“How you holdin’ up?”
“Okay.” She forced another non-smile before letting it fall flat. “Actually, that’s a lie.”
“What’s wrong?” Concern for her had him dropping into the empty seat next to her. “Are you hurting? I can get Trevor to get you something more for pain if you—”
“No, I’m not in pain.” She shook her head. “Not really. I mean, my ribs and face are sore, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I just...I keep seeing that man. Thatgun.” Sophie cleared her throat. “I really thought he was going to kill me.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“At least the shaking finally stopped.” Sophie grinned, holding out a hand to back up her claim.
“That’s good.” Jason offered her a small smile. “Adrenaline dumps can be a real bitch.”
“Yeah, I’m definitely not a fan.”
He’d felt her tremors earlier, in the SUV. It had taken everything he had not to haul her into his lap and comfort her until they stopped.
As soon as they’d gotten onto the jet, Jason had asked Trevor to look Sophie over. As a former Delta Force operator and Alpha Team’s medic, he felt confident in the other man’s training and abilities.
After a quick field exam, Trevor had reported she had some bruised ribs from being shoved against the bed’s metal railing—her words—and her cheek wasn’t broken, but had begun to turn fifty shades of purple.
Though she didn’t complain about them, Sophie also had bruises beginning to form on the skin covering her neck.
Rage gripped its meaty claws around his heart. It was bad enough the bastard had struck her and damn near killed her, but he’d also choked her at some point, too?
I want to go back and kill the son of a bitch all over again. Slowly.
“Areyouokay?” Sophie looked back at him with concern.
It was only then that Jason realized his fists were white knuckled in his lap. Shit. He needed to get himself together and act like the government agent he was.
“I’m good,” he lied. “Just glad we got there when we did.”
“Me, too.” She shuddered. “If you’d been two seconds later...”
Sophie didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t have to. They both knew exactly what would’ve happened had he and the others arrived any later than they had.
“You said you’re not okay.” He watched her closely. “Is it just the flashbacks, or something more?”
“I’m just...I don’t know.” Focusing on a loose thread hanging from the blanket’s edge, she said, “I just can’t believe everything that happened. The destruction in the city...poor Master Chief Warren. And then there’s Colton.” Sophie’s eyes returned to his. “Have you heard anything more about him?”
“Not yet, but we’re still looking. And we’re going tokeeplooking until we find him.”
Her expression was unreadable. “That man...the one you shot. Do you know who he was?”
Jason wondered what she thought after having witnessed him taking a man’s life. Was she repulsed? Did she see him as damaged goods?
Questions like those had never mattered to him before. Neither had the answers. But now, with her,everythingseemed to matter.
Much more than it probably should.
“The man who attacked you was Abdul Qasim,” he answered her question. “He was the head of Alhukkam, a Yemeni extremists group who led the attack in Djibouti.”
Jason had recognized him the second he saw his dead body lying at Sophie’s feet. Thanks to reliable chatter, Abdul had been on Homeland’s radar for a while, now.
“Syria? Why would he—”
“I don’t have all the details yet,” he cut her off. “But I do know Abdul had known ties to a Yemini nationalist group.”