“I’m not sure what to say,” Ryan responded. “I need to know that the people I work with trust me to do my job. That they believe in my abilities.”
“We do trust you to do your job. You did your job,” Alex said. “We were the ones who failed.”
“What exactly happened?” Ryan asked. “Why did it all go wrong? I was getting a bad feeling for the mission, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.”
Marcus sighed. “It took us awhile to unravel it all, but the bottom line seems to be that a new terrorist group was gaining ground in the Middle East. You know that over the past few years we’ve been working to build connections and contacts to help us when launching rescues. Also, to build a safety net for our guys when they’re in the Middle East.”
“Yes, and Yazen Halibi has been helping us with that.” Ryan thought of the man who had met them at the airport. He was a friendly man who had an ability to put people at ease, but at the same time, he wasn’t someone to be crossed.
Marcus and Alex exchanged glances then Alex said, “Yazen is dead. When the rest of you were captured alive after the terrorists released gas into the house, they killed him.”
Ryan let out a long breath. “Why?” Finally, he could voice his question aloud to the people who held the answers. “Why would they do that?”
“Yazen was helping us build those connections, but he trusted the wrong person.”
“So the guys who kidnapped us, they’re heading up the new terrorist cell?”
Alex shook his head as he leaned back in his seat. “They’re a part of it, but from what we can tell, they’re not high up in that organization. They were used to make us think that they were, but now we know they’re not important. The leaders are holding the puppets’ strings.”
“These were the same guys who kidnapped Hannah and the other aid workers. So they were just puppets?”
“Yes. Along with Evan Gallagher.”
“Right,” Ryan said with a snap of his fingers. “Where does he factor into all of this? Was he a puppet too?”
“Indeed.” Marcus nodded his head. “Not only had they kidnapped several of his employees, but also his wife and two daughters.”
Ryan’s stomach twisted at the thought that children had been brought into the mix. “Tell me that they’re okay. That Evan’s wife and daughters are okay.”
“They’re fine. As are his employees that were kidnapped,” Marcus said. “They were never the focus.”
“They were bait,” Alex added. “They used them to get us in there but kept the kidnapping under wraps. They released the employees as soon as they had our people, then they made sure that the world knew how badly we failed by announcing that they had captured most of our top-level people.”
“But how did they do that if they didn’t let the world know why we were there?”
Again, Marcus and Alex exchanged a look. Alex cleared his throat, then looked down at his cup of coffee. “They offered to release someone if we announced that you all had been taken while we were doing training exercises in the Middle East.”
“So all that the world saw, was incompetence. The inability to keep our own people safe,” Ryan murmured.
“Bingo,” Than said. “All the connections we made have faded away without Yazen. They saw that we hadn’t been able to keep him safe, so none of them trust us anymore.”
“It’s all gone?” Ryan asked with a sinking feeling. “All the connections we had to aid us when we were hired to rescue people over there.”
“Yes,” Than said. “We’re back to square one.”
Silence fell around the table, and Ryan closed his eyes for a moment. All of the suffering he and the others had undergone had all been to undermine the work that BlackThorpe did. Unlike the previous attempt to derail BlackThorpe’s work, this wasn’t fueled by jealousy. This was all about money. By taking away BlackThorpe’s ability to rescue people, it was more likely that ransoms would be paid.
“So that’s why there was no rescue,” Ryan said slowly.
Marcus nodded. “All our avenues of information were cut off. We had no friends left over there to help us.”
“So how did you get everyone out?”
“Ransom. In the end, we paid out ransom.”
Ryan frowned. “What happened to not negotiating with terrorists? That must have been a huge negotiation.”
“We had no choice. We couldn’t find anyone willing to help us. We had to get you all back.”
“It took much longer than we had anticipated. It was like they wanted to drag it out for as long as possible. Just when the media hype over a release—and a reminder of why our people were in captivity—died down, they’d accept another ransom offer, bringing it all to the forefront again. Whoever the top guys are in this new terrorist cell, they’re smart. They are able to plan and manipulate with the best of them.”
And that was scary. BlackThorpe’s ability to help not just rescue people, but sometimes find information that helped to avert tragedy, was now gone.
“Ryan, we understand there’s been a breach of trust because of our actions,” Marcus said, breaking the silence that had fallen once again. “But you are a valued member of BlackThorpe, and we look forward to having you back.”
“I need some time,” Ryan told them.
Marcus gave a nod of his head. “Of course, you need time to recover from your ordeal.”
“More than that. I need time to think about my future with BlackThorpe.”
“Dude,” Tyler said, dismay in his tone.
Ryan turned his gaze to meet Tyler’s. “I need to do it.”
“If this is about Hannah,” Alex began then glanced over at Marcus for a moment. “We’ll do what we can to help get her and Jason into the US.”
“Hannah? I don’t think she’s interested in moving to the US.”
“Even if that’s where your job is?” Than asked. “It would seem that she doesn’t really have a definite place to call home anywhere. She could put down roots with you as easily in Minneapolis as she could here.”
