TRAITOR: A Military Romance Novel (Military Men Book 3)

by Leila Haven

  Try to cut the rope around my wrists.

  Drop the knife.

  I wasn’t going to give him another chance to kill me. My life depended on me freeing myself so I could get out of wherever he was holding me.

  The thought of the whole bid for freedom being a game to him sprung to mind. He could be on the other side of the door with the rest of his terrorist friends, just waiting for me to walk to my death.

  But I couldn’t think about that. I had to believe I was going to get out of there alive or I wasn’t going to be able to do anything at all.

  The image of Jenny pushed aside all the horrible thoughts. Even if I could just spend one more night with her, it would make my difficulties seem worth it. She was going to be directly in the traitor’s spotlight and I couldn’t let him hurt her.

  Hopefully I wasn’t too late.

  I had to get to Jenny and warn her about the man. She had to know how dangerous he was and help me search for him. I would be able to recognize his voice if I heard it again, I’d locked it into my memory so I could use it later.

  I would get him.

  He would not be able to hurt Jenny or any other of my comrades. We were together in this war and he was against us.

  Traitors deserved to die.

  Plus, that fucker had framed me. Out of the hundreds of soldiers on the base, why had I stood out above them? Why did they hone in on me and decide that I was the one that would take the fall for him?

  I didn’t want to think of that right now. The reason why I had been targeted specifically might not be an answer I wanted to hear.

  The rope loosened around my wrists. Finally, I had cut through. The moment my hands were free, I pulled the bloody hood from my head.

  There were shelves around me, each piled high with supplies – uniforms, towels, bedding, toiletries. They were all neatly lined up in the orderly way of the military.

  I was still on base.

  In a fucking supply closet.

  My attention went to the rope biding my ankles as I cut them free. Now that I was able to use both my hands, and see what I was doing, it only took seconds.

  Everything tingled in my limbs as I used the shelves to help me stand up. I’d been in that one position for God only knew how long and my blood was now returning all feeling.

  Half of me expected the door to be locked, but it wasn’t. My kidnapper had just merged back into the crowd of soldiers and nobody was any the wiser of his illegal acts.

  It felt like I should be emerging into a different world after being in the supply closet for so long. But nothing else had changed for my comrades. They’d all gone on their missions today, worked hard in the heat, and were now itching to get some food in their bellies.

  No matter how I tried to blend in, it felt like I was doing everything to stand out. My legs were stiff and wooden, my fingers felt dirty and were bloodied from working with the knife. Nothing about it felt real or normal.

  Rafter was the first face I recognized in the sea of men. He was heading straight for me and I sagged with relief. I would report everything that happened to me. I would outline everything the traitor had said to me and then they would all realize that I wasn’t the one they were looking for.

  They would have to believe me then.

  I would take them to the supply room and show them the ropes I had left on the floor. They would see the knife I used to cut myself free. And I would tell them about the voice I had heard.

  Finally, I would be able to clear my name.

  “Private Simon,” Rafter started as soon as he reached me. I couldn’t wait to have my story told so he could start to search for the man.

  “Yes, sir. I have to explain—”

  “You are under arrest for treason against the U.S. Military and gross acts of terrorism. You have the right to remain silent, anything…”

  I stopped listening as I shook my head and tried to get my thoughts in order. Surely he wasn’t saying what I thought he was saying?

  I was under arrest?

  They got the wrong person. As soon as I explained to them what happened, they would realize their mistake and we’d all laugh about it one day. ‘Remember the time when you thought I was a terrorist?’ Then we’d have another beer and thank God we caught the real bastard.

  “You’ve made a mistake. It wasn’t me, I can explain everything,” I said when Rafter had got to the end of his spiel. “You just have to listen to what I have to say.”

  “If you want my advice, private, keep your mouth shut.” Rafter grabbed me on the arm and started steering me toward the few cells we kept on the base. I didn’t want to go with him but I also didn’t want to have the discussion in the middle of the corridor, either. The actual terrorist could easily have been listening.

  It felt like a very long walk to the prisoner cells. We must have passed every single soldier on base as they gawked at us. Everyone thought I was guilty anyway so they couldn’t say it was an unexpected turn of events.

  Of course, the one person I did want to see wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Is Officer Ramirez okay?” I asked just as we reached the cells.

  Rafter pushed me into one and pulled shut the bars so I couldn’t escape. “She’s in with the major. I’m sure she’ll be paying you a visit soon. Remember my advice about keeping your mouth shut. You’ll be doing yourself a favor.”

