Page 94 of Betrayed

In an effort to calm my nerves, I forced myself to remember what AJ had told me about. He was in the Air Force, a tech geek. A grief-stricken widow, who’d lost her husband and son, kidnapped his soon-to-be stepson, Chase. He must have been terrified.

“I’ll be nearby, but out-of-sight, and will turn it on after they toss the bugged vest and finish their initial search,” Doug said.

“Search?” My voice shook as my fear revved up like a racecar on the starting line.

Maxwell answered, “They’ll likely do a thorough search for weapons and devices.”

AJ’s hand tensed on my back.

“How thorough?” I asked, getting more worried by the second.

Maxwell looked at AJ, then continued, “Thorough enough to be invasive. I don’t want to scare you, but I want you to be warned. It’s likely they’ll enjoy the search a lot more than they should.”

“Meaning they’ll grope me?” I shuddered.

“You don’t have to do this,” AJ said, his voice deep with concern. “Say the word and I’ll call it off.”

I looked at Jack; his ghost-white face boosted my courage.

“No, I can do it.” I turned to him. “You’ll come get me, right?”

“There isn’t a force on this Earth that can stop me.” His dark eyes stared into mine, willing me to believe him. To trust him.

I did.

Turning back around, I asked, “Where does that one go?” I pointed at the small one in Doug’s hand.

“In your mouth. Max will help you.” Doug handed the device to her.

“Let’s go to the bathroom so I can wash my hands. This may be a little unpleasant, but it’ll be over in a second.”

When AJ started to follow, I stopped, turned, and put my hand on his chest. “It’s okay, Andrew. I’ll be fine.”

The low rumble of people talking in the room came to an abrupt stop with a collective gasp. Thinking I’d done something wrong, I looked around to see shock on every face.

“What’d I say?”

He put his hand over mine and held it to his chest; his heart thumping a mile a minute under it. He grinned and whispered, “No one calls me Andrew. Except you.”

Right, he’d told me that.

He brushed my hair behind my ear before cupping my face and kissing me on the forehead. “Go.”

My skin was still tingling from his kiss when Max and I got to the bathroom. She set the tracker, now back in its case, on the counter before washing her hands.

“I’ll do my best not to hurt you, but it may be uncomfortable while I put it in place.”

“Is there anything I need to do?”

“Relax your jaw like you’re at the dentist,” she said before pulling on blue medical gloves. “And try not to bite my fingers.”

“Okay.” I took a deep breath through my nose and forced my jaw to relax. I said, “Ready,” before letting my mouth hang open.

Max talked me through each step as she put her hands in my mouth, gave me directions to make it easier, and attached the device to one of my molars. She was right; it was uncomfortable.

After she finished, she said, “Alright, that should do it. Try closing your mouth, but don’t slam your teeth.”

I did what she said.

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