They were about a block from the embassy when he turned the page in the folder of information he’d been given and saw a photo of Garnet. His heart stalled, and his stomach tightened. The person they’d been sent in to rescue was Garnet.
Everything seemed to stop, then it all shifted into fast forward, like he was careening toward a cliff, about to slide off into oblivion. Losing his shit wouldn’t help anyone. He had to keep it together, or he would do more harm than good.
“Tell us everything,” Chase said as they took a seat at the conference table.
Bean listened to every word, piecing together what happened. Instead of staying on the embassy property, Garnet had been staying at a nearby hotel. That was the normal operating procedure.
She’d been abducted after leaving her room. No one had any idea why she’d left her room after going in and changing clothes. There were theories, but the facts were lacking.
One man entered the elevator with her, and another guy was waiting for them on the second floor. There were no cameras on that floor that worked. She was carried out of the building and put into a food truck.
“Of course, the cameras outside the building weren’t active at the time of the abduction. We don’t know what these guys looked like or which vehicle they were in. But we believe she was moved into Syria. There’s a new terrorist group operating in the area. A food truck was seen driving into their compound. It wasn’t a truck our informant expected or had seen before.”
“Have they made any demands?” Link asked.
“No. We’re not sure why they took Miss Stratton, but they knew where she was staying. They were looking for her specifically. We’ve questioned the man who escorted her to the hotel. He is still being held while we investigate him.”
“Any chance he was in on it?” Bean asked. If the guy was instrumental in Garnet being taken, he wanted time with the man.
The guy giving the briefing shook his head. “No. We’re fairly certain he wasn’t involved. We need to track down a few more things to make sure, but we haven’t found any evidence.”
The rest of the guys were busy studying the papers in front of them. Bean wanted to get moving, but first they had to know what they were walking into.
“It’s a couple of hours on a bird, then about a twenty-minute hike to the compound. You should eat something and maybe get a little rest before you head out in two hours. That will put you there close to dark.”
Bean stood with the rest of his team. He was antsy to get moving, but going in with the sun still up would cause more problems than it solved. They needed darkness to get in and rescue Garnet. Once he got her out, he would make sure she stayed safe.
Chapter 5
Garnet couldn’t workin these conditions. Her headspace was all wrong. The pain made her dizzy as all get out. She closed her eyes, trying to find some kind of focus. When she finally opened her eyes, double vision made it difficult to see.
Tall prodded her with his fingers. “You need to do what I said.”
She looked up and met his gaze. This might get her hit again, but she didn’t care. “You hit me, and now I can’t see straight.”
Short slapped Tall’s shoulder. “See, you can’t do that shit. Calm the fuck down and let me do this.”
She thought Tall was going to kill the guy, but he just blew out a breath and turned to leave the room. She was alone with Short. He was nicer, but still one of her captors. Antagonizing him on purpose wouldn’t get her anything special, so she said nothing to him.
“Get some rest. You can start in the morning. I’ll have some food and water brought in.”
Short left the room, and she looked around, seeing a blanket and pillow in the corner. Sleeping on the floor wasn’t great, but at least they’d left a pillow for her.
She had access to a bathroom and a pillow. That was more than she expected. While she was splashing cool water in her face, someone delivered food.
It had been hours since she’d had her last meal, and she devoured the food quickly. If Tall had anything to do with her care, she probably wouldn’t have any food at all.
The food was typical Middle Eastern fare, so she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where they’d taken her. She could still be in Lebanon, or they could have driven her anywhere in the area. She didn’t think they’d put her on a plane or helicopter, but they could have.
She finished the food and then got ready for bed. Looking back, she should have stayed at the embassy. She could have slept on a cot in the server room. She hadn’t needed an actual bed. A blanket and a pillow would have been fine.
At some point, she woke to someone banging around the room. She cracked open her eyes, seeing Tall standing next to the desk, his lips down in a frown.
“Get up. You need to work.”
She sat up, letting her eyes adjust to the overhead light. “What time is it?”
“Eight.”