  He slammed the door to the cells on his way out and it echoed ominously around me. I was the only one being held prisoner. The fact that it was in my own base was just depressing.

  How had my comrades, the men I fought alongside every day, really think I was capable of sentencing them all to death?

  I guessed it was redundant to think they just didn’t like me in the first place. Perhaps that was why the real traitor had chosen me as the mark. Pick someone that didn’t have any friends, someone who would have nobody to stand up for him.

  I wanted to scream with frustration. I knew Rafter had told me to keep my mouth shut but that was the last thing I wanted to do. I want to yell my story from the fucking rooftops.

  There was nothing but a bucket and a bench in the small cell. I sat on the bench and hoped I would be out of there before I needed to use the bucket. The worst cells back home were better than the best cells over here.

  Time slowed for the second time that day. Hours could have been minutes and days could have been hours. I sat there, trying to find the most succinct way to tell them of their mistake. They wouldn’t listen to me if I started ranting and raving. I would have to remain calm so I could get it all out and capture their attention until the very end.

  When the door finally did open, it was a relief.

  Officer Jenny Ramirez stood there.

  She had a mixture of disappointment and anger on her beautiful face. It was difficult imagining her in the throes of ecstasy now. She looked like a formidable foe when in work mode.

  “Jenny, you have to—“

  She cut me off with a single raising of her hand. “You are entitled to a lawyer being present. I think you should wait until we can organize that for you.”

  “No, I’m not going to be silent. I didn’t do anything, you have to believe me. If you’ll only listen to what I have to say, you’ll let me walk free from this cell.”

  “I can’t,” she said apologetically. I hated that this was mentally hurting her. “It’s my job to build a case against you. When you went missing today, and then everything happened at the marketplace, I didn’t want to believe it. But it’s my job and I have to do it.”

  And just then…

  My heart broke into a million little shards.

  Chapter 11:

  Officer Jennifer Ramirez

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  “I don’t care about a lawyer,” Shaun said. His was piercing me with his unblinking and unwavering eyes. Maybe if he kept it up, I could discreetly tell his lawyer to go for insanity.

  “You should.”

  “Will you just listen to me, please? I
don’t care if you have to record it, I don’t care what charges there are. All I care about is telling you everything. I need to do that, I’m not guilty. Please, Jenny.”

  It was that last please that got to me.

  Shaun was the man I was falling for. He was the stranger in the airport who had given me the most passionate moments of my life. He deserved a few minutes, at least.

  “I have to record this,” I warned, pulling out my cell phone. He nodded and I hit the record button. “This is an interview conducted in the base prison cell between Officer Jennifer Ramirez and Private Shaun Simon.”

  I settled the cell phone on the bars between us and nodded for Shaun to begin. He took a deep breath and told me a story I could hardly believe.

  It was my job to get to the truth and remain impartial. The greatest trait we were supposed to have was our independence, followed by an unwavering need for justice. Everything in the logical part of my brain told me that Shaun’s story was little more than a series of outrageous lies to cover for the immoral truths he wanted to keep a secret.

  That was how I would have concluded my case if I didn’t know Shaun better than I should have. I had been intimate with the man, I had seen him at his most vulnerable. The beating heart in my chest wouldn’t allow me to believe he could be responsible for the deaths of so many comrades and civilians alike.

  When he stopped talking, I had to force my emotions down to ask the questions I had to. “Is that everything?”

  “Yeah, that’s it,” Shaun said. He seemed tired and weary after getting out all the details. It was a look in his eyes that he couldn’t fake. At least I knew one thing for sure.

  “It’s a very convenient story,” I started, praying that he would understand that I had to do my job. “It explains your whereabouts today and why everyone is pointing their fingers at you. What evidence do you have to support it?”

  His eyes flashed with anger for a moment before he gained control of himself again. “Go to the supply closet, you’ll see the rope, hood, and knife there. I left it all after I cut myself free.”

  “I will do that. What other evidence do you have?”

  “Nothing. I have nothing,” he admitted. I wished there was something he could use to clear his name. Any little piece of evidence to prove his story. I couldn’t very well report to my superiors with just a feeling in my heart.

  “Think really hard,” I urged him, far stronger than I would have to any other prisoner. “Is there nothing else that backs up your story?”

  “It’s not a story. It’s the truth, Jenny. I swear it’s all true. Someone is framing me and he’s on the base walking around and beating his chest with the victory. Please believe me.”

  I picked up my cell phone and concluded the interview. There were so many things I wanted to say to Shaun but the security cameras would pick them up and then I would be taken off the case. If Shaun really was innocent, then he didn’t have a hope if I got sent home and another officer came in to finish what I started.

