Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Avoiding the main entrance, Zale passed the base and pulled into a restaurant that bordered on it. Parking, he turned to her. “I need to check if you’re hurt. You’re bleeding. Can I see your wrist?”
She studied the oozing injury as if it had happened to someone else. Zale suspected that shock kept her from feeling pain. “He zip tied me to the door handle. During the accident, the door ripped open and pulled me out. The force must have broken the plastic strip.”
“We should get that cleaned up. Do your wrists hurt?” An impact like that could have broken her bones. Zale opened the back door on the Jeep and pulled out the first aid kit he always carried. When he turned back to her, he saw Pippa rotate her hands.
She shook her head. “I’m okay. Just cut. I’d already worn the skin down, trying to get away. The door handle had a bunch of deep grooves in it when I woke up. I don’t think those were from me.”
“You think you weren’t the first woman he’d captured?” he asked, checking to make sure he understood what she’d implied.
“I couldn’t have been. He was too cold and detached. Completely unfazed by any threat or challenge—like he’d already dealt with everything before.”
Zale shook his head. “Can you tell me your full name?”
“Pippa. Pippa Twinner.”
“Hi, Pippa. I’m glad to meet you. Would you mind if I call my team? Maybe we can figure out how to keep you safe. Is there anyone back home searching for you?” Zale asked as he opened the case and grabbed supplies to clean her wounds.
“No.” The flatness of that answer concerned him.
“No one would have gotten worried when you didn’t show up at work? Surely, someone’s noticed you’re gone?” he asked, wetting a gauze pad with water. He held out his hand for hers and gently cleaned her skin. When she didn’t answer, Zale paused and looked up at her.
After shrugging uncomfortably, she answered, “I doubt it. I’d just found new homes for all my stuff and quit my job for this new position. I am such a fool.”
“I think you trusted the wrong person. My team you can rely on—they’re the good guys. Can I call them?”
“Okay,” she whispered. “Do you have anything to eat?”
“Soldier rations.” Zale grabbed a bar from his emergency stash and opened it for her. Her quick bite revealed her desperate hunger. How long had it been since she’d eaten? He grabbed a bottle of water and cracked it open for her. Pippa devoured them both as he contacted Jerico, his team leader.
CHAPTER 2
The team arrived in twenty minutes, jogging down the road with Jerico wearing an extra pack in front of him. Zale knew immediately that they had left under the guise of a regular, off-base training run. He made eye contact with Caden the minute they came into view.
Even across the distance, the oldest member of the team assessed the situation quickly. Caden nodded at Pippa, asking a silent question. Zale answered him with the same gesture—she was under his protection now. He focused back on Pippa who hadn’t sensed their approach.
“My team just showed up,” he reassured Pippa as he soothed ointment over the deep gouges caused by the zip ties. Zale saw her tense up, and said, “They’re the good guys. I’m going to check you for any additional injuries. Let me know if anything hurts.”
In a couple of minutes, the team was close. He quickly ran his hands over her, searching for injuries or fractures. Thankfully, he didn’t find anything concerning—only scrapes and bruises.
“Hey. Thanks for coming,” Zale called as he wrapped the gauze around her wrists.
“You owe us a run,” Koa complained.
Zale ignored him. Koa could be abrasive, but like the others, Zale knew he could trust them with his life—and had. “This is Pippa.”
“Hi, Pippa. Looks like you got banged up. Here, drink this,” Jerico said, handing her a flask from the extra pack. “It’s a hydrating drink.”
Instantly, she unscrewed the top and guzzled down the mixture. Zale plucked it from her hand. “Go slow. You’ll make yourself sick.” He kicked himself for not thinking of that as he handed it back to her.
She nodded and took small sips.
“Better,” Zale praised her before addressing his team. “Pippa was taken from Montana a few days ago. We’re not quite sure how long ago. She thought she’d gotten hired for a new position out of town. Pippa was smart and got away from the man who’d kidnapped her during an accident.”
“Cops?” Caden asked.
“No, please. I just want to be away from them,” Pippa answered, trembling.
“We can keep you safe, but there may be other women in trouble, too,” Zale pointed out. He didn’t want to scare her into fleeing, but there would never be an end to running if the man wasn’t stopped.