Why hadn’t he told her?
Your father wanted me to bring you home by force if you didn’t come voluntarily.
No. No, Derek wouldn’t do that. He’d told her father that he wouldn’t abduct her.
Or did he only tell you that to win your trust?
James had once tried to explain what he did as a Green Beret.
“We go into enemy territory and learn what we can for the troops that follow. We make friends there, get people to trust us, and hope they will help us.”
“What if no one wants to help you?”
“We do whatever we can tomakethem want to help us.”
Jenna had later come to understand that their work included getting inside people’s heads and using what they knew to manipulate people or even entire villages.
Was Derek manipulating her now?
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen the roadblock herself. She hadn’t seen anyone following them. She didn’t know for certain there was a drone. She hadn’t heard the people talking to Derek. Could all of this be some kind of elaborate show to scare her and get her to agree to leave the country?
You’re crazy.
But even as she dismissed the thought, doubt settled inside her.
Your father threatened to make trouble for us in the Senate Armed Services Committee if I don’t bring you back.
“Why are we going to Mazar instead of the hospital? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m taking you where I know you’ll be safe.” Derek met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to waste time debating in a survival situation.”
His words were sharp, his tone of voice making it clear that the discussion was over—and reminding her for a moment of her father.
Jenna felt an old familiar rage rise inside her. No one had the right to make decisions for her no matter what the situation. Shouldn’t he have at least asked her what she thought?
By the time they reached Mazar-e-Sharif, Jenna was fuming. She said nothing as Derek drove them to a compound on the outskirts of the city surrounded by a high concrete wall and razor wire. A gray, steel gate opened to let them inside, where men stood guard with military rifles at the ready.
He parked in a secured underground garage beside a dozen other Land Cruisers like this one and other vehicles—pickup trucks, Jeeps, dirt bikes, ATVs, and some battered Toyota Corollas clearly meant to blend in on the streets.
“Bring your bag. I’ll have someone come down for the rest of it.” He pulled off his helmet and put it on the seat and then climbed out and grabbed a duffel from the back of the vehicle.
She jumped to the ground, went around to the back to get her bag. Now that the danger was over, Jenna didn’t see the need to hold back. “You should have asked me before bringing me here. If this is all some elaborate ploy to get me out of Afghanistan, I’m going to be furious.”
He glared down at her as if she were nuts. “You think I made all this up?”
“I didn’t see the roadblock.”
“You were asleep!”
“What about the QRF guys who were following us? They conveniently disappeared.”
Derek shook his head, his blue eyes going cold. “You don’t trust me.”
Gear slung over his shoulder, he turned away, walked over to an elevator, and punched in a password. “The guys who were following us didn’t come here because they went toyourhospital.”
Stunned, Jenna could only stare.
* * *