Page 31 of Shadow Break

“Yeah. I guess.”

“I would rather distract you from it, but it’s important that we get as much information recorded as we can while it’s still fresh in your mind.”

She let out a cynical huff of breath. “Fresh in my mind. It’s more than fresh. I find it hard to believe I’ll ever forget one detail.”

“These events have a tendency to transform as your mind tries to make sense of things. The trauma can change details to fit better in your mind to help you make sense of what happened. And it will fade eventually. You’ve been through enough trauma in your life to know that.”

“That is strangely reassuring. Is that crazy?”

“Nothing about dealing with trauma is crazy. Now, let’s start with when we exited the building.”

“Okay. You went to check the perimeter.” Aaron hid his flinch as best he could. Sydney didn’t seem to notice. “I — because I didn’t think there was anything to worry about, and I was getting cold, I decided I’d just head home and wait for you there. See, it wasn’t your fault. If I had waited — ”

“Don’t let me off the hook.”

“But you were doing your job. You were checking the perimeter. I was the one who left.”

“But if I had done my job properly, I wouldn’t have let you get that far. I took my focus off you and I shouldn’t have. What happened next?”

“As I approached the street, I heard the van pull up beside me, then the men got out. They were wearing masks and had guns. I didn’t even try to run.”

“That’s normal.”

“Is it?”

“Sure. It would have been the last thing you expected. It’s not unusual to freeze in those types of situations.”

“You wouldn’t have frozen.”

“No, I wouldn’t have. But I’m trained to deal with highly stressful situations. What happened next?”

“They grabbed me and pulled me into the van. Oh, and they’re Russian.”

“Yeah. I got that much.”

“They said something about a rendezvous point. I think.”

“You think?” He jotted some notes in his notebook.

“They were speaking Russian. I’m not very fluent.”

He stopped writing and looked up at her. “But you speak some Russian?”

“Only a little. I’ve always been good with languages.”

“That’s good. That might help. Do you remember hearing anything that sounded like a name?”

“No. I mean, they said some stuff I didn’t understand. There could have been a name in there, but I don’t know.” She took a moment to steady her breathing. “I was — I’m sorry, I was really scared. They said something about taking my hand.”

“Taking it? Are you sure you heard that right?”

“Yes.”

“You mean … what, like a handshake?”

She shook her head. “No. Like literally taking my hand. My research is protected by a fingerprint lock.”

“Oh. Is there no other security on your work?”

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