Startled at the soft voice, he shifted to the side. Saw the interpreter standing there, Pike just outside the door, talking with Landry. Had she called him Rage? He must’ve misheard.
“Fine.” He shook out his hand and strode toward her. “Do you need coffee or something before getting started?”
“Anything to get my attention off you?” Her expression was amused.
Range faltered. Couldn’t believe she’d be that direct. “Excuse me?”
She inclined her head. “Coffee would be nice. Usually, I stay with tea, but”—her gaze hit the door to the interview room—“today feels like it needs more.” Her head came to his shoulder, a notable size difference, though he knew better than to expect weakness.
“Agreed.” Not a good sign when Canyon calls before sun-up. “What do you take in it? Creamer? Sugar?”
“Nothing.”
Why did that make him proud? “Done.” Except he shouldn’t leave her until Pike returned. “D’you sleep okay?”
Brown eyes widened, his question taking her off-guard it seemed. “Honestly, no.”
“Not surprised—the bunks weren’t made for comfort.”
Her eyebrow arched. “And did you?”
“Not in a decade,” he laughed, but then sobered. “I would’ve thought not having to worry about being … abused, you might have slept easier.”
“It will take more than one night to erase that fear.”
Range felt like a heel. He donned some contrition. “Of course. Sorry.”
“Please do not. You are neither the cause nor can you alter what has happened.”
“But it’s an evil I want eradicated, for no one to ever again endure it.”
Keen eyes assessed him. “That sounds like a wound deeper than just your encounter with Roud.” Her words thudded straight through that ballistic-grade reinforced steel barrier he’d erected around his heart.
He found himself staring into warm, caring eyes.
She stepped nearer. “I would ask—please get us out of here.”
He drew up sharp and scowled. Was she working him?Is that what this was?
“I do not mean from your people, but out of this place.” Her words were soft and lilting. “If it is learned where we are, he will come for the girls—us.”
They’d already seen evidence of preparation to do exactly that. “Taweel.”
She inclined her head. “And if he takes them back, they will be brutalized.”
“They.”
Something twitched in her cheek, a schism of worry. “Us. All of us.”
“The best thing you can do is help us get her to talk. That is what’s keeping you and the others here.” It wasn’t wholly true. Their CIA liaison was neck-deep in arrangements to move everyone to a safe location far from Taweel’s grasp. But it took time. Still, he could use her anxiety to benefit everyone.
“Malala?”
They both flinched at Pike’s voice, and she offered Range a smile as she stepped around him. He shifted and spotted Landry stepping out of the interview room, where he’d anchored the ankle bracelets to the floor of the Madam, who had been forced into a plain brown dress. No shoes. Anything to make her as miserable as possible so she’d cooperate.
“What are you doing?” the interpreter snapped. “You should not be alone with a woman!”
Surprised at her outrage, Range angled in. Caught her shoulder. “Hey, easy. It’s his job.”
