“The same thing they’re going to do. Follow at a distance even I won’t see and be available if things don’t go the way we hope. I’m gonna tell you the truth because that’s what I’d do in their shoes.”
“I’m more than good with that.” She had to lean on her trust of Sam again. If his people had a listening device in the car, they’d know exactly where she and Sam were headed.
That Sam had told her his team would follow gave her a bit of relief. If the situation became too risky, she’d give him the thumbs-up to call in these unknown operators.
He had only nodded, not made some joke about her agreeing, and squeezed her arm with reassurance.
Her heart whimpered. She’d lost something special. Sam was the one person who had become her sanctuary. She should have let her guard down all the way and brought him inside her world. He was the man she had fallen so hard for she would never be able to climb out of the emotional hole she’d dug for herself.
The man she had always wanted in her life, but never realized it until meeting Sam.
Once he was on the interstate again, she asked, “How bad is all this for you with your people? Tell me the truth, please.”
Where he’d been agitated earlier while talking to someone on the phone, Sam now had a calm about him that worried her.
The kind of calm that meant he’d accepted what he had coming.
Keeping his eyes on the rearview mirror as much as the road ahead, he explained, “I didn’t try to find a way to contact my team after you picked me up. All of us follow orders without question. Without that, we can’t trust each other in dangerous situations. Our team answers to the man who oversees all the teams. He’s the one who will make any final decision on my place in his operations.”
“Are you with Special Forces of the US military?”
“I was at one time. All of us have mixed military backgrounds. I’m now with a highly skilled group that, when authorized, protects national security for the US and other countries who are allied with the US. Sort of like Special Forces with no borders,” he joked, but sounding too quiet. “Our teams are hand-picked, and this organization goes back many generations.” He sent her a half-smile of apology. “That’s all I feel comfortable saying about them, okay?”
“Sure.”
Losing his place with an organization like that would be unforgivable.
She didn’t deserve forgiveness. “I really am sorry for what I dragged you into, Sam.” She could barely get the words out. Her throat hurt from squeezing regretful words past the pain.
His hand found hers and pulled her fingers to his lips. That small touch gave her encouragement, but she was a realist. None of this would end with a chance to see him again. She’d accept that if he survived and his team kept him.
That would be enough.
The hurt balling in her chest could be blamed on no one except her. Maybe if she’d come up with a better idea to convince him to partner with her instead of pushing him into it, this might have turned out differently.
She had no idea she’d end up trusting this man so much, but that first meeting in the basement should have clued her in.
If she had been willing to relinquish some control and lower her emotional walls, she might have ended up saving Phoebe and ... herself. She found the man she could love and may have destroyed his life in the process.
Her heart would never want another man.
After he kissed her fingers, he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “I don’t regret being with you. I feel like I finally understand who I am. If I’m not meant to continue with my team, then I’m the one who made that decision. It’s not on you. I could have pulled away and called them at any point.”
In other words, he’d chosen her over his team.
Her shoulders drooped under lead weights of guilt. He’d kept his word the whole time. He’d gone above and beyond when he could have called in the cavalry he trusted.
She’d accused him of alerting his team as soon as he knew Angie and her town were safe. He hadn’t.
Her fear had paralyzed her ability to think clearly. She’d been so scared to think what would happen to Phoebe if the Collector discovered that not just Hallene was coming for him, but also the black ops team from Venezuela he’d believed was dead.
The minute they found Phoebe, Hallene would have Sam call in his team so they could follow the Collector to hopefully find the senator and save both captives.
Like Sam said, one thing at a time.
Find Phoebe then call in his people.
“What does W stand for?” she asked, anything to get them back on even footing.
