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“Is there any news yet?” Kyle asked.
The doctor shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, there isn’t. They just arrived at the scene of the attack. It could take a while.”
Kyle turned to Ella. “Doctor, this is Ella Weiss. She managed to escape from the compound before it went up.”
The doctor nodded in appreciation. “I’d say someone was looking out for you. If you’ll come with me, let’s take a look at your injuries.” When she hesitated he added, “I promise I’m going to take good care of you.” The doctor glanced at Kyle’s bloody and burned back. “Once I’m finished with Ella, I’d like to take a look at those injuries, Agent Jennings.”
Kyle shook his head, dismissing the request. “I’m fine. Look after her. She needs you the most.”
The doctor reluctantly nodded.
Ella hugged her arms around her body. She wore her mistrust like a well-worn coat. With one final glance Kyle’s way, she followed the doctor, but not before she noticed the frown on Kyle’s face. A look that jumped out of her memory as if she’d seen it yesterday. If only she could understand how that was possible.
* * *
With so many questions rattling around in his head, letting Ella go was difficult. He didn’t understand why she had been so determined not to leave the desert. Who was she protecting? Yet if he’d learned anything while being in her company this short time, it was that he had to move slowly. She carried around more than the physical scars on her body.
He glanced at his watch and his impatience multiplied. Treading slow was not in his DNA. Especially now, when every second that slipped by without answers meant the chances for rescuing Sam and his team alive were slim. Alhasan had dozens of hidden tunnels beneath the desert surface that allowed him a fast escape.
Kyle’s body ached from the minor injuries he’d sustained in the blast. He was mentally exhausted. Thinking clearly had become a near-impossible task. He needed sleep, but with so many lives on the line such a luxury would have to wait.
It felt like hours had passed before he spotted Dr. Anderson heading his way. He shoved aside his uneasiness over Sam’s safety and got to his feet.
“Is she okay?” he asked gravely. From the frown on the man’s face, he expected the news to be dire.
“Surprisingly yes, considering what she’s been through. She’s suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration.” The doctor shook his head. “I’ve given her IV fluids for that.”
So far, nothing the doctor said was surprising. It had probably been years since she’d had a decent meal. “Did she tell you anything about what happened to her?” If she wouldn’t talk to him, perhaps she would confide in her doctor.
“No. In fact, it took a whole lot of convincing for her to allow us to treat her injuries. What I can tell you is they are consistent with someone who’s suffered years of abuse.”
Kyle couldn’t imagine the terrible things she’d gone through. He’d known her only a short time, yet he’d glimpsed a will to live that not even Alhasan’s torture could destroy. Just like Lena. But she wasn’t Lena, and he couldn’t accept her resemblance to his wife as anything more than a coincidence.
Still, he had no proof she was Ella Weiss, either, and he wasn’t going to simply accept her word for who she was. The real Ella might be dead. Alhasan could have groomed her to pretend to be the woman.
An idea occurred and he asked, “Do you have the means to do a DNA test, doctor?” He needed positive confirmation she was who she said. His only hope for an ID was if Ella’s DNA was on file somewhere back in the United States, or perhaps they could track down her dental records.
The doctor watched him closely. “No, I’m sorry, we don’t. I can do the swab and send it wherever you’d like me to.” He paused for a lengthy beat. “I’m guessing Ella’s been missing for many years. Are there any family members left to test her DNA against?”
Kyle had no idea. If they couldn’t test her DNA, how could they positively confirm her story?
The doctor obviously noticed his disappointment. “I’ll do the swab. Hopefully an opportunity will arise.”
Kyle smiled his gratitude. “Is it okay if I speak with her?”
“Of course. She’s in the last room on your right. I’ve rounds to finish. I’ll do the swab once I’m done. Try not to keep her awake too long, though. She’s exhausted. Rest will be the best medicine possible.”
Kyle turned to leave and then remembered something he’d wanted to ask. “Doctor, can you tell me if Ella has a birthmark on her left shoulder?”
The question took the doctor by surprise. “I beg your pardon?”
He needed someone else to confirm she wasn’t Lena. If Ella didn’t possess the same birthmark as his wife, he’d have his proof once and for all. “Does Ella have a small, thumb-size birthmark on her left shoulder?”
“No, but then again, she has a lot of scars.” The expected relief didn’t come. Something akin to disappointment made it impossible to answer.
The doctor’s phone rang and he glanced down at it. “I must go. I’ll check in on Ella later.”
Finding out what she knew about Alhasan was critical. Hadir’s indications were certainly ominous enough and Sam and his team’s lives were on the line.
Kyle stopped outside her room and gathered his tumultuous thoughts. He noticed the door stood ajar. A male voice came from inside the room. Was one of the medical personnel with Ella? The man sounded agitated. A strangled whimper caught his attention and he shoved the door open in time to see a man standing over Ella, choking her.
Charging to her bedside, Kyle jerked the assailant off her. The man reacted with all the fury of a caged animal. He lunged for Kyle with a knife. They scuffled back and forth.
