by Dale Mayer
It took a few moments to realize she was hugging him back just as hard, and that her body was shaking in reaction.
“God, I’m so sorry.” She leaned back to look at him, her hands reaching to cup his face. “I just slipped out the back of the tent to avoid the crush with all the men cheering and shouting.”
“I don’t blame you for trying to get away, but you can’t be anywhere alone. And the sooner I get you back stateside the better,” he growled, worry threading through his voice. He slowly let her back down on her feet. “Don’t do that again.”
Cheeky as ever, she grinned up at him and said, “Don’t what? Don’t go missing? Don’t make you worry? Or don’t–”
“Bolt–”
“Return your hug…”
He glared at her. She smiled at him and slid her arm through his to cuddle closer. “Thank you for rescuing me again.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the truck. The crowds around them separated to let them through.
He glanced over and caught the look in Hawk’s eyes. That surprise and knowing mixed up with a big dose of humor in his friends gaze made Cooper realize how this exchange must have looked to anyone watching. He shook his head at Hawk as if to say, it was nothing.
Hawk’s grin widened.
Not wanting Sasha to see their exchange he led her to the SUVs where David and Theresa cried out and ran to her. He waited patiently as they talked and hugged, then separated them. “Let’s go. We need to get you out of here before something else happens,” he muttered.
She gasped as she was forced to the other SUV. “You’re not saying I’m to blame for everything, are you?”
“No, not everything. But too damn much of it, yes.” He glared at her. “I want you safe.”
That urchin’s grin popped up. Damn he was getting foolish. All he wanted to do was repeat his actions so he could see it again.
“Get in, Doc.”
She frowned and opened her mouth.
“Don’t do it,” he growled, fed up and frustrated that he couldn’t whisk her away some place safe, strip her naked and make mad passionate love to her. That it was not going to happen – likely ever – just added to his pain.
Her frown deepened. She opened her mouth to blast him and this time he placed his finger against her lips and shook his head. “Don’t do it.”
She growled deep in the back of her throat.
And then did something that sent his blood quaking in his boots.
She bit his finger.
He pulled his hand away, swearing.
She grinned up at him unrepentantly. “That’s what you get for trying to shut me up.”
“Like anything would do that,” he scoffed.
She laughed then leaned forward, and the look in her eyes had him thinking about that whole plan to get her naked again. And there was nothing he could do to control his train wreck of thoughts. And then she made it ten times worse.
“There’s one thing that would work,” she whispered.
He narrowed his gaze, knowing he was in quicksand and unable to ask for a handout.
“What?” Barely able to breathe, even less able to believe she was being as teasingly playful as she was, he hoped for one answer. The one he wanted so desperately to hear…
“A kiss.”
Bingo.
Chapter 11
Sasha curled up in the far corner of the SUV and closed her eyes. She didn’t understand the lighthearted exchange of the last few moments, but she understood one thing – it wasn’t normal behavior for her.
So she was either more disturbed by this last attack than she thought, or she’d finally gotten over the breakup of her marriage.
Because there was no way to call that exchange anything other than flirting.
Something she couldn’t ever remember having done before. But it was fun. Outrageous – then so were her circumstances. She’d come to Turkey to get away from all the drama and heavy emotions, and instead she ended up in danger in a world of violence. That’s not what she wanted either.
So what did she want?
She stole a look at Cooper’s thunderous face and smirked. He’d be a great place to start.
But not here or now. Home first. And didn’t that have a delicious sound to it. She closed her eyes and let herself daydream.
The miles passing had a hypnotic motion, and it wasn’t long before Sasha closed her eyes and leaned her head back. This would be over soon. Surely?
A full stomach, warm and safe with the nightmare several hours behind her she’d relaxed enough to be comfortable and sleepy again.
“How much longer?” She twisted to look at Cooper.
“Not much. Maybe twenty minutes.”
She nodded and leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Maybe I’ll nap then.”
The vehicle slowed.
“Cooper.” Swede’s sharp voice had everyone leaning forward. Markus had his weapon out.
Sasha slid down on the seat, her hand to her throat. Dear God, now what?
The vehicle slowed to a stop. Evan was studying the traffic behind them.
“Everyone down,” Cooper snapped. He had the door open and his gun out. Markus was at his side.
Theresa reached over and grasped Sasha’s hand. “Now what?”
Sasha winced. “I have no idea.”
“I don’t want to leave the vehicle…” Theresa took a deep breath. “And I really don’t want to venture out there.” In the horizon red hues promised a storm in the making. But the sun was up, just sending off a weird light. In front of the SUV’s she could see several damaged vehicles on the side of the road.
“It’s an accident,” she cried. “Oh no. Is anyone hurt?”
She glanced to the other SUV parked on the road. “David is there already.”
That was good enough for her. Sasha bolted out of the vehicle, realized Markus had been standing behind the vehicle watching over them.
