“Janine went back to Atlanta?” Ben heard the impatience in his voice and swallowed. KC didn’t deserve his bad attitude, but he wanted to spend a little time with his sister before he was called up again.
“Yes. She was in a hurry, so I didn’t hear all the details,” KC answered absently as she stirred some pasta in a huge pot on the stove.
“Why did she have to leave so fast?”
“I asked her that, because it seemed strange, in light of what we overheard.” She turned from the stove to stare at him dead-on.
He grimaced. “Right. Kind of coincidental that she’d have an emergency in Atlanta when your brother came through with those injuries.”
“Ben, is Janine part of a... I don’t know. An elite team or something?” KC gazed at him with frustration in her eyes and he reached out to hug her.
She flowed into his arms willingly, but he was grateful she didn’t fit like Treeny did. This was also a good thing since KC was happily married to his best cousin.
“I don’t know. But it makes sense. I mean, have you ever heard of any Navy doctor being sent for additional training to Johannesburg?”
“That was a trial run, as far as I know. Plus, she was full Navy. It sort of makes sense to send her there.” KC squeezed him for a moment before turning back to her pasta.
He propped a hip against the counter and folded his arms. “Sure, but why not send others?”
“See, that’s a good question. The Navy never sent me, but then, I was a reserve. Janine’s extra training from South Africa made her stand out against all the rookies and some of the veterans in Kuwait.”
“Could part of the reason she was sent to Johannesburg be due to her skin color?” He hated to ask that question, but felt he had to.
She shook her head. “I doubt it. Because there are plenty of people there with different skin tones. Janine should have blended in, but as you know, she doesn’t blend well. Her superiors would know that. She’s got ... I don’t know, a royal presence or something going on.”
“I’ve noticed it too.” He stared at the bubbles rising in the pot.
“Ben, the only thing that makes sense is for her to be a part of some type of special team.” KC turned beseeching eyes on him.
“She’s retired from the Navy, but I suppose they could have called her out of retirement. Do you know how rare that is? Then this Michael Lamont or whoever he is came through and now Janine’s disappeared to Atlanta for an emergency?”
“That man was dangerous in a scary way, wasn’t he?” She looked upset, so Ben ran a hand down her arm.
“I can assure you, while he was dangerous, he would only be dangerous to an enemy. I’d say you’re classified on the other end of the spectrum, KC.”
She nodded, but still didn’t look convinced. Her mouth turned down as she stirred the boiling pasta.
“Why aren’t you more worried about him?” Ben asked the question as soon as it occurred to him. So far, KC had shown very little fear for a patient with such severe injuries.
“He’s in Janine’s care. If anyone can save him, it’s her.” Utter confidence threaded through her statement.
He blinked. “You have that much confidence in my sister?”
“You’ve never seen her work, then, have you?”
Ben stopped and thought about that for a moment. “No, I haven’t.”
“Remember that movie line, “The best of the best of the best”?”
“Yeah, vaguely,” Ben said, trying to remember which movie the line hailed from. It eluded him.
“Well, Janine is the best of the best of the best. She’s the very top of her peers. That’s why she was chosen for Johannesburg, and that’s why I suspect she was chosen for some elite team. If I had to form one, and I needed a doctor, I’d choose her.”
He closed his eyes, maybe in an attempt to shut out the world, but the motion only allowed the images to flow faster. Images of Janine as a member of a special, elite team. This formed into other visions of her bleeding or abused, or both. Then images of some of their enemies torturing her, or worse, for information. Information she might or might not possess.
Some team members worked blindly, because it was safer for them and their team. He wondered if Janine had been a part of that type of team. He also wondered if she’d ever met another member. At least until now. Something had caused the stiffness of her spine and her adamancy that he not pursue the topic of Michael Lamont. It was odder now that he had time to think on it.
If Lamont died, then the group after him would likely try for the members of his team. Ben had only heard rumors... But they were powerful – both the rumors and the people after the operative’s team. He could have helped. He still thought about helping Janine, whether she liked it or not.
A hand on his arm distracted him and he looked down. KC sent him a cocked brow of inquiry. “What?”
“What are you thinking? Because you have me worried.” Her voice was husky with what sounded like fear.
“I don’t know if we need to be worried, KC. That man, what little I could make of him, seems to be the type who can take care of himself. If he’s the man I believe, he’s a legend. People become legends because they’re the best, right?”
“If you say so.” She frowned. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she’d still worry. She turned off the heat under the pot.
“Worrying isn’t going to help us. Obviously, if Janine was chosen for this, she can take care of herself. And your brother is likely in her hands. From what you say, that’s the best place he can be right now, right?”
She hesitated and then nodded as she carried the pot to the sink and drained it through holes in the lid she added.
“Then we need to leave this in the most capable hands. Which aren’t ours,” he remarked with what he thought was indifference, but her lips kicked up.
“Sitting on your hands is driving you insane, isn’t it, SEAL boy?”
“As a matter of fact, surgeon girl, I’m fine,” he lied.
KC snorted before she tipped the drained pasta upright again.
Ben had the fleeting feeling he wasn’t alone in his fear.