Page 6 of Healing Love

Laughing, Miriam responded, “Of course. And it’s not like you’re terribly far away. Hmmm, let’s see? About ten minutes?”

“Okay, smartass,” Rebecca grinned.

“Seriously though, I will miss having you around allthe time. But you and Thomas need to build your own life and I’ve got…well, I’ll be fine.”

The sisters hugged before Rebecca left the apartment heading to her job as a kindergarten teacher and Miriam walked to her bedroom. After a quick shower, she fell onto her bed with barely the energy to pull the covers up over her. As she drifted off to sleep, she heard the faint sounds of the TV in the living room that Rebecca had left on. Her dreams of a handsome prince became tangled with a newscast about an earthquake in Mexico.

3

(TWO WEEKS LATER)

Cam poured his coffee into a large Superman mug his nephews gave him last Christmas. His brother-in-law was a great guy but not very large, so they considered their Uncle Cam to be as strong as Superman. Chuckling at the thought, he sat down at his table to go through his emails. They had been accumulating since he had been away for the past several days, still working on the serial killer case for Jack. That Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny, and he eagerly anticipated a run later followed by a pick-up basketball game with some of the other Saints.

A knock on the door caused him to glance at the clock. Seven a.m.Who the hell comes that early on a Saturday morning?Throwing open the door, he was surprised to see Jack standing on the stoop. And behind him were two people he had not seen in over a year. Jobe Delaro and his wife, Mackenna.

He first met them when he was still undercover and assisted in rescuing Mackennawhen the gang was chasing her he was with. Jobe had initially not been happy that Cam had given her a gun to use, but they had a mutual respect for their work. Jobe was with Alvarez Security and a former squad member with Jack when they had served in the Special Forces.

“Cam,” Jack greeted. “We need to talk.”

Stepping back, he motioned for them to enter. Receiving a chin lift from Jobe, he noticed that his expression was one of stress...anxiety…fear?Once settled in his living room, he looked sharply first at Jack and then at the others, knowing that for them to show up so early on a Saturday morning it was not a time for pleasantries.

“Cam, Jobe’s got an issue and I’ve talked to Tony about the situation. Want to get you in on it and find out your take.”

Cam nodded, focusing first on Jack and then settling his gaze on Jobe, noticing Mackenna quietly placing her hand on Jobe’s, giving it a little squeeze. The movement was not lost on Cam, nor its significance. Whatever was happening was making Jobe fight to control himself, but he had the love and support of an amazing woman.

“I’ve got a sister who’s a nurse,” Jobe began. “Her name’s Miriam.” He sucked in a ragged breath before continuing. “She usually works in the ER at Richmond General Hospital, but she’s also qualified as a Red Cross volunteer nurse. Other than being called for a few local needs, she’s never done too much with the Red Cross. Until now.”

Jobe’s voice faltered, and Mackenna spoke quickly, giving her husband a chance to recover. “She’s veryspecial. She helped my mother when she had a stroke and lately, she’s been wanting to do more with her life. More volunteering. So?—”

“So, two weeks ago, she got a call from the Red Cross looking for nurses to travel to Mexico to aid in recovery when they had that earthquake,” Jobe continued. “We, the family…tried to talk her out of taking the assignment. The job just seemed so dangerous, but she was determined.” He rubbed his hand over his face, pulling his thoughts together. “She had about two days of briefings here in the states with the Red Cross and then she flew to Mexico. She called every day for the first ten days…” his voice broke again.

Cam felt his heart pounding in his chest, fearful anticipation crawling up his throat, threatening to choke him. Knowing where the story was heading, his mind quickly jumped to his own younger sisters.Fuck, oh fuck.Steeling his expression, he knew that Jobe needed all the strength he could draw upon. Giving a nod, he turned his gaze to Jack.

Taking over, Jack said, “She’s been out of contact for the past four days. The family held out hope for the first day, knowing that Miriam had told them of the horrible conditions, the poor cell reception, and with everything she was doing, calling might be impossible. But two days ago, they got a call from the Red Cross and then the American embassy. She and a few other nurses were abducted.”

Cam’s gaze shot over to Mackenna as a sob broke through. She was pressing her fingers to her mouth, trying hard not to cry but was unable to hold back. Hereyes were on Jobe, his face becoming more ravaged with each minute.

“What can I do?” Cam asked Jack, giving him the signal that he was ready and willing to do whatever was needed.

“The latest intel is that they were taken by a drug cartel. One of the larger ones, who might normally have their own infrastructure for medical emergencies but were wiped out with the earthquake. I got Marc on it last night. He used his CIA contacts and found out who has her and where they’re located. It appears that several medical personnel were kidnapped so that they could provide services for the cartel’s workers who were injured.”

Jobe rubbed his hand over his face once more as his gaze lifted back to Cam’s. “Tony’s men are on this, but we’ve got no one who speaks Spanish. Tony went to Jack, and he immediately thought of?—”

“I’m on it,” Cam said, interrupting Jobe. “Got no reason to ask. You need me, you got me.”

Mackenna leaned forward grabbing his hands as more tears slid from her face. “Oh, Cam, thank you.”

Jack turned to Jobe, saying, “We got this. I told Tony we would, but I wanted Cam to have that choice. He’s got undercover experience, knows the language. We can use Marc as our pilot and CIA contact.” His normally gruff voice softened as he continued, “Jobe, man. We’ve been through a lot together with our squad in Afghanistan. We’re brothers till we die. That includes family.” He looked back over at Cam and then said, “And Jobe, that includes my Saints. We’re brothers as well.You take Mackenna home, take care of your mom and dad and let us take care of this.”

Not used to giving control to someone else, Jobe nodded, drawing in another ragged breath. They all stood, and Mackenna moved in, hugging Cam tightly. As she stepped away, Jobe grabbed his hand and then pulled him in for a hug as well. “Find her, please. Take care of her and bring her home,” Jobe choked as he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. Handing the picture to Cam, he grabbed MacKenna’s hand and hurried out.

After the two of them left, Jack turned to Cam saying, “You’re the best man for the job, Cam. Not just because you’re Hispanic—but you have the knowledge and the experience to get down there and blend. But I want you to go voluntarily.”

Cam shook his head at his boss. “No worries, Jack. I got this.”

Nodding, Jack glanced at his watch. “We rendezvous at the compound in about two hours to plan. Go ahead and pack. Get your gear. And…you’d better let your parents know you’re out of contact for a bit.”

Cam watched Jack leave his house as well before looking down at the photograph. He sucked in his breath. Not knowing what he expected, he was unprepared for the dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty that had been smiling at the camera. The photographer had captured her just at the moment when she was about to throw her head back and laugh but was still smiling widely instead. Her eyes were lit with mirth, and he found himself moving his finger over her image.

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