“Don’t leave here, ladies,” Markus warned. “There are a lot of people over there.”
“But they might need our help too,” Sasha said, studying the accident. “This isn’t likely to be a trap, is it?” she murmured in a low voice as they approached the accident scene. In the distance sirens ripped through the air. So there was help coming.
“Not likely but we’ve seen all kinds of decoys.”
“Maybe,” she said doubtfully. “I doubt at this point. We’ve already been rescued. And none of us are so important that they’d continue to come after us.”
She felt his sharp look but didn’t have a clue what was behind it. He was a nice man. Quiet, dark. Easy to tease. She hadn’t had time to get to know many of the men, she’d only been with them for a few hours, but they were all the same – dependable and dangerous as hell.
She thanked the Lord that they were on her side. She didn’t ever want to see the terrorists again.
She glanced around at the dozen vehicles stopped on the road. There was hardly access for the ambulance to get in. David was working on one young man. “David?”
He looked up at her and smiled. “It’s all good. No critical or life threatening injuries.”
He straightened and glanced at her as the sirens grew louder. “Looks like the authorities are here.”
“That’s our cue to leave,” Markus said at her side.
Cooper walked toward her and motioned back at the SUV. “Back you go. Time to get moving.”
She turned obediently now that she knew she wasn’t needed. “Are we on a deadline?” she asked Cooper.
“We are.” He glanced at the sky. “In fact, we’re late.”
Now awake and alert after the stop, the miles flew by.
Theresa asked abruptly, “Are you going to go back to the refugee camp?”
Sasha shook her head. “I’d considered renewing my contract but hadn’t made a decision. This just made up my mind.”
“It does that, doesn’t it?” Theresa stared out the window. �
�I’m not sure what I want to do. I want to go home but don’t really know where to go.”
“I told you before you’re always welcome to stay with me until you decide. I have an empty house.”
“Thanks.” Theresa smiled at her. “There’s a part of me that feels I should go back to the camp. There’s no doubt they need us, but…” Her voice caught in her throat. “I just can’t.”
“I know. I almost feel like I’ve pushed my luck,” Sasha admitted quietly. “I don’t know how I’ll feel as time goes on.” But she did know. She wanted to go home. She’d left for a reason, and it no longer applied.
She could go home again.
She needed to go home again.
She’d been running for long enough.
*
Cooper leaned forward as Swede turned the vehicle into a large military compound. After a formal exchange at a guarded gate they were allowed to enter. Sasha straightened. “Are these our allies?” she whispered to him from behind.
“This is one of Turkey’s military bases.” He nodded. “They were part of the team that tracked you down. A group is even now turning the camp upside down to find Jamel.”
She leaned back and released a heavy breath. “They have my thanks.”
They were escorted to a series of buildings that wound through to a large office. There, courtesies were exchanged and two men turned to study the three visitors.
“Do any of you need medical attention?”
They all shook their heads.
The boss nodded. “We have flights arranged to take you home soon.”
Sasha smiled, and asked, “When.”
The commander looked at his watch. “You’ll be leaving in just under six hours.” He looked at the three of them. “Before then, I’m sure you understand we have questions.”
Cooper watched the relief on her face. She’d been through an ordeal and until it was over, she wasn’t going to relax. Hell, neither was he.
The group was escorted into a waiting room and offered refreshments. One at a time they were led back into the office where they were asked for a full accounting. Sasha did her best. But outside of being forcibly taken to the gang’s side, it had been a routine day. “Did anyone know who you were then?”
She shook her head. “Not really. But they were waiting for me when I got back.” Then the questions centered on the driver.
Cooper stood guard as they each went in and out of the interviews. Mason who was speaking with members of the Turkish military at the other end of the room. After several nods and few a short questions and responses, Mason joined him.
“We’re escorting them stateside.”
“Good.” Cooper didn’t want Sasha to go home without him.
Only it didn’t happen that way or that easily. The questioning took longer than expected. Apparently Theresa had seen several men skulking around the camp. At the time she hadn’t thought anything of it, but under the intensive debriefing she’d known more than she realized. Cooper had seen it happen time and time again.
When the questioning was done, or at least the doctors were done, he was called in. He gave his accounting in a short terse few sentences. There wasn’t much to add. No, he hadn’t seen more than four at the shack and they’d seen three onboard. One man had gone overboard apparently but no he hadn’t seen him or known if the man had survived. Same in regards to the driver. The medical team said he’d been there but unmoving, but he hadn’t seen a body when the shack was trashed. No, he hadn’t torched the place. He’d figured the kidnappers might have done so to clean up their tracks.
As it went on and on, he realized they were looking for something specific. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Are you missing men?”
“We’re missing several that were hired for security at the camp. They are unaccounted for at this time. We are looking for a connection.”
“You think they were a part of this?” He frowned, hating the sound of that but realizing it had to be checked out. “Did you question the doctors about these men?”
