Page 68 of Holiday Hostage
I nodded. “That’s him.”
“He’s the one in charge. He’s not just part of the mercenaries. He’s the leader.” Her anger surged in a flush of color across her cheeks. “He’s the one who kidnapped me and took me to that awful place.” A shudder rippled across her shoulders.
I tried to comfort her with a hand on her back, my palm making circles across her spine and shoulders.
She leaned into it, but her breaths continued to come out short and sharp.
A grim tension tightened the air around us, drawing it close and trying to suffocate us with reality.
We were up against the worst kind of men, and the man who felt so threatened by one of his men that he’d been willing to let him die.
There was no justice for that.
“We stick to the plan.” Mav broke the silence with his typical commander’s voice.
It helped bring perspective to the situation.
We were former Rangers.
We had all the skills and experience to protect Payton.
I longed for revenge, but not at the risk of causing her harm.
I fisted my hands in my lap, working my fingers open and closed to help extract the anger.
“What’s the plan?” Payton asked.
We all looked at Mav for the answer.
As our leader, it was his right to keep Payton informed.
He washed out his cup, his attention splitting between talking to Payton and the storm outside. “We wait for the storm to dissipate enough to reach your father on the satellite phone. Once he’s been informed of your safety and we have a set extraction place and time, we head out. Your father had a helicopter waiting for us. It’s probably still there, but I’d like verification before we trek all the way to Anchorage.”
Payton nodded and finished her coffee. “Dad’s good about keeping his word. And the men who work for him are loyal. If he sent someone to pick us up, they’ll still be waiting.”
I loved her confidence.
From what we knew, it wasn’t misguided.
Frank Rivers was a good man, and he’d raised Payton well.
We were in for a long haul from the cabin to Anchorage, but she would not complain.
Payton took the punches life threw her way and didn’t let them drag her down.
She fought back and forged ahead with the kind of determination that made me proud to know her.
In all the women I’d met through the years, none of them held a candle to Payton.
Her resilience and tenderness created a uniqueness that had me falling for her.
I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out against the soft feelings bunching inside my heart.
They kept trying to break free, and I kept pushing them down. We’d rescued her from a hostage situation.
All feelings created during this time were born of that fear and might go away once we returned Payton to her world.
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