Kyle slammed his fist hard into the man’s face and he went crashing back against the door. The knife slid from his hand. Kyle went for the man once more, but he reached for a nearby chair and slung it at Kyle’s head. He ducked and the edge of the chair grazed his right side. The force sent him stumbling backward.
His assailant took advantage, grabbed the knife and raced from the room. Kyle heard someone outside scream, “He has a knife!”
He stumbled to Ella’s side. “Did he hurt you?” His first concern was for her safety. She clutched her throat and coughed and gasped for air.
Somehow, she nodded. “I’m okay.”
While he wasn’t completely convinced, the assailant was getting away. Kyle bolted from the room.
One of the medical personnel pointed to the emergency door. “He went that way.”
Kyle hit the door full force. Outside, he did a 360-degree turn. The man had disappeared into thin air. The most concerning part of the attack was that it had happened in the middle of the day at a heavily guarded military base. It was both brazen and desperate, further emphasizing what he believed. Ella was of grave importance to Alhasan.
Kyle rushed back inside. “Call the MPs. We need the base locked down. Now,” he told one of attending doctors.
The man grabbed his phone to issue the order while Kyle hurried to Ella’s room. Dr. Anderson was there with her.
“She’s all right,” Anderson assured him. “But I don’t understand how that man got on the base so easily. Especially with a weapon.”
That was a good question. Did the assailant have someone on the inside who let him onto the base? Kyle believed Ella might know the answer by the way she wouldn’t look at him.
“Doctor, do you mind if I have a moment alone with Ella?”
Dr. Anderson hesitated briefly before agreeing. “I’ll be right back.” He smiled at Ella and left them alone.
Kyle waited until the door closed. “What happened?”
For the longest time he doubted if she would respond. “I’m not sure,” she said at last. “He just barged in and started choking me.”
After what happened in the desert, he was positive this was no random attack. Ella had been deliberately targeted.
“Did you recognize him? What did he say to you?” he asked. She shook her head, still without looking at him. From body language alone he could see she knew more than she was saying. He didn’t understand her unwillingness to cooperate. Unless... The thought was unspeakable.
“Ella, help me out here. What’s going on? Why are they trying to kill you? You must know something,” he insisted as gently as he could manage.
Her brown eyes flashed anger, reminding him once more of Lena when she was arguing a cause she believed in. Like the last mission she’d signed up for. The one he hadn’t wanted her to go on.
Don’t go down that rabbit hole. She’s not Lena.
“Ella, please. Let me help you,” he implored quietly.
“No.” The word tore from her. “I don’t need your help and I can’t help you. I just want to forget this whole thing ever happened. I want to leave.” Her mutinous gaze slammed into his.
Kyle’s patience reached the breaking point. “You can’t pretend this didn’t happen. There’s a reason why they risked coming after you on a heavily guarded military base. You know something they don’t want made public. They can’t afford to let you live.”
Ella recoiled at his directness. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He wasn’t trying to kill me, he was...” She’d said more than she intended.
“He was warning you,” Kyle guessed, and she turned away. “What do they want you to do?”
Ella stared at the wall. She had clammed up tight and wasn’t going to answer any more of his questions.
It took everything inside him to let the matter go for the moment. He was getting nowhere right now, and the last thing she needed was his irritation.
Kyle noticed her body silently quaking. Was she crying? He’d hurt her. Regret ripped through him.
She was hurting. She was like a wounded child. Whatever her true identity was, whoever she was protecting, she needed someone she could trust, and he’d give anything to be that person. The desire to take her in his arms and hold her while she cried was strong, but he still didn’t know for certain if she was a victim or the enemy.
“You should rest now,” he said in a voice rough with unexplored emotion. “I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep. I promise, we’re going to figure this out.”
Something in what he said must have gotten to her. She stared at him with what appeared to be minute hope. He’d give anything to understand the battle he saw raging in her, but if he ever wanted the chance to do so, he’d have to learn something he wasn’t good at, and quickly. Patience.
When he was satisfied she slept, he stepped out into the hall. If he couldn’t get answers from Ella, he’d check in with Liz in hopes that she had some positive news.
But Liz’s update could not have been more discouraging. She and Michael were on the ground along with the rest of the in-country team and taking an active part in the interrogations of the wounded prisoners.
“We had the location where we believed Alhasan’s men might have taken Sam’s team, but we were too late. They’d moved them.”
Not the news he wanted to hear. “Any sign of Hadir?” he asked. His gut told him too much time had passed for Hadir to still be alive.
Liz’s lengthy pause did little to ease his mind. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Kyle, but we found the body of a man some distance from the compound.” She hesitated for a second, and he knew Hadir was gone. “I was able to confirm it was Hadir. It appears he was shot in the head at close range. He’d been dead for a while.”
Hadir was dead. He couldn’t believe it. Grief made it hard to think clearly, much less get words to come forth.