  “Sorry,” I mouthed to him before I turned away. I could feel the burning of his eyes on my back the whole way out.

  I headed straight for the supply closet he had indicated. Even though I’d only been on base for a few days, it was pretty easy to find my way around.

  The closet door was closed and it creaked when I opened it. I stepped inside as my gaze roamed over all the shelves and then the floor.

  There was nothing there.

  All the supplies were neatly stacked in the way only the military could accomplish. There was plenty of toilet paper but no knife, hood, or rope. Everything looked exactly as it should have.

  I had really wanted to find those items. I would have gladly gone back to Major Atoll and said we had the wrong man in custody. But without that evidence, what did I have?

  What choice did I have?

  If I explained why I thought he was innocent, we would both lose our jobs and face disciplinary actions. It wouldn’t prove his innocence, it would just guarantee a new officer would cover the case. I couldn’t do that. I had to protect our secret.

  By the time I reached Major Atoll’s office, I still hadn’t determined what I was going to say. His assistant waved me through and then I stood in front of the man responsible for the safety of all his men.

  “Good job this evening, Officer Ramirez,” he started. “Now we can get back to winning this war without the enemy always expecting us.”

  It was make or break time. “Sir, I don’t believe Private Simon is the person we are looking for.”

  “Everyone says it’s him.”

  “He could be being framed, to take suspicion away from the real traitor.”

  Major Atoll waved it away. “Officer, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. We have our man.”

  “But, I think—“

  “He’s guilty, Officer. Case closed. I will organize transport to take you both home to the U.S. where he will face the consequences of his crimes.”

  I needed a new tactic, my current one wasn’t working at all. “Sir, I need some more time to gather evidence. I’m not convinced the traitor is working alone. Think about it, could one man have been able to cover his tracks so well? I just need a few more days to be sure. Without strong evidence, he will never be convicted.”

  At least he didn’t interrupt me that time. He pursed his lips together while he considered it. My heart pounded in my chest while I waited. Once we left base, there would be no chance to help Shaun in any way.

  I continued on, trying to sway his mind a little further. “What about if we let him go? He could lead us straight to his accomplice or the Taliban. If he’s guilty, he probably knows about more Taliban strongholds than you do. Wouldn’t you like to take them down at the same time? Think how good that would be.”

  Major Atoll stared at me, his face unreadable. He might have seen through my bullshit or he might have been eating it all up. I didn’t know the man well enough to interpret his expression.

  Finally, he started nodding. “You have the rest of the week. If we don’t get results before then, you’re both on the next plane home. Simon will be placed under covert twenty-four-hour surveillance. He needs to believe he’s free so he makes a mistake. I hope you’re right, Ramirez. Otherwise we are making the biggest mistake of our careers.”

  “Yes, sir, I understand.”

  He flopped down onto his seat, deflated. I knew how he felt, it had been one of those days.

  A few days was all I had now. Every minute counted and the clock was already ticking down. There was a lot of work to do.

  But step one was to get Shaun out of his cell.

  Chapter 12:

  Private Simon

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  Relief.

  When Jenny came back and told me the charges were dropped, I felt nothing but relief. Maybe now they could catch the real traitor and throw his sorry ass in jail. Hell, they could hang him in the mess hall for all I cared.

  “Thank you,” I said to Jenny as she held the cell door open for me. If we were anywhere else, I would have kissed her. And that would have only been the beginning of what I wanted to do to her.

  “Don’t thank me,” she said quietly. “Just be careful.”

  She was acting weird, she had been ever since she returned. I wanted to ask her what was really going on but there were cameras everywhere in the cells. I didn’t want to give anyone a reason to question her.

  I swallowed down everything I wanted to say to her and left. They’d only had me locked up for a few hours but it already felt like weeks.

  One glance back at Jenny and I could tell there was something wrong. She was trying to smile but it was nothing like the one I knew she was capable of. All her sparkle had dulled and I feared it was me who had done that to her.

  My stomach growled, telling me I had to go by the mess hall, then do whatever else I needed to. I headed straight there and tried to ignore all the glares I wa
s getting along the way. Obviously news of my arrest had filtered freely through the ranks until the whole base knew about it.

  Nobody stood near me in the line for food. It was like I existed in a bubble and everyone else had to stay outside of it or they would be tainted with my stain. For the first time since joining the army, I felt separate from my comrades. They wouldn’t take a bullet for me now, they would use me as a shield to save themselves.

  It was going to take them a while to trust me again, but when they arrested the real traitor, it would go a long way toward repairing that relationship.