Page 38 of Breached

“You’re such a diva, Mark,” John commented, and Mark raised his hands as if to say ‘Well, aren’t I?’

“Hey, Paul,” Cole glanced at me as John momentarily distracted Mark, “I need you and Mark to hang back and wait until I give you the green light to go to the airport. I want Nicole to rest for as long as possible, and I want to make sure the place is secure before we get her on board. After that issue with the Cruz soldiers, the last thing we need is to let our guard down.”

“Copy that.”

“We’re heading out now, so expect a call in roughly forty.”

I dumped my tray and decided I needed some air before I went to see Nicole. I went outside and did a jog around the property to burn up some time and tension. There was so much I needed to focus on, not the least being her. I wanted a chance to speak to her alone to plead my case and explain things better. I did one more turn then decided to just go and sit outside her door so I would be there when she woke up.

I headed toward where I knew they had found her a place to sleep, but as I grew closer, I noticed the door was slightly ajar. I carefully opened it to find the room empty—her belongings were gone. My stomach sank. Had she found a way to the airport herself?

“Excuse me, sir,” one of the soldiers who worked in logistics held up an iPad, “can you explain why one of your men checked out the following items?”

I took the iPad and scanned the screen. “What the hell? Who did this?” I swiped to the next page and read the name. “No way.” I handed it back and pulled out my phone.

“Hey,” John answered.

“We have a major problem.”

TEN

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

NICOLE

Iwondered if I was dreaming. Someone was shaking me, and I fought my way out of a drugged state and tried to make sense of things.

“Nicole,” someone said, and my shoulder was shaken again, “you need to wake up. It’s time to go. Everyone has left for the plane. We need to leave.”

“What?” I fought to understand what was being said. The flashbacks of last night’s accident came back to me, and I realized my side didn’t hurt much. I remembered I was on some sort of painkiller. Damn, I hated pills.

I was being pulled by my arm to sit up. Ouch, my arm’s sore.

“Sorry, but we need to move.”

“Frank?” I would have thought he would be the last person they’d send to transport me.

“Yes, it’s time to leave.” He gave me a friendly smile. “Up you go.” He urged me to put my feet in my shoes. “Once you get moving, the drugs will wear off,” he assured me. “Where’s your phone?”

“In my pack.” I sounded like I felt—drunk. “Why are we rushing?”

He put my boots in my pack and zipped it then tossed it next to me, and I had enough brain power to slip my phone from the side pocket and put it in my purse that sat next to my pillow. “I’ve been trying to get you up for the past twenty, so now we’re cutting it close. Don’t want to miss the flight.”

They wouldn’t leave without me…right?

He grabbed my pack and my arm, and I snagged my purse strap as he tried to whisk me out the door. Everything tilted to the side. “Whoa.” I flung my arms against the doorframe to steady myself.

“You got this,” he encouraged, but there was a strangeness to the entire situation. Frank was always curt and straight to the point, but he was being so nice as he focused on getting me out of there. I began to get dizzy as he helped me along. We turned so many corners, and then he opened a door to the outside, and the sunlight was like needles to my eyeballs.

We headed through the parking lot, to the back, where in one fluid motion, he opened the passenger door and got me inside. He fastened my seatbelt then slammed the door closed so hard it hurt my head. It was all so much so quick that I fought to keep up. I barely took pain medication, probably why it affected me more intensely.

We were suddenly on the road, and I started to focus on my surroundings. I did a mental counting game for a few minutes to try to sharpen my mind, and it helped, but it was a slow process. Then I spotted a sign.

“Are we…?” I tried to process what I just saw. “Are we heading to the airport?”

“Yes,” he answered quickly.

“But that sign said⁠—”