-off point and make sure nothing went sideways. If the exchange went smoothly, we were supposed to follow the kidnappers back to their base, get the information, and give it to the authorities. If it didn’t go smoothly…well, that was why Freedom had hired people with guns who weren’t afraid to use them.

We’d get Aline back, one way or another.

I refused to let myself consider any other possible outcome. I didn’t care what I had to do. I wouldnotsee another family destroyed because I’d failed.

With that thought in my mind, I started the video again, this time with the sound off. I could’ve recited her speech word for word, but that wasn’t what I needed to focus on right now. I wasn’t listening for clues this time. I was looking for them.

Specifically, I was looking at the shadows. I wanted to see if anyone was moving closer or farther away at specific points in Aline’s speech. They’d given her something to read, but if she’d added or changed something, one of her captors might’ve moved in some way to threaten her. If she’d changed a word, it might’ve been on purpose and could be a clue. If she hadn’t, then we might be able to use the speech to search for other ransom videos that may have still been floating around the internet somehow. The more videos we could locate online, the better the chances that we might find something.

Without the audio going, I could hear more of Cain’s side of the conversation, and it sounded like Freedom was giving in. That was good. I had a feeling that Cain’s concentration might be a little fucked up if he thought that Freedom was in danger. I also had a feeling that was part of the reason they’d been arguing, because she was offended that he didn’t think she could keep herself safe.

Normally, I would’ve called him out for being an overprotective ass, but considering what’d happened to her sister, Freedom definitely needed to get out of the country. The last thing we needed to happen was for her to get snatched while we were rescuing her sister.

A shadow moved, and I stopped the video, backed it up, and found the part in the speech where the movement occurred. I watched it a few more times and decided that the person had moved away from Aline, not toward her, so I started the video again.

I could feel a headache coming on, but I didn’t plan to stop. I’d sleep on the flight out.

Maybe.

If I thought I’d done enough.

If this mission failed, I refused to let it be because I’d slacked off.

Twenty-Five

Aline

I didn’t knowwhen I’d fallen asleep, only that I must have at some point because the cell door banging open was what startled me awake. The light from outside the room streamed in, blinding me so that all I could see were two dark silhouettes. One stayed in the doorway, I assumed to keep us from making a run for it, but the other came inside with long, purposeful strides that took him to where Gia cowered in only a few short seconds.

He grabbed her matted curls and yanked her to her feet. She let out a pained cry, and he just laughed. I hadn’t heard any of the guards laugh like that and realized that I hadn’t seen this man before. He started shouting at her in what I recognized as Persian. I couldn’t make out most of what he was saying, but I caught enough of the curses to know that he wasn’t happy with her. Judging by the way he was gesturing, I thought he might be angry that her headscarf had disappeared.

Another man came into the room, and the first shoved Gia at him. She stumbled, nearly falling, but the guard managed to catch her. I wasn’t sure it was a good thing, though, because something in the way these men were behaving made me think that it’d be better to have bruised knees or scraped hands from a fall than to be caught up in their arms.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh turned my attention away from Gia and over to where the Persian-speaking man was looming over Hammond, his hand raised. Hammond had turned himself so that the second blow – a fist this time – landed on his shoulder. The doctor wasn’t a big man, but the soldier was, and Hammond’s entire body rocked with the force of the punch. A kick came next, the toe of the soldier’s boot connecting with Hammond’s thigh. Another kick landed on his hip. A punch to the back of his head caught his fingers between his own skull and the man’s knuckles.

Movement out of the corner of my eye had me turning my head. Dana leaned forward, tensed, and for a moment, I didn’t realize what she was going to do. Then she was moving, and it was too late for me to try to stop her. She launched herself at the kidnapper, scratching and hitting.

“Leave him alone, you fucking bastard!” she screamed as he rocked back, surprise on his face. “He’s not doing anything!”

The soldier recovered quickly, his hand shooting out to grab Dana’s wrist to stop her from digging her nails into his face. He squeezed, and she gritted her teeth, their eyes locked on each other.

“Dana, it’s okay,” Hammond said as he struggled to his feet. “Please, leave her alone.”

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