Chapter 15

The people in the Navy were nice enough. No one said one negative thing about her being a journalist, but she could tell they were keeping a close eye on her. When they loaded onto the helicopter, she could visibly see the captain and other officers relax.

As a journalist, she wanted to get the story as close to the truth as she could, which meant she asked a lot of questions. Military leaders didn’t like questions because their nature was to hide things. Not necessarily in an evil way, but they had secrets that couldn’t get out. Journalists were the exact opposite of them. She wanted light to shine, and they needed darkness.

It took another three days to get back to England where the medical group’s European office was located. Her hotel wasn’t too far from the Thames or the London Eye, and after she checked in, she walked over to the river, her thoughts bouncing from what had happened to their rescue and then the few minutes she’d spent with Jesse.

He’d been on her mind almost constantly since seeing him again. What was he doing? Where did he live? She wanted to see him again, but when?

The group said they had her computer, but she needed to see the condition before she went out and bought something new. If she needed to buy something here in England, she would purchase a tablet, something cheap and small that would allow her to take notes and check email.

Her heart picked up speed as she felt someone approaching from behind. She spun, seeing it was a couple walking toward her who weren’t paying attention to what she was doing. No one was walking up to her, trying to attack. She was fine. The need to return to the hotel where she would be safe wove through her.

She hated the new fear in her life. Traveling all over the world had never been an issue, but now she was checking over her shoulder, worried about every hidden corner or building inset. She needed to see a therapist and possibly take a break.

After being abducted and held by terrorists, her article would change shape. No doubt, the story would take on a more personal tone. If she got back her computer and phone, she would have the notes from her interviews before they’d been captured, but the meat of the article would come from her experience being held in that compound.

Being held captive could have been so much worse. If they’d stayed in that compound longer—a shudder ripped through her. The terrible things that happened to Angie had made an impact on her. She didn’t know exactly everything they’d done, but it was obvious they’d raped her.

Eventually, after they’d been questioned by the Navy when they’d been led into a room with multiple beds, Angie had laid on her bunk and told them some of what had happened. No way would she put anything about that into print. She also knew that those bastards would have done that to all the women given time.

She stepped into the hotel, exhaustion hitting her hard. Sleep called, and she had no reason to put it off. Falling asleep was easier than the night before, though she did have to check the lock on the door twice before she could lie down in bed.

The sun was up when she woke with a start, her heart hammering. Seeing the hotel curtains, the desk, and bedside tables with lamps flanking her brought her back to reality. She had been rescued and was safe. After a quick shower, she checked out of the hotel and picked up a coffee and scone on the way over to the offices.

The meeting with the organization was set for nine and she arrived with a few minutes to spare. Luckily, the day before, she’d been driven by a store to pick up clothes and toiletries. Otherwise, she would still be wearing the T-shirt and sweats the Navy had given her. She would treasure that T-shirt and pair of sweats because they reminded her of Jesse. Warm thoughts of him filled her mind as she stepped into the office building.

A woman in a tan suit greeted her. “Miss Benton, my name is Pamela. We’re so glad you are okay. I hope the hotel was satisfactory.”

“Yes. Thank you so much. Since I don’t have anything, no credit cards or identification, I would have had a hard time finding somewhere to stay.”

“Ah, yes. I bet that it was interesting to have nothing to identify yourself with.”

Nichole chuckled. “Honestly, it was fine. The woman you sent out to help was wonderful. She made sure everything was taken care of, even helped me get these clothes.” Nichole plucked the denim of her jeans.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“It was frightening. The doctor who wasn’t so lucky, how is his family?”

“They are devastated like we all are. We’re thankful no one else was lost.” Pamela opened the door to a conference room set up with coffee and muffins. “Our team went in and retrieved everything we could find. From the location of the computer and phone, we’ve determined that these are yours.”

Nichole’s breath caught as she spied her computer and phone. Neither one of them looked damaged. “Do they work?”

“We didn’t turn them on. Didn’t think it was our place. We have multiple types of plugs if yours isn’t available. I’ll leave you to it for a few minutes. The bathroom is just outside the door to the left, and if you need anything, just crack open the door and ask anyone. They all are so thankful you survived.”

Nichole’s emotions rose, and her eyes stung. She refused to cry, though, at least not here. “Thank you.”

