Jared sat across from them on the the sofa. Cash sat in the chair facing the room while Colby took one of the bar stools. Did they create the barrier around her on purpose or was it inherent to their training?
“Emme, what do you remember about your kidnapping?” Jared asked.
She took a deep breath and clenched the tissue in her hand. It was hard, walking them through the last few weeks, from the moment the gunmen barged into the clinic until the moment Titan rescued her. Describing the beatings was the worst and she had to stop more than once. They were patient with her, giving her the time to gather herself and keep going.
Jordan’s hand was warm in hers. Had she taken his or had he taken hers? It didn’t matter. She drew strength from his strong grip.
“Did you see anyone other than your captors?” Jared asked.
“No. Only Anuli. I didn’t even see the other two women that were taken.” She caught the look Jared gave Jordan. “Why?”
Jared leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands. “We thought you had been targeted because of your blog.”
“My blog?” No one read her blog. She barely got a dozen hits a day. “Why?”
“You talked about a lot of unpopular topics. Especially in that region of the world.”
“But you don’t think that now.”
“You were targeted, but not because of your blog.”
“Then why?”
“Did you apply or were you recruited by the NGO?”
“A little of both, I guess. One of the nurses or doctors at the hospital I was working at mentioned it, I think, and I looked into it. What does this have to do with why I was targeted?”
“Was the doctor Bennedict Wormwell?”
“It’s possible.” Silence stretched out for several seconds. “Can you please cut to the chase and tell me what this is about?”
Jordan let out a bark of laughter and smirked at Jared. “Glad to see it I’m not the only one bothered by your lack of words.”
Jared sat back in the couch. “You’re not the first doctor to be taken hostage for ransom in the region. Four other doctors in the last three years have been kidnapped. All four had a connection to Bennedict Wormwell.”
No, that wasn’t possible. “Bennedict might be a smarmy ass, but he couldn’t be involved in an international kidnap-for-ransom scheme.” She scoffed. “That stuff only happens in movies.”
“All the kidnappings happened in Western Africa. All the victims were pretty doctors or nurses. All employed in some capacity by Medical Relief United. All were recruited by Dr. Wormwell and all had some sort of relationship with him.”
She shook her head. “That has to be coincidence.” It couldn’t be possible. Right?
Jared never broke eye contact. “We traced the money to him, Emme.”
She stared at him while it sank in. “That mother fucker.”
Colby coughed into his hand and Jared cracked a grin.
Glad they found it amusing.
Jordan squeezed her hand. “What was your relationship with him?”
And things were awkward. “Uh.”
“I need to know, Emme.” Jared said. “I need to know how he’s getting close to his targets.”
“We had a brief fling.”
“How brief?” Jordan asked. There was an edge to his voice and his face tensed when she looked at him.
