Malik and Shields shared a glance, Shields biting back a smile.
Seeing Tower in daddy mode was new to Malik and … strange.
Then Jenna, Tower’s wife, appeared. “See you later, honey. Say goodbye, Layla.”
Layla waved, her tiara tottering. “Bye-bye, Daddy.”
The screen went dark.
Tower turned his chair to face them, irritation on his face. “What’s so important that you two had to barge in here?”
Malik met Tower’s gaze, fought to rein in his emotions. “Samantha, Isaksen’s fiancée—”
“I know who Samantha is.”
“She called me at home a half hour ago. A good friend of hers, Kristi Chang, was just abducted by unknown armed assailants in Nigeria, where she was working as a nurse with some international aid organization. The bastards killed the security guards and dragged her away. She was the only one taken.”
“Shit.” Tower nodded, then arched a brow. “Why did Samantha callyou? Where’s Isaksen? Shouldn’thebe the one pounding down my door?”
And just like that, Tower had him.
Malik stammered out an answer. “He’s, uh, on his way, sir.”
Shields took over. “Kristi Chang was the nurse who helped save Isaksen’s life when he was shot at Amundsen-Scott Station last year. She gave him round-the-clock medical care. The team on that op all got to know her pretty well.”
Tower nodded, understanding on his face. “She’s important to this company and its staff. That’s what you’re telling me?”
Malik and Shields answered, almost in unison. “Yes, sir.”
“We’re leaving in three days for a week in Burkina Faso. I’ll connect with Corbray and have him check with the State Department. If they’ve got some idea where she’s being held, maybe they’d be willing to bankroll a rescue before we head home.”
Malik shook his head. “She’ll be alone with those bastards for at least ten days.”
And every hour would be a living hell.
“Most hostage rescues take weeks or even months. You know that.” Tower picked up his smartphone. “Shields, start working on an intel package. Give us something to wave at the Pentagon. If you find a terrorism angle, so much the better. They like that.”
“Yes, sir.” Shields took Malik’s arm, drew him out of the office with her, closing the door behind them and following him to the elevator. “Did you think he was going to put us all on the plane today?”
“Yeah.” Malik pushed the button, stepped inside the elevator, helplessness welling up inside him at the thought of what Kristi might be going through. “Maybe.”
Shields waited until the doors closed. “So, you and Kristi, huh?”
She had figured it out. Of course, she had. Damn CIA types.
“It wasn’t like that. It was just …”
“Just sex?” Shields didn’t look like she believed him. “You almost kicked down Tower’s door over a woman you hadjust sexwith? I don’t buy it. Tower will figure it out, too, if you don’t dial back the rage.”
“Right.” Malik drew a breath, his mind made up before he exhaled.
If Cobra didn’t get tasked with this rescue, he’d take leave and go after Kristi himself.
2
It seemed to Kristi that they drove forever over bone-jarring roads. Even with the windows open, the heat was stifling, the reek of unwashed bodies overwhelming. Her captors spoke to one another in a language she didn’t know or sang along in English to the radio. She tried to count turns—left, left, right, left—but after a time, it was impossible to remember. She hadn’t heard traffic or honking horns, so wherever they were taking her must be far from any village or city.
Her poor parents! When they got the news, it would shatter their day. They would call relatives in Beijing. The whole family would worry.