Pamela stepped out, and Nichole moved to her computer and opened it. The battery was dead, so she looked through her bag on the table, finding a plug at the bottom. She plugged in her computer first, then her phone.

While both started charging, she looked through her bag, glad to see that everything seemed to be in place. She had her passport and IDs now, along with her credit card and even the money she’d had in her wallet when she’d arrived at the medical compound. No one had taken anything. That’s how it should be, but she’d learned early in her career that people stole, and she had to lock up her purse in the newsroom.

When her computer flicked on, she typed in the password and opened the email immediately. After stepping out into the hall to get the password for the Wi-Fi, she connected and let her emails download. It took a few minutes, long enough for her to see she had more than a hundred text messages as people learned that she’d been abducted. Most of the messages were positive, but she did receive a few hate messages from anonymous numbers. She rolled her eyes at one of the texts that wished her dead.

“That didn’t happen,” she said to herself, not hearing the door open.

“What was that?” Pamela asked.

Nichole shook her head. “Nothing. Just going through messages.”

“Oh, yes. We’ve received requests from news shows asking for your information.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

“Yes, well, it is news. I guess one of your friends put it together where you were and hypothesized that you were taken captive. It has been all over social media.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure if she was happy or upset about all the attention.

“Were Angie, Cara, or Elizabeth named?”

Pamela shook her head. “We haven’t released their names, though I’m sure someone will post about it soon.”

Nichole shook her head. “Well, I have no desire to expose them.”

“That’s good to hear.” Pamela’s phone buzzed, and she checked it. “Ah, the CEO flew over from America, and he’s on his way here. He would like to meet with you.”

She nodded. “Sure. I could do that.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. What do you say, twenty minutes? Will that be good for you?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Pamela stepped out, and Nichole looked at her computer, seeing that she had more than a thousand emails. The sigh that escaped was heavy and her shoulders dropped. There was only one email she really wanted to check on so she typed Jesse’s name into the search bar. Two emails showed in the list. Her hand shook as she moved to click it open.

She held her breath as she read the first line.

Dear Nichole, I wish I hadn’t seen you this week.

The words shocked her, and her breath froze in her lungs. But she read on.

Not because I didn’t want to see you but because my work involves things that aren’t good, and you deserve only good in your life. I wouldn’t wish what happened to you on my worst enemy. You deserve to be celebrated and treated well. I’m very glad that we were there to bring you home. At least I hope you’re home, but if not home, at least safe.

I want to see you. I want to spend time with you, but I know you have work, and I’m tied to my base, which is in San Diego. If you want to come out and visit, I have a sleeper couch I can crash on while you take my room. You don’t have to, though. I know you need to recover. I’m here if you want to talk. I usually leave the base close to three in the afternoon California time.

Nichole checked her phone, seeing that it was about one in the morning in San Diego. He would be busy for hours. By the time he got off work she would probably be asleep. She hated being in a different time zone.

I’ve included my phone number and other contact information. If you want to come see me in San Diego, just send a note. Since we just came home, I shouldn’t have to leave on another mission any time soon. I’m glad you’re safe. Call or text me anytime. Seriously, anytime.

No way would she call him right now, but she would reply to this email. She had about ten minutes before she was set to meet the CEO and needed to use the restroom first. She closed her computer and slid it into her bag, carrying it to the restroom. Not that she didn’t trust the people here, but habits were hard to break.

It was close to noon by the time she finished with the meetings and interviews. The company was worried about what she planned on writing, but she had gone through the trauma just like everyone else, and she wasn’t going to screw them over. The doctors and nurses didn’t deserve to be treated badly or harassed.

Her thoughts on the article were congealing. The focus would be her experiences and how it affected available medical treatment for people in the area. Hopefully there could be something good come from this. Maybe more donations, better security, more countries that condemned terrorists attacking medical facilities. The problems existed in many areas, and her main hope was that she could help make a difference.

She had a flight out to Chicago, where she was based. When she arrived at the airport, she headed to the airline’s desk and asked if she could change her flight. She wasn’t able to change it, but they booked her on a flight to San Diego the morning after she got back to Chicago, giving her one day to go home, wash clothes, dust her tiny apartment, and then head out to see Jesse.