Amy wasn’t surprised that the CIA was the first to respond to her inquiry about Terrance Gunning, but the source of the phone call she received stunned her.
Warren Harris, the deputy director of operations, called personally to give her the man’s background. “Terrance Gunning was in the navy for six years. He left the military and began working as a civilian contractor for naval intelligence four years ago.”
“If he’s only worked for the navy, I’m surprised the CIA has any information on him.”
“He applied to work for us when he left military life, but he didn’t make it through our initial screening.”
“May I ask why?”
“His foreign language skills were limited to Spanish, so professionally, he wasn’t a good fit. At the time, we weren’t looking for specialists in Latin America. Personally, his debt level was higher than it should have been, and his psych profile showed some areas of concern.”
“Like?”
“I guess you could call it the James Bond syndrome. He had a glorified view of what CIA life is like, and his spending habits indicated image was his priority.”
“Do you have any idea why he was aboard the Truman yesterday?”
“I don’t. One of my people contacted the Pentagon, and no one seems to know who actually authorized his travel. We think he may have managed to put in a ghost travel order.”
“Meaning he authorized it himself.”
“Exactly,” Warren confirmed. “He also hasn’t been to work since leaving the ship.”
“Does anyone know where he is?”
“Negative. My people checked the GPS signals on his phone and car to find both were at his apartment, but when I sent someone over there, he was nowhere to be found.”
“Great,” Amy muttered.
“I’ll let you know if we find anything else out.”
“I did have one more question for you.”
“What’s that?” Warren asked.
“Have you heard from Vanessa Johnson lately? I tried calling her, and she’s not answering.”
“I’m afraid she’s going to be out of touch for a few days.”
“I see.” Amy understood the unspoken message. “Thank you for all of the information. Please let me know if you locate Terrance Gunning.”
“I will. Same goes for you.”
Amy took down his number, hung up the phone, and did the only thing she could think of. She prayed for everyone she cared about to return safely home.
* * *
“Do you think they’re all right?” Paige asked after an hour of silently reviewing files.
“I think so.” Damian hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. He thought back to Kel’s explanation of why he had been left behind and the way the commander had said he had been worried about the mission. He was now starting to believe that maybe it wasn’t his skills that had been called into question. Maybe it really was the risk level of the assignment. At the moment, that idea was more unsettling than his original impression that he’d been found wanting.
Damian looked up at the clock on the wall. “We should probably call it a night. Did you want to go out and grab something to eat?”
“I think I’m too nervous to sit in a restaurant right now,” Paige said. “I was thinking about ordering in. Do you want to come over, and we can call in some Chinese food?”
Damian thought about it for a minute, a little surprised at how quickly he had come to expect he would spend his free time with Paige. “That sounds good. I could use something to keep my mind off all of this.”
“I know what you mean.” Paige gathered the papers she had been working with and put them into file folders. “Do you have a vault in here where we can secure the classified documents?”
“Yeah, over here.” Damian opened the second drawer of the vaulted safe beside his desk and secured his documents as well as hers. “It will take me a few minutes to lock up. If you tell me what you want, I can call in our order and pick it up on my way over.”
“I like anything that doesn’t have bell peppers in it.”
“Why would anyone put bell peppers in Chinese food?”
“I have no idea, but some people do.” Paige slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Just order a couple of things you like, and we can share.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you at your place in about a half hour.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.” Paige left the office, and Damian finished securing everything in the room. He looked at his teammates’ desks. Though they had only been together for a short time, he could almost hear Tristan telling him with that Texan drawl not to worry or Quinn teasing him about how he shouldn’t be standing around thinking about them when he had a chance to go out with a beautiful woman.
Damian tried to take the imagined advice, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard a whisper of one more thing they would expect him to do. He crossed the room to close the door Paige had left open, folded his arms, and offered a heartfelt prayer.
* * *
Paige waited for Damian. There were still boxes to unpack and clothes to put away, but she couldn’t seem to focus long enough to do anything beyond setting the table.
The images of what Damian’s squad could be going through right now kept running through her head, frightening images of torture and even death. She didn’t know these men well, but she didn’t have to for those possibilities to leave her uneasy. She also couldn’t shake the guilty feeling of relief in knowing Damian was still here safe and sound. Although sound was a relative term. Clearly, the uncertainty of his friends’ fate was wearing on him.
She looked over at the clock on the stove to see he was already fifteen minutes late. Now a new set of emotions crept through her. Had he decided he didn’t want to be around her tonight?