Ryan stared at him for a moment before giving a shake of his head. “Wait a second. Hannah and I aren’t involved. Not like that.” Though there was no doubt he wished they were.
All four men showed varying degrees of surprise at his denial. Had he said or done something that had led them to believe there was something between him and Hannah? Something beyond friendship?
“Sorry, man,” Tyler said. “It was just how you talked about her in our conversations over the past couple of days. We kind of got the feeling that she was important to you.”
“Well, of course, she’s important to me,” Ryan retorted. “You can’t spend close to twenty-four hours a day in a room with someone for weeks on end without having them gain importance to you. Especially after I found out who she was and realized how long she’d been held.”
“And that’s all it is?” Tyler said, his tone clearly conveying his skepticism.
“Be that as it may,” Marcus said. “If things should change, please know we’d do whatever we could to help with the immigration side of things.”
That had never been an issue for Ryan since he had both American and Canadian citizenship, but he always travelled on his Canadian passport outside of North America. He still wondered if that was why he’d ended up with Kardaar and his group, since Hannah had also been Canadian. Maybe Kardaar’s brother had assumed it would have less political impact to keep the Canadians.
During their conversations over the past few days, Tyler had shared a bit about how each of them had been released. They’d definitely suffered worse treatment than Ryan had, even if they’d been in captivity for less time.
“I appreciate the offer,” Ryan said.
The doorbell rang, keeping him from saying anything more. He started to push away from the table, but his dad passed by the entrance to the kitchen and waved him back.
“You take all the time you need,” Alex told him. “You’ll have full salary unt
il you make your decision.”
Ryan heard a murmur of conversation then his dad walked by again, this time with a woman who Ryan thought looked like the doctor from Kabul. “I appreciate that. It’s not something I plan to drag out, it’s just that going through what I did has made me really look at my life. I’m sure the others have felt that way too.”
Marcus gave a nod. “We’ve permanently removed Justin from any future missions. This was really hard on Alanna, but even more so on Caden who has now had both his parents kidnapped. I can’t allow that to happen to him again.”
Ryan hadn’t been part of BlackThorpe when Alanna had been kidnapped, but he’d heard about it. He’d also met Caden and could understand why Marcus would feel the way he did.
“I hope you’ll come down to visit soon,” Tyler said. “Even if you’ve still not made a decision, I know Melanie and others would love to see you again.”
“I’ll be back down in a bit,” Ryan assured him. “It’s just too soon for me to go yet. I’m still spending time with my family, plus I need to help Hannah with a few things.”
As he said the words, he realized that it might be things like that that were leading them to read something more into the relationship between him and Hannah.
“Well, if there’s anything we can do to help either of you, you only have to ask,” Alex said, as he lifted his mug.
Than had been busy with a muffin and then a cinnamon roll, leaving Ryan to wonder why exactly the man had come, unless he was just craving some wonderful home baked goodies. In which case, the man had come to the right place.
“How long can you guys stay?” Ryan asked.
“We need to head back this afternoon,” Alex said. “Can we take you out for lunch?”
“I’m pretty sure my folks would love to have you eat here. It’s not often they get to see the people I work with.”
“As long as it’s not too much work,” Tyler said as he refilled his mug. “Especially for your mom.”
“It will be fine. Just don’t expect a fancy meal.”
“I’d be happy with more muffins and cinnamon buns,” Than said with a grin.
“It’ll more than likely be soup and sandwiches.”
“Sounds great to me.” Than finished the last of the muffin he’d taken. “Lindsay has forbidden me from eating sweets around her since she’s gained more weight than she wanted to with this pregnancy.”
“Rebecca craved sweets through her whole pregnancy,” Alex said. “But then she banned them once the baby was born, much to my and Jordan’s dismay. It got to the point where we had to wait until Saturday mornings when we were going to shoot at the range and we could stop somewhere for donuts. We thought we were getting away with it until she texted me one Saturday morning to demand I bring her donuts too. Baby-exhaustion will bring on the demands, that’s for sure.”
“What’s Hannah’s baby like?” Tyler asked.
“He’s good. I have rarely heard him cry in the time since our rescue. I guess he’s pretty laid back.”
“He’s okay health-wise?” Marcus asked.
“Well, he’s a bit underweight because he didn’t have enough formula, but they’ve had him on some high calorie stuff since we got back, and he seems to be thriving.” Ryan paused then said, “I didn’t know she’d had a baby until we were rescued.”
Alex nodded. “We suspected that might be the case when you didn’t mention a baby at all, but then there was a printed message tacked onto the end of the video about him. I’m glad it was there, though, so that we could make sure that medical attention was available for him as well as for you two.”
“We brought a few things, actually,” Than said as he got to his feet, gulping down another swig of coffee before straightening. “I’ll be right back.”
When Ryan glanced at Tyler, his friend grinned. “A few of the ladies got together to buy some things the little guy might need.”
