Page 71 of Trust Me

His smile said he wouldn’t have minded. “Sorry. I forgot about that. I can run to Target today.”

He then filled a plate with food for her, and she sat on the barstool next to him to eat. They spoke of inconsequential things while they ate, and it was nice to take a moment to get to know him more before tackling the complexities of her situation.

Had she been crazy to run off with him in the night?

But damn, one look at him and no one would blame her. All those bulky muscles, smooth skin, beautiful eyes, warm smile.

He’d saved her life in Jordan.

He’d offered her protection last night without hesitation.

She was safe with him. She knew it. Knew it like she knew she’d spoken with Rafiq.

After they’d polished off the bacon and eggs, they took their coffee mugs to the sofa. Chris grabbed his laptop and said, “I called a SEAL friend who’s a tech wizard, and he walked me through downloading a VPN app and configuring it to hide search history. It’s safe for you to open a browser and start digging for info on Rafiq and the Gardners—although I doubt you’ll have much luck finding anything on Rafiq.”

He handed her the computer. She wiggled her fingers as she stared at the keyboard. Even with a VPN, she’d been afraid to dig deep on her personal computers.

The feds had unfettered access to both her laptop and desktop while she was in the hospital in Germany. She didn’t think it was paranoid to wonder if they’d set up some kind of trap or keystroke reader on all her devices. It was prudent. Hell, they probably had a wiretap warrant.

And now they might have taken those devices for examining.

Of course, if they’d been executing a warrant, they wouldn’t have been so messy.

“Do you think it’s possible that the feds took my computers and then Jamal showed up and trashed the place?”

“Unlikely, but at this point, I don’t think we can rule anything out.” He rose to his feet. “I’m going to head to the gym on base. I think it’s a good idea for me to establish myself as returned…and alone. Some of my team members might be there.”

“Do they know we met?”

“It’s possible. We walked by the bar where they were hanging out on the way to the hotel. We kissed on the street for everyone to see. If anyone asks who I was with, I’ll have to say something about Morgan’s party. If any of the team end up being questioned, it would only look worse if I lie now.”

She nodded.

He crouched in front of her, meeting her at eye level. “You’ll be safe while I’m gone. No one knows you’re here.”

She nodded again. “I know how to shoot. If you’re willing to leave me a gun. I’ve trained. With Morgan. She took me to a range at least a dozen times before I left for Jordan.”

He frowned, then gave a sharp nod. “I can’t give you my service weapon, but I’ve got a few personal handguns and a rifle.”

Ten minutes later, Diana was alone in Chris’s living room with a fresh cup of coffee, an open computer, and a handgun on the side table.

First, she searched for articles related to her abduction, and only found stories she’d read weeks ago. Next, she searched for reports about the raid on Rafiq’s compound in Aqaba on Arabic-language news sites.

There were stories with a heavily anti-US tone, but she could hardly blame them.

She wasn’t named. It didn’t appear to be public knowledge in the US or Arabic world that Diana had been the focus of the raid. Nor was Rafiq mentioned, but that was to be expected.

This was a useless exercise, but she appreciated that Chris had given her something to do.

She wondered if Morgan and Freya had figured out that she’d left town. Were they concerned? Had they guessed who she was with?

She rose from the couch and refilled her coffee. Three mugs was one past her limit, but she was going nowhere today and was likely to be up half the night anyway given how late she’d slept and the amount of anxiety that would crush her as day slipped into night.

She settled back on the couch and returned to the National Public Radio home page and refreshed the headlines.

A mass shooting at a synagogue in New Jersey had taken at least a dozen lives. She placed her hand over her mouth as she read the brief story that was still unfolding. Gunman at large. The area in lockdown for the manhunt.

Another hate crime.

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