Only Kristi.
What was it about her that drew him to her? Hell, yes, she was smart and funny. She was beautiful, too—silky light brown skin, those sweet brown eyes, full lips, lush breasts with large, dark nipples. And, yes, they fucked like they were made for each other, their physical connection combustible. But it was more than that. Even sitting across the room, he felt a pull, a physical need to be closer to her.
Don’t let this end the way it ended in Antarctica.
He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Yeah, their situation was still complicated. His job—if he had one—took him from home every couple of weeks. She technically had three months left on her contract here, though they would probably release her, given the circumstances. Then again, she was stubborn enough to choose to stay. For all he knew, she had another job lined up somewhere far away when she was done here.
But none of that seemed to matter now.
“Did anyone leave or enter the camp while you were there?” the officer asked.
“Not that I saw, but they rarely let me go out of the hut. Some of the younger men went into the forest from time to time for firewood. One day, they caught a little duiker and dragged it into camp to eat.”
Malik had no idea what a duiker was, but he was impressed that she did.
“Did you ever see them speaking by mobile phone to anyone?” the officer asked.
Kristi shook her head. “No.”
“Did they ever talk about their activities in front of you? It’s rare for a random group of bandits to be involved in human trafficking on their own.”
“They talked about robbing people. When they argued about me, they mentioned selling women. I thought they must be sex traffickers.” She seemed calm and collected, but Malik knew her well enough to see that this was hard for her. “Peter said that they usually shared women … before selling them.”
Motherfucker.
Malik didn’t enjoy killing, but he’d make an exception for that bastard.
“Did you overhear any of the bandits talking about the people they worked for?”
Nearby, Obi quit playing around on David’s smartphone, his gaze on Kristi now.
Kristi’s brow furrowed as she considered the question. “I only knew that Jidda was in charge.”
Obi went back to his game.
“Thank you, Ms. Chang.” The officer glanced at her watch. “We are taking you to our main headquarters here in Kaduna for a short press conference.”
What the hell?
Kristi looked just as surprised by this as Malik.
“You don’t have to say anything to the press. We want to let the country know that you are safe and that the bandits have been killed.”
So, the NPF wanted a PR victory and needed Kristi and her bruised face as a prop.
Malik was about to object when David leaned in again. “It’s part of the deal.”
He stood. “Wherever Kristi goes, I go.”
The officer got a bemused expression on her face. “She will be safe. We will have armed officers with her at all times.”
David stood, set his paper aside. “Mr. Jones is her husband. It’s … uh… a secret, and they are in love. You know how it is. Newlyweds.”
Malik met Kristi’s gaze, expecting to see embarrassment or awkwardness. Instead, her eyes held only warmth.
His pulse skipped.
Kristi stood. “I would like to have my husband with me.”