Three more minutes passed as she paced back and forth across her apartment. Her stomach growled, reminding her that in the confusion of getting Vanessa ready to leave, she had missed lunch.
She was debating eating a snack when she finally heard Damian’s truck pull up outside. Even though she knew it made her seem anxious, she met him at the door, pulling it open as he came up the walk. “I was starting to get worried about you.”
“I’m not the one you need to be worried about.”
She heard the remorse in his voice and found she couldn’t begin to imagine the anguish he must be feeling right now. She stepped aside to let him in and followed him to the table, where he set the paper bag of Chinese food.
Determined to be positive for Damian’s sake, Paige waited for him to set the food out. When he turned, a troubled expression on his face, she followed instinct and stepped forward, slipping her arms around his waist.
She saw the surprise on his face but noticed he didn’t hesitate to encircle her with his arms and return the hug. He pulled her tightly against him as though the gesture of comfort was a lifeline he had been grasping for without knowing it.
A combination of emotions took her breath away. She caught the lingering scent of Chinese food on his clothes, felt the stubble on his chin rub against her hair, and couldn’t stop the unexpected ripple of pleasure at finding she fit so well in his arms. Contrasting those sensations was the tangible worry in the air.
“I’m sorry everything is so unsettled right now. You have every right to be worried,” Paige said softly.
“I thought you were going to tell me not to worry and that everything will be okay.”
“I hope everything will be okay. I pray it will, but worrying is normal, and I doubt you’ll be able to stop no matter what I say.”
Damian shifted back slightly so he could see her face. “I’m sorry I was late.”
“It’s okay.” Her lips curved slightly. “I was just worried about you.”
His own lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile. “Come on. Let’s eat while it’s still hot. I’m sure you’re going to tell me I have to keep up my strength.”
“That sounds like something I would say.” She took a step back and let her arms drop back to her side.
Damian pulled a chair out for her and waited for her to sit before taking the chair across from her. “You know, I’m never quite sure what to expect when I’m around you.”
“You don’t know me very well yet.”
“That’s true, but I’m starting to realize that I want to.”
“I’d like that.” Paige watched Damian open the cartons of Chinese food and dish some out for both of them. When their eyes met again, she gave him the words she felt he needed to hear. “We are going to find them.”
“You’re right. We are.” Damian gave her a determined look. “Whatever it takes.”
* * *
A light rain drizzled down on the five figures perched on the edge of the landing zone. The cloud cover hid any moonlight that might have otherwise illuminated the wide clearing.
“Do you think anyone will show up?” Quinn asked from his position beside Seth.
“Only one way to find out.” Seth glanced at his watch. “Five more minutes. Even you can wait that long, Quinn.”
“We’ve already waited twenty-four hours.”
Seth heard the rumble of an engine and lifted his binoculars. “I hear an aircraft.”
“Commercial flights don’t come into Canaima at night,” Quinn said optimistically.
“Our guys would come in dark. I see lights.”
“I agree,” Brent said, shifting to stand beside them.
“It’s your call, Brent. What are your orders?”
“Stand fast. Let’s see what happens.”
The helicopter closed the distance, slowing a half mile before reaching the clearing. A beam of light swept out over the landing zone.
“Something is not right,” Seth said.
The words were barely out of his mouth when gunfire burst through the air, strafing the five forms in the clearing, punishing them until there weren’t any left standing. Bullets continued flying through the air for several more seconds, an exclamation point on the pilot’s determination to make sure the men were dead. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the helicopter circled and headed back the way it had come.
“Well, that was overkill,” Brent said, stepping out from behind the boulders where his squad had taken cover.
Strewn across the clearing were the shredded clothing and palm leaves that had been stuffed into them to make it appear as though the squad was standing by the landing zone.
“I guess it’s safe to say they weren’t here to pick us up,” Tristan said.
“Good thing they didn’t get close enough to notice it wasn’t us standing out there,” Seth added.
“Salvage whatever you can of your spare clothes,” Brent said.
“Not much chance of that.” Jay lifted a shirt that had been shredded by the bullets.
“Better your shirt than you,” Seth reminded him. “The good news is that whoever was after us thinks we’re dead.”
Tristan kicked a coconut on the ground. “Yeah, but we’re still trapped out here in the middle of the jungle.”
“Not for long,” Brent said firmly. “Come on. Let’s head back to camp and get some sleep. We’ll set out at first light.”