“The army has found the camp.”
“And?” I step forward.
“I believe they’re going through all American soldiers they’ve found, and I’ll be informed the moment Shay is found and, on her way, back to the states. Her injuries will determine whether she can travel back straight away, but we’ll know more in the next few hours.”
“I don’t understand. Surely I’m not the only one in this room that finds this ridiculous. No one knew where Shay was, she was pronounced M.I.A. All searches were called off. Yet, the minute we make a fuss, she’s found. I tell you something right now, this isn’t over, not by a long shot. I will be investigating this further. Something isn’t right.”
“I don’t know what you expect to find out, Clay, but I know I’ll be wasting my breath trying to talk you out of investigating. Just remember, I hold the power here in Chicago.”
“So you keep telling me, but that doesn’t mean shit to me when innocent people are being screwed over.”
I turn and leave the office because I can feel my blood boiling. I don’t think I will stop being so angry until I see Shay with my own two eyes, but then I’ll probably end up murderous when I see the state of her beautiful body.
“Clay.” Caleb runs up behind me and I stop in the middle of a corridor. “Let’s get Shay back on home soil and I will help you look into every avenue about this whole mess. I promise.”
“I just have this gut feeling that something is off, Caleb.”
“We’ll figure it all out, we always do. What do you say we get out of here, grab a bite to eat, and wait for word?”
I nod.
Caleb and Chris walk on either side of me. No one would be able to pass us in the corridor because the width of us is like a wall. A wall I wouldn’t like to run into. But these two guys are the only thing keeping me from flying off the handle.
Chapter 13
The Boss
“Yes, sweetheart, book whatever vacation you want. No expense spared. Okay. Speak later.”
I hang up the phone on my desk and sit back. This office is the bane of my life. I’d like to say it keeps my family in the lifestyle they so desire, but it doesn’t. My wife could never know what I do. Her goody two shoes attitude would hand me over quicker than I can say, “I love you.”
The life I lead, the jobs I do, it’s all for my family. Nothing is ever about me. I’d die for the ones I love.
A knock sounds on my door and it opens.
“Boss. We have a problem,” says Landon, the moment he enters my office.
“Have a seat.” I sit forward, leaning my elbows on the desk, bracing myself for what’s to come.
“I got a call from base.”
“And?”
“And a soldier that is all over the news is in the camp.”
I bite the inside of my lip and stand up. I walk over to the crystal decanter and pour myself a stiff drink.
“What do you mean, she’s in the camp?”
“Medical wing. She’s been helping out there, but there was a mishap and they’ve had to lock her up.”
“How did this happen?” I bark.
“I don’t know. They were picked up around the area several months ago from what I’m led to believe.”
“They?”
“There were two of them. I don’t know all the details, but we need to do something before shit hits the fan and we’re buried knee deep.”
I throw back the amber liquid and curse everything that’s holy. We’ve been doing this job for too long to be caught now. Especially over a nobody. A medic.
“What do we do?” asks Landon.
“We sort it. I’ll fly out to Iraq myself.”
I bang down the glass. I’m not about to let this operation go south now. We’ve built up so much over the years; the lost income isn’t worth thinking about. I’d be tossed back with a working-class label.
I need to sort out this mess.
Chapter 14
One day earlier
Shay
I don’t know how long I’ve been in this cold, dark, dingy room. My body is weak, my mind is debilitated, and my body is frail. I’m praying that there’s a god above that will just put me out of my misery once and for all. Animals get treated better than this.
“I love you, Clay.” Tears roll down my cheeks and I attempt to wipe them away.
I just hope he knows how much I love him. I’ve never had the chance to say it out loud to him, but I hope my actions shouted it louder than my words ever could. I heard him on the phone - before I was tossed in here - tell me he loved me. It isn’t the way I was supposed to hear those words. I was supposed to say them first. I was supposed to say them when we were both ready. But, knowing that Clay still loves me, even after all this time, it keeps my heart beating and my determined mind working.
When you’ve got so much time on your hands, you think all kinds of crazy shit. I’ve been imagining myself stuck on some remote island, soaking up the sun, sipping on cocktails. It beats being stuck in this room on my own. And, because I’m dehydrated anyway, it’s easy to slip off into a dreamworld. A dreamworld is better than living in hell.
I hear the lock on the door click open. Usually the door opens enough for someone to push a tray of food or water into me, but this time it bangs off the wall and light floods in. I cover my eyes to stop the burning, which in turn just makes my head hurt more. I’ve become accustomed to the dark; my body isn’t used to anything else. I’m dehydrated because I don’t dare drink what they give me, because I don’t trust them not to drug me or worse. It isn’t making my condition any better, but I’d rather die from my own stupidity as opposed to their neglect and abuse.
“Get up!” drawls a deep accent.
I’m dragged to my feet, but my leg gives out and I end up on my knees. I cry with the pain radiating up my leg. I just want it to stop. I want it all to end. I can’t take much more.
I’m hauled up a second time, this time with two arms, one person at each side of me. I’m dragged away like a prisoner. Like a nobody. Like a piece of garbage tossed into the trash. This is what has become of my life.
“Shay!” someone yells from behind me.
“You can’t help her now, Doc.”
The voice must belong to Keir, but I’m not fully with it to be a hundred percent sure. I don’t know anything anymore, and that’s the worst part, because I’m a control freak. I like to know what’s happening, when and where. Being stuck, oblivious to everything around me is torture. The only thing that kept me strong in the army was the people. It didn’t matter what mission we went on, the people were always the same, minus anyone we lost in the previous mission.
I’m dragged through corridors; corridors I don’t think I’ve been in before. It isn’t until I feel a cold draft surrounding me that I lift my head to look around. I’m outside. I sigh with relief, I think. I never thought I’d see daylight again, never mind feel fresh air on my skin. It’s amazing the things you miss when privileges are taken away from you. It’s bewildering what we take for granted.
“Get in!”
I’m pushed into the back of an open army Jeep. I’m literally flung in like a waste sack. My body cries out with pain and exhaustion. I don’t even have the energy to move myself into a comfortable position; I just lie there like a broken toy. Someone climbs in behind me and keeps watch over my every move. They’re not as stupid as they look, not that I’d have the energy to escape and get far, they’ve made sure of that. I feel worse now than when I originally arrived here, and I can’t hide it.