What the fuck?
Kazi was involved in this?
“How do we know they were after us? I met with Governor Kazi. He welcomed me and gave me his blessing to work here.”
“I’ll show you.” McManus forwarded the drone footage again. “This is your vehicle. Here, you can see Qassim and his goons turnin’ ’round when they get word from Hamzad about the tracks you left. Here’s Hamzad. See? They were huntin’ for you, and this Hamzad fellow was helpin’.”
Derek blew up the image so Jenna could see Hamzad’s face. “I was warned that he worked as Kazi’s eyes and ears at the hospital.”
“Maybe he saw or heard somethin’ Kazi didn’t like.” McManus moved through the footage, showing Jenna when Qassim had realized his prey was gone. “He got back on the highway here, but he turned off toward the hospital. We followed him. He stopped just down the road and waited. Hamzad walked out of the compound at one point to talk wi’ him, maybe to tell him you weren’t there. Then Qassim drove off toward Mazar.”
“Any questions, Ms. Hamilton? Or maybe you think all of this is part of my elaborate abduction scheme, too.” Derek gestured toward the screens.
Jenna’s face flushed scarlet. “No. Thank you. I’m sorry I doubted you.”
Her apology did nothing to blunt his dark mood.
“You think we faked this?” Cross snorted, a big grin on his face. “Tower here is good, but he’s not that good.”
But McManus glared at Derek. “The lass has had a hard time of it. She’s pure done in. Surely you can see that.”
“Thank you all for working so hard to keep me safe.” With that, Jenna picked up her duffel and walked out of the room.
“Does she know where she’s goin’?” McManus asked.
Hell.
“Have someone from internal security meet me at the guest suite.” Derek went after her. “Jenna!”
She stopped and turned toward him, distress mingled with exhaustion on her face.
“The barracks are this way.” He led her down the hallway and to the east wing of the building. “I would never lie to you.”
Why had he said that? He shouldn’t have to defend himself.
“I really am sorry. You told me my father had paid you to take me out of Afghanistan by force and that he’d threatened your business, and I… I was afraid, and I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
That’s what you get for sharing your mission parameters.
Still, the regret in her voice eased some of his anger.
“Like you said, you didn’t see any of it.” He stopped outside the suite of rooms set aside for guests—Pentagon officials, members of Congress, foreign dignitaries. “You should be comfortable here until we can figure out what happened today. It’s my expert opinion that you shouldn’t return to the hospital until we know for certain whether Qassim and his men were after you.”
She nodded, her expression troubled. “I’m letting them down. I’ve left them understaffed. They must be worried about me.”
“I’ll get in touch with Farzad and tell him what happened.” The man needed to know about Qassim—and Hamzad.
Grant, head of Internal Security, strode toward them. “Hey, Tower. Welcome, Ms. Hamilton. I’ve got your keycard here. It’s encoded to allow you access to authorized areas of the building—your suite, the mess hall, the gym, the laundry, the media room.”
Jenna took the card from him. “Thank you.”
“The bed is unmade,” Grant told Derek. “We weren’t expecting anyone.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“I hope you’ll be comfortable here, ma’am.” Grant disappeared down the hall.
Jenna swiped her card, and the door opened with a buzz.