Page 61 of SEAL's Sunshine
“They were going to demand a ransom. They took pictures of me with a newspaper.”
Cam and Jake exchanged looks. Interesting, maybe this was another piece of the puzzle. They’d figured out most of it.
Some of it still didn’t add up. Like why not kill him when they could have? Why try to ransom Miranda again? Were there two different plans, with different people behind them? With so many unanswered questions, they hoped at least one of them would flip on the others. From what Chrissy had told Jake, none of them had said a word.
“Speaking of ransom, your father should be here soon. The FBI contacted him when you were rescued. And before you ask, no, I don’t think your mom knows.”
“Thank God. It is bad enough Dad knows. But if Mom found out she’d build a dungeon and lock me up to keep me safe.”
Jake laughed but Cam knew she was serious. He’d met Cherise Stanhope, and nothing was more important than keeping her family safe. When she found out, and he had no doubt she would, he’d be persona non grata.
“I’m sorry, Miranda. You never should have been involved this time.”
“I think I was involved since they realized I was here. It sucks, yes. But hopefully, it is done now.” Cam would have loved to tell her it was, but Azfaar was still out there somewhere and until they caught him it wouldn’t be over for any of them.
“How’s your head, Sunshine? Do you need anything for pain?” he asked as she shifted in the bed and groaned.
“No, I don’t want anything. My head hurts a bit, but the ribs are worse. Luckily I know how long I’ll feel like this.” She smiled tremulously. “Is everyone else safe? No one else was hurt, right?”
“Everyone is good. The guys are waiting outside, we didn’t want to crowd you all at once.”
“Dang, tell them to come in. I need to thank all of you. And Tex too.”
“We can take care of that. Tomorrow we’ll give him a call and you can talk to him.”
“That would be great.” Jake went out to the waiting room to get the others and Cam sat on the edge of the bed, hoping he wouldn’t cause her any additional pain.
“Are you afraid of me?”
“No, of course not, just afraid of hurting you, Sunshine. You’ve been through hell again.”
“This time was a piece of cake. When they took me, then put a hood over my head and threw me in the back of the vehicle, all my memories came flooding back. I know why I’m having the nightmares. It’s because of what I tried to forget.”
Before she could tell him, Jake was back with Rafe, Ryan, and Murph. The only one missing was Halo, and he hoped he was okay. After four years of having him constantly at his side, he was lost without his furry sidekick.
“We’ll talk later. Okay?” he whispered as he kissed her softly on the lips.
“Okay.”
“You look pretty good considering,” Murph announced.
“Gee thanks, I appreciate that Murph. You don’t look too bad yourself, considering,” Miranda answered and the expression on Murph’s face made them all laugh. It also reassured him that she wasn’t as bad off as he’d thought, not if she was making jokes already.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” Murph mumbled and looked embarrassed.
“I know. I was just playing along. Seriously, you guys are amazing. I feel like I have my own personal SEAL team.”
“I doubt Uncle Sam would want to hear that. And we didn’tdoanything. Just helped out a friend who was in trouble,” Jake answered for the team and the others nodded. They weren’t allowed to operate on home soil, and they were hoping to keep the whole thing quiet.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t be too happy,” a voice replied from the doorway. Cam turned around and stared into the hard angry blue eyes of Senator Richard Stanhope.
“Daddy,” Miranda screeched when she heard her father’s voice. The SEALs made room for him and Cam stood up and moved away from the bed. When Stanhope turned his eyes to his daughter they softened, and he smiled.
“How are you, baby girl?”
“I’m fine. Really. And you need to be nicer to them. They’ve saved me twice now.”
“Yes, they have, but I’m not sure why this time happened.”
