Chapter 43

Rory wasn’t sure exactly when things clicked, but life just seemed to get easier. She was still going to the therapist once a week, but she thought she was about ready to scale back to only twice a month. Hopefulness filled her, and she started looking for a job.

Harry hadn’t been called out for a mission, but she knew it would happen soon. Enough other teams had gone out, and she had little doubt it would soon be their turn.

The weather was warming, and they had hosted a couple of pool days, which were so much fun because of the kids. She really liked Ava, Jessica, and Ingrid. It seemed like they had formed a tight bond that gave her faith she had a real support system.

“Is your interview today?” Harry called from the bathroom after finishing his shower.

She stepped into the bedroom, watching him dry. “It is. I’m leaving here at nine. I think that gives me plenty of time to get there and park.”

“Well, good luck. I’m sure it will go great. ”

“I hope so. It’s not the only place I’m looking, but they seem to be good.”

Harry came over and brushed a kiss on her cheek before she pulled on her underwear. The sex between them kept getting better and better. Harry figured out that he liked when she took control. It made her feel powerful, like she had her shit together.

“Text me and tell me how it went.”

“Sure, love. I’m sure it will go great.”

After grabbing coffee and something quick to eat, Harry took off for work. She finished eating, then showered and dressed carefully. She wanted to present herself as together and professional.

The drive wasn’t bad, and she parked with plenty of time to make it upstairs. She stepped from her car and was locking the door after grabbing her portfolio when some man walking past whistled.

“Sure like to get into her skirt,” the man said to his friend.

Rory stiffened. The men were dressed in suits, not ratty clothing. Anger and frustration slid through her, along with fear. She couldn’t believe someone would say that in public where she could hear.

As an officer, none of the enlisted men she met on base ever said anything rude to her. She knew crass talk existed in the military, but she guessed because of her rank and position, the men and women who might have talked that way in public left her alone. It was shocking to hear from some random jerk on the street.

She pushed away the weirdness and headed into the building. She was ready for this interview. Not only had she developed skills in the Marines, she had a natural instinct when it came to intelligence and dealing with security threats. Maybe it was just observation, but she was good at what she did.

The company was located on the twentieth floor, so after checking with the security guard and going through the security process, she headed to the elevators. She stood, waiting for the elevator, when she noticed someone behind her standing way too close.

She glanced at their shoes and noticed it was someone wearing shoes men usually wore. It was weird having the person stand so close, so she pulled her phone from her pocket and stepped away from the man, pretending to do something on her phone.

The elevator came, and she stepped in, wishing she’d waited for the next one as the man loaded on, too. She should have called Ava or Ingrid and stayed in the lobby.

“Hey, darling, you sure look nice,” the man said as he moved to stand right beside her.

She hated guys like this. It made her uncomfortable to be trapped with them. Suffering fools wasn’t in her nature, but after being abducted, she had lost some of her ability to deal with stuff like this. Instead of telling him to shut up, she said nothing and just hoped the elevator was fast.

The guy must have sensed that she wasn’t going to talk to him and said nothing else on the ride up. When the doors opened, she stepped out fast, relieved that he didn’t follow.

The receptionist greeted her, and she was led into a conference room. She had to calm down. The man in the elevator had thrown her off, but he wasn’t important.

Minutes passed, and no one had come in to see her. She checked her watch, seeing that twenty minutes had passed. She was used to military time and not being late for important meetings. Of course, she wasn’t late. Maybe the people hiring didn’t think she was important .

She sat and began looking through her email. There wasn’t much to do in her email since she didn’t have a job and was no longer in the military. It wasn’t like people were sending her urgent requests, so she finished the task in a few minutes. Then she checked the weather, which was almost a useless task in San Diego. They had some weather. It wasn’t like Hawaii, where you could almost guarantee the weather each day, but it was close.

Almost forty minutes had passed since her interview was supposed to start. She hated when people didn’t value her time. Since the abduction, her patience was basically nonexistent. She didn’t want to throw a fit, but she wasn’t happy sitting around waiting for them to start her interview.

She didn’t want to be angry, but the lack of respect for her time was pushing her over the edge. More time passed, and the next time she checked her watch, she saw it had been an hour and twenty minutes. She was done. There was no reason for her to stick around for an interview with a company that treated her like this.

Rory gathered her things and headed out, stopping by the bathroom. She was in the middle of finishing in the stall when someone stepped in and started talking.

“Jesus, they’re such assholes. I swear, I need to leave. That jerk pulled out my shirt and looked at my cleavage. Seriously, it’s disgusting. I mean, I don’t mind blowing him in private, but in a meeting when he is checking out my boobs, it’s time to call it quits.”

Rory couldn’t move as panic swirled through her. The woman said a little more and then stepped out of the bathroom, leaving Rory alone. She glanced down at her phone and saw a news flash stating that Toovey had escaped custody. The earlier panic blossomed .

She had to get out of this place. Had she known what type of business this was, she never would have applied. It sucked that people still got away with this shit. But that’s what had happened with Toovey and Laelyn. No one in the military stopped them. They got away with doing bad shit because people allowed it.

Was Toovey coming after her again. Was this guy part of it? Could this whole interview thing have been a trap?

She stepped out and almost ran into a man who looked familiar. She narrowed her gaze and realized it was the jerk from the parking garage. Did he know Toovey?

“Whoa there, sweetie,” the man said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

She moved out of his grasp and tried to step around him. Something was terribly wrong. She had an overwhelming feeling of being trapped.

“Hey, honey, don’t look like that. Put a smile on your face. I’m sure that will make everything better. Why don’t you come into my office so we can get acquainted better?”

The man put his arm around her, and she swore his hand brushed her breast. She was done. This wouldn’t happen again. No way would she enter the jerk’s office. Was this the same asshole the woman in the bathroom had been talking about?

“No!” Rory yelled as she shoved him away. She dropped her things as she stumbled backwards. “Get your slimy hands off me.”

She took off, running to the emergency exit. She raced down the stairs, going way faster than her heels could support. When she was almost at the bottom, her left shoe broke. She pulled her shoes off and tossed them to the side as she raced out the door.

The raging panic from being touched by that stranger twisted up her thoughts. She ran, needing to escape. If she stuck around, Laelyn would have her again. She couldn’t go back. She wouldn’t survive this time.