The men on the other side of the table shook their heads. “We’re investigating it now.”
“Possibly they’ve been kidnapped themselves.” Cooper frowned. “My government needs to be informed.”
The Turkish commander nodded his head. “You’ll know when we know.”
Then the questioning turned to the remaining personnel, the medical teams at the camp. Security had been beefed up, but that still couldn’t guarantee the safety of anyone at this point. Cooper knew that. There were no guarantees in life and certainly not in war. There was a discussion on the nationalities of the volunteers at the camp.
He walked out of the room disturbed at the idea of the refugee camp having American citizens potentially involved in the kidnapping. The concept had been bantered about.
He sat down beside Sasha and tried to marshal his thoughts. He didn’t want the traitors to be Americans or be seen posing as Americans. In fact, he wanted nothing by deed or rumor to taint the American name. He was proud of his country. He defended it with his life. And the thought that an American might be a traitor was more than he wanted to contemplate.
“Problems?” Sasha asked.
He shook his head then twisted so he could see her face. “Did you get to know any other Americans at the camp?”
She frowned slightly. “Good question. There were definitely a number of them. Some working as volunteers in the medical world, but there were many others as well.”
“Any come to mind?”
She nodded. “The other driver. He was one. Young, carrot top, and he always had a bright smile. He was from Turkey originally, but his family moved to the US when he was twelve.” She remembered, her smile widening. “He knew some people here so when they were looking for help, he signed up.”
“He’s a volunteer?”
“His was a paid position I think. But not much. He always made a few extra bucks giving rides in the camp. He wasn’t supposed to, and he’d been told off a few times but…” She shrugged. “Commerce in a place like that happened.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it or condone it.”
“No, but it would be almost impossible to stop.”
He nodded but stayed quiet. What could he say? Just then a soldier arrived to lead them out of the room, out of the building and toward the waiting plane.
Soon Sasha would be safe at home.
Then she could put this behind her and move on.
Now he had to find a way to stay in touch with her.
Before she got so deep back in her life, she forgot he existed.
Chapter 12
How life had changed. And not necessarily in a good way.
What she needed was something to do. A way to move forward.
But now, seven days after returning home, she still felt paralyzed. Incapable of doing anything. She hadn’t returned to her clinic – technically she had another week off. She’d told her story to so many people she was starting to hate the sound of her voice. At least Ron was alive and slowly healing, but she hadn’t been allowed in to see him yet.
What did she want to do from here? She stared out the window of her mother’s kitchen. It was nice to visit family now. Something she treasured after her kidnapping.
“You could just have a vacation you know?”
Sasha turned to look at her mother. “I am,” she said with a smile. “I’m here with you.”
“And planning to leave the minute you got here.” Her mother’s tone was rueful. “You can’t seem to settle down.”
Sasha winced. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m still not sleeping at night and although I’ve recovered physically, it doesn’t feel like I’ve made any great strides emotionally.”
“Do you have to go back to the base?”
Sasha nodded. “I still have to do one more QA session and have a mental health checkup then I should be done with it all.” She also wanted to go back to the base – maybe she could reconne
ct with Cooper. She hadn’t seen him since she’d gotten home. It never occurred to her that she wouldn’t. Why hadn’t he called?
“I don’t think you’ll ever be done with it,” her mother said. The words were delivered in an even tone, but there was something odd tucked inside. Sasha had heard something similar from her earlier but now wondered if what she was hearing was correct.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
Her mother lifted her head from the pattern on the table and studied her features carefully. “Are you?” she asked. “I don’t want to say the wrong thing and send you off to the other end of the world again, but you’ve been off since…” Her voice faltered.
“Since Greg?” She groaned. “I know. But can anyone go through that experience and not be affected?” She lifted her shoulders. “I think that’s partly why I’m having trouble settling now. Last homecoming It had been to find Greg and Maureen together.”
“And now without a husband to come home to and no longer having the same best friend who you did everything with, trying to fill your days…”
“And nights…” Sasha filled in wryly. “Yeah, it’s like my life is empty.”
“And yet it’s not.”
“No, it’s not, but it feels like a void has been created and I have done nothing to fill it.”
“And do you still feel like someone is watching you?” her mother asked abruptly, her worried gaze studying Sasha.
“I forgot I said that to you.” Sasha smiled at her mother and lied easily. “It was only in the first day or so. I think it was the fear that I’d be kidnapped again.”
“With good reason.” Her mother took a deep breath and words poured out. “I know you feel you need to help others and that’s very admirable, but could you please stay on US soil? I don’t think I could handle it if you went overseas again.” Tears shone in the corner of her mother’s eyes.
Sasha reached out to hold her mother’s hands. “I’m so sorry. It was never you I was trying to get away from.”
“I know, sweetheart, but as a mother we want to heal all our children’s hurts. And when we can’t, we sit by and watch helplessly as you make decisions that have a huge impact on us too.”
