Page 23 of Call Sign: Thunder
"I'm expected. Allison Benson…"
"She's gone, sir." Was that regret in her eyes?
"Gone? What do you mean, gone? Did they take her somewhere for more tests?"
"No, sir. Her father… well the senator was upset and he couldn't wait to get his daughter moved to a hospital back in Virginia closer to her home."
Fuck. He never should have trusted that bastard. After all he did for the asshole's daughter and this was how he repaid Zach.
"How long ago did they leave?" He'd started to move toward the entrance, hoping to catch them before their plane took off.
She called after him. "They left last night. Not long after you went home."
He stopped in his tracks, pressure compressing his chest. Anger, regret and what? Sadness. Until that moment he hadn't realized how important it was to him to say goodbye to Allie.
He wasn't foolish enough to think they'd be staying in touch with each other, but he'd been so proud that he'd saved her. Even more, he'd loved how she made him feel important. A protector.Herprotector. He'd liked that job and was sad that it had come to an abrupt end.
He didn't answer the nurse. There was nothing to say. He stalked out into the morning sunlight, stopping a few feet outside of the building to lean down, hands on his knees, gasping for cleansing breaths in hopes of fighting back the foreign emotions raging through him at finding Allie gone.
The receptionist followed him outside, making him jump when she held an envelope out to him, sliding it into his line of sight as he glared at the ground. It hadCaptain Garrettscrawled in close to illegible writing on the front. This letter was not from Allie.
He managed a soft, "thank you," as he snapped the envelope out of her hand. The receptionist retreated quickly, probably wanting to get as far away from him as she could before he opened her delivery.
He needed to sit. Zach walked several yards to a small seating area under a gazebo that doubled as a bus stop, plopping down and staring at the envelope for several long minutes, suspecting he wasn't going to like what was inside and finally ripping it open.
Captain Garrett,
I know I am not your favorite person right now. Worse, I'm certain Allison is going to be angry when she wakes up on the plane and realizes I didn't let you two say goodbye.
For what it's worth, I'm not exactly proud of myself right now either, but I am doing what I feel is right to protect my baby girl.
Despite my current actions, I will be forever grateful to you for all you have done to help my daughter. Your bravery in the face of the danger you faced in Colombia was remarkable and I will thank God every day for the rest of my life that he put you where you needed to be to save my little girl. I lost her mother five years ago. Allison is the only family I have left.
I know my daughter. She understandably has developed strong feelings for you, her hero. She is too young and inexperienced to recognize these feelings for what they are, hero worship that will pass when the rush of danger passes. I wish to save her the heartache of a broken heart when she learns you don't return her fleeting feelings. I also want to remove anything that will remind her of her horrific kidnapping.
You are a smart man. I'm certain when your anger passes, you will see this is what is best for both of you. You can move on with your life knowing that I will be taking care of Allison.
With deep gratitude for your service to my family,
Walter Benson
Long minutes passed as Zach turned over the contents of the letter in his head. Anger flared that her father had basically done to his daughter what the criminals had done—drugged her to steal her away in the dark of night. Granted, this time she wasn't in danger of being raped or worse, but the end result would still hurt her.
Allie would have been upset when she awoke. Did she know this hadn't been Zach's plan, or had she accepted her departure quietly, believing her father when he'd surely told her that Zach agreed with the plan?
For about thirty seconds he contemplated requesting a leave so he could go after her, but then reality closed in, reminding him he was being an emotional pussy about the whole situation. He'd done his job and he was proud he'd been able to save her and that had to be enough.
As he stood and walked to the jeep, he took comfort in knowing that no matter where they were in the world, even if they never saw each other again for the rest of their lives, he and Allie would be forever connected—linked by the fucked up events of one night in a country far away.
Time to let life get back to normal.
Chapter Eleven
ZACH
Four Months Later
"All right, I guess that's enough for today. I'll cut you loose, since none of you are paying any attention anyway."
