Page 51 of Gwen's Delta
Merlin took her ice-cold hand and twined their fingers together. Helpless to do more until he understood the situation, frustration roiled in his stomach. The need to protect her surged along his nerves. He swallowed it back; he was the calm one, but she was his, and no one would hurt her.
“Gwen, can you tell us what happened?” Merlin asked as gently as possible. He slid his other hand along her back, trying to offer support as she trembled. She was definitely in shock.
As if finally realizing she was holding a glass of water, she took a drink and then a deep breath. When her fear-filled eyes met his, the coffee he’d been drinking turned to acid in his belly.
“Gwen?” Grams prodded as she reached across the table and laid her hand over Gwen’s, still wrapped around the glass. “What happened, baby girl?”
“I have to check my email. Where did I leave my phone?”
“I’ll get it. Stay here with your grandparents.” She’d left her bag at the desk in the store before they’d come back into the kitchen for coffee. It was less than twenty feet away, but he hated to leave her side. “I’ll be right back.”
Gramps nodded and focused on his granddaughter.
It only took a few moments to find her purse and bring it back. Gwen took it and rummaged through it for her phone. With a sigh of relief, she pulled it out and typed in her code.
Merlin stood behind her to see what was so important to find. Then she opened an email. A photograph of her parents surprised him. There was something more going on. Could the Dedmonds be the kidnapping that was step one of the terrorist plan?Holy fuck.
Tears ran down Gwen’s cheeks as she read the email.
“Who was on the phone?” Merlin asked.
“Yes. Gwen, you need to tell us what the hell is going on,” Gramps said, his voice filled with concern.
“Someone kidnapped Mom and Dad.” Gwen pushed the phone toward her grandfather.
“How?” Grams asked, tears filling her eyes.
Merlin wasn’t sure if they were for Gwen or her parents. But he worried about the feisty octogenarians.
Gwen shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe when they went off with the other guide. But this is definitely a photo of Mom and Dad. They want me to bring a million dollars to Cairo and be there in three days, or they’ll kill them. How am I supposed to do that?” Gwen’s tear-filled voice quivered.
Torn between wanting to stay and comfort Gwen and the need to get back to post to discuss this development with his team, Merlin wanted to pound something. He couldn’t shake the niggling feeling that the Dedmonds’ kidnapping was the missing piece of the puzzle. But he couldn’t leave Gwen and her family to deal with this themselves. Then, he got an idea. It wasn’t the best, but hopefully it would be enough.
Gwen and her grandparents were hugging each other when Merlin walked to the front of the bookstore. While he waited for Zip to pick up his phone, he found some paper and made a quick sign saying the bookstore was closed due to a family emergency.
“Hey, what’s up, dude? Having too much fun to come back?” Zip teased.
“We have a problem,” Merlin said, his voice grim.
“What happened? Do you need us there?” No longer jovial, Zip was battle ready. It was one of many things Merlin loved about the team.
“Do you think Destiny would come and stay with Gwen and her grandparents at the bookstore for a while? It looks like someone has kidnapped her parents. It’s complicated. We need to talk to Roe, but I don’t want to leave them alone here.”
Zip must have been with the team, probably finishing up PT. The low whistle and murmurs meant he was on speaker. “Fuck.”
“Exactly. Can you call her and see if she can come?”
“Yeah. She’ll probably be there in about a half hour.”
“Great. Can you also call Roe? We need a meeting with Sand ASAP. I’m fairly sure I figured out the missing piece. If I’m right, the motherfucker has been lying through his teeth.”
“Did you expect anything else from the CIA?” Duff asked.
Merlin hadn’t. They all knew better than to trust the CIA. “They gave Gwen three days to get a million dollars in cash to Cairo to pay the ransom. She was smart and asked for proof of life. They sent her a photo. I will grab a copy. Maybe we can get something from it.”
“Can we do anything else?” Woof asked.
“Go through the second packet of intel and see what you can find about the two operatives they’ve been keeping under wraps.”