“And a few things for Mama too,” Than added as he walked back in with two large bags in his hands. He set them on the floor beside Ryan. “Nothing for you though. Sorry, man.”
Ryan stared down at the bags then looked up at the guys. “I’m not the one who has basically nothing. Be sure to thank the ladies from us. I know Hannah will be appreciative of whatever they’ve sent.”
“If she’d been in Minneapolis, she’d probably have had a whole nursery outfitted,” Tyler said.
“And the only reason there’s not a whole lot more is that Lindsay didn’t have a chance to get to a baby store before we came.”
“My sisters both have babies around a year old, so they’ve had some stuff for her, but it’s all been neutral or appropriate for girls since they both had girls. Jason will look cute in some boy stuff.”
After seeing Than and Tyler exchange another look, Ryan decided it was time to change the subject.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hannah sat in the rocker once again, cradling Jason close, her thoughts on the men downstairs with Ryan. He’d mentioned Tyler during their time together, so their emotional reunion hadn’t been a surprise to her. She wondered if they’d tell Ryan it was time to return to work, and what he would do if they did.
A light tap on the door had her looking up. Frowning, she got to her feet and headed for the door. She balanced Jason in the curve of her arm then opened the door.
“Hi, Hannah,” Steve said. “Dr. Colson said you were expecting her.”
She had been, until the unexpected arrival of the men, then she’d forgotten about it. Opening the door wider, she smiled at the woman standing in the hall beside Steve. “Yes, I am. Is it okay to talk in here?”
“This is perfect.” Emma stepped into the room then turned to face Steve. “Thank you.”
He gave a nod and a smile before heading back toward the stairs. Hannah closed the door behind him then led the way to the chairs by the bay window and motioned to one. “Please, have a seat.”
As she sat down, the doctor put her bag on the floor and opened the top. Looking up at Hannah, she asked, “How have you been doing?”
“Pretty good, I think. All things considered. I’m still only able to eat small meals, and sometimes I have to force myself to eat. I’m still pretty tired. Doing even the smallest things, like unpacking a box or two, just drains me.”
The doctor laid a black notebook on the table in front of her and then pulled out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. “It’s only been a few days since you were released so that’s to be expected. Hopefully some of what I’ve brought today will help you out. But first, can I check you over? See how the readings now compare to the ones I took in Kabul?”
Hannah nodded then got up to put Jason in the swing beside her chair. Once he was strapped in and the swing was in motion, she sat back down. Over the next little while, the doctor took her blood pressure and listened to her heart and lungs. As she did, Hannah was reminded of the many times she’d done that for patients, both in Canada and in Kabul.
“Everything seems to be about the same or better since Kabul.”
She went on to ask about how her body was functioning, which Hannah tried to answer as honestly as possible, though it was a bit embarrassing. She wasn’t used to being on this side of the conversation.
“Now,” the doctor said as she sat back down and opened the black notebook. “The main reason I came by today was because I got the majority of your test results back and wanted to go over them with you. Most of them are what we suspected, but having our suspicions confirmed will help us.” She slid a paper across to Hannah. “I’m sure you know how to read most of this.”
Hannah stared at the paper, reading through the information there. Yes, as they’d thought, she was anemic. Information on the sheet also showed that her B-12 was low, and she had a few other deficiencies.
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to give you a shot today, then I’ll leave you with some supplements that you can take each day. We’ll check your levels again in a few weeks to see how you
’re doing.” The doctor leaned over and pulled out another flat black object from her bag. “I would also like to get your weight today, just so that we can monitor that as well.”
Hannah frowned as the woman set the scale on the floor. She and scales were long-time enemies. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually stepped on one. Just as she felt foreign in her current body, the numbers she’d see on the scale would also be foreign. They would be numbers she probably hadn’t seen since her early teens, before she realized that the bigger her body was, the less attention people—men in particular—paid to her.
“We’ll need to take the scale to a flat surface,” the doctor said.
Though she understood why the doctor wanted her weight, Hannah didn’t want to know what it was. Didn’t want more proof that she might well be half the woman she once was. Reluctantly, Hannah got to her feet and led the way to the bathroom where the tile floor would give a more accurate weight.
After the scale was on the floor, Hannah stepped on it, but kept her gaze averted from the number. The doctor must have realized she was struggling with the weigh-in because she didn’t tell her what her weight was, just thanked her and told her she could step off.
Back at the table, Emma made a few notes in her notebook then reached out to touch Hannah’s arm. When Hannah met her gaze, there was understanding on the woman’s face.
“Once we’ve determined that you’ve reached the low end of the healthy weight range for your height, we won’t need to do any further weigh-ins. At this point, I just want to make sure that your body is getting the nutrients it needs from your diet. One good indication of that is that you begin to regain some of the weight you’ve lost. I’m not going to give you a number to aim for, but I suggest that you focus on getting the best possible healthy food into your body each day.”
A Little Ray of Sunshine_A Christian Romance Page 19