Kyle thought back to the first time he’d met the man. He had been the one to talk Hadir into helping the team out with the promise that once he’d fulfilled his end of the bargain, he would be able to start a new life in the United States. Hadir had died because of his allegiance to Kyle and the Scorpions.
“He was planning a new life,” he muttered in disgust.
“I know. I’m sorry, Kyle. I know you two were close.”
A chilling thought occurred. If Hadir was dead, then who had sent the message? Had he been deliberately sent out to the desert to be ambushed?
Kyle struggled to keep back the emotions. “Thanks.” He could tell from Liz’s tone that more bad news followed. He closed his eyes. “What else?”
“Michael has been monitoring Alhasan’s recruiting website. He thought there might be some news on what happened today. Kyle, there’s a message there I think you should see.”
“Hang on.” Kyle brought up the website on the phone. What he saw chilled him to the bone and filled him with more doubts.
A photo showed Hadir slumped over and clearly dead from a gunshot wound to the head. A message taped to his chest read This Is What We Do to Traitors, Ella.
Alhasan mentioned Ella by name. What if Ella was actually one of them? Was their chance meeting deliberate? The thought was unsettling.
He returned to the call. “We need to find Sam now. If this is what Alhasan does to his own people, I can’t imagine what he’ll put Sam and his men through. Let me know the minute you have anything,” he told Liz and then disconnected the call.
With his friend’s life weighing on his conscience, Kyle slipped back into Ella’s room. She hadn’t budged. He sat quietly by her bed and opened the pocket Bible he kept with him always. He felt unsettled. He let the word of God comfort him.
Growing up and through most of his adult life, he hadn’t believed in anything beyond the job. Losing Lena had changed that. Her death had brought him to his knees. He’d hit rock bottom. There was nowhere else for him to turn except to God, and he was grateful every day of his life that he had.
He closed the Bible and stared at the sleeping woman. Why couldn’t he reach her? He was running out of time and options. There was a timetable on Sam’s and his men’s lives. Bringing them home safely depended on him figuring out what Ella was keeping from him.
I have to find him...
Alhasan’s message made it clear if she didn’t do as he asked, he’d kill her like he had Hadir. What was Alhasan expecting her to do? No matter what the truth was, he was positive it would destroy both her life and the lives of many others.
Was her refusal to cooperate with Kyle proof enough that she was planning to do what Alhasan wanted, either against her will or otherwise? She hadn’t said as much, but he was certain Alhasan was using someone she cared about to ensure Ella completed her task, and he obviously had men watching her. He’d certainly proven he could get to her any time he wanted, at least while she was here in Afghanistan.
He pulled out his phone and did a search on her name. He’d need to find out as much as he could about Ella Weiss. Was she real, or just an alias cooked up to fulfill a part in Alhasan’s deadly game?
THREE (#u426148a0-1201-5a5d-ab10-b08fb3004636)
“Ella! Help me!” Someone screamed her name and she turned. Joseph! Something was terribly wrong. Joseph was terrified.
She reached for the boy and drew him into her arms. She could feel him trembling. Before she could reassure him, ask what was wrong, someone jerked him from her arms.
Alhasan. “I told you what would happen if you didn’t do your part, Ella. It’s time for him to die and it’s all because of you.”
“No!” she screamed. Panic welled inside her. She had to save Joseph.
She could hear the boy’s desperate shrieks as Alhasan dragged him from the room.
Ella charged after them like a mother bear protecting her cub, but she was too late. The door slammed in her face. The lock slid in place. Joseph was gone and it was her fault.
Beyond the prison door, she heard Alhasan’s disgusting laugh. She’d lost Joseph, the one thing that had kept her going, and it amused him.
“No. Please, no. I’ll do what you want. Please don’t hurt him,” she screamed and slammed her clenched fists against the steel door. But as always, Alhasan was just out of her reach. If she could reach him, she would make him pay for hurting Joseph.
Someone grabbed her and held her tight. She couldn’t move. She struggled with all her strength to be free but it was useless. Yet unlike all those times in the past, the arms that held her now were gentle. Strong. Familiar...
Her eyes flew open and she stared into piercing gray eyes as stormy as the sea. For a second it threw her until she realized it wasn’t one of Alhasan’s men who held her. It was Kyle. Past cruelty had her pushing frantically against his chest until he let her go. The remnants of the dream were still close and so real that she struggled to find calm.
“It’s okay. You were having a bad dream,” he assured her. She searched his face, wondering how much she’d given away. He didn’t know the truth. Everything about the dream was real except for Joseph’s fate. She still had time to change that.
Just for a heartbeat, in a moment of weakness, she considered telling Kyle about Joseph. If she did, if she enlisted his help, would she be sealing Joseph’s fate? She didn’t dare take that risk.
Compassion softened some of the tautness from his mouth. “I know you’re hurting and I’m sorry. I wish I could take it all away.” She saw the answer in his eyes and she wanted to cry. He was being so kind. Would that change once he knew what her purpose was?
