too.”
“Did they?” Cooper asked in a hard voice. “How is that?”
Jamel shrank back at his tone of voice. Sasha was about to admonish Cooper when she thought better of it. The camp needed doctors. The doctors needed to be safe. Therefore Jamel needed to give a good accounting of his actions. So she bit her lip and studied the wound. It would benefit from a good cleaning and a new bandage, but other than that it would pain him but it wouldn’t kill him. She looked at the leg but decided it didn’t likely require any emergency attention from her. But the wounds bothered her. “What happens with him?”
“He comes with us.” Mason held up his phone. “The Turkish want to have a talk with him.”
Jamel cried out.
She stood up. “You took money for taking those men to where we were working, so they could kidnap us, didn’t you?”
He looked at her in shame and then nodded.
“Well, that answers that question,” she said quietly. “Of course the Turkish want to talk to you. They need to know who the men were and why they wanted us in particular.”
“They wanted the Americans. Just the Americans they said.”
“Which is what we figured?” She looked at Cooper, one eyebrow raised.
Cooper half lifted and half carried Jamel to the SUV.
“Good, now we can finally get to Yalta’s family and finish this,” she muttered. As she walked back to the SUV with Markus she realized that Mason might have changed his mind about letting the father know. She raced over to where he stood with the huge mountain man that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. Along with his sidekick she barely saw clearly. Talk about living in the shadows.
“Mason,” she interrupted when there was a break in his conversation, only to realize she was the reason for the break. They were all looking at her. She brushed her hair back off her head self-consciously. “Sorry for interrupting, but I want to confirm that we’re still heading for Yalta’s family?”
She stared directly at him.
His gaze narrowed as if hoping she’d relent. Instead she straightened her back and jutted out her chin. “Nothing has changed,” she said.
“Lots has changed,” he countered. “We now have a person of interest that we need to take in for questioning.”
“And that doesn’t change the need to let a young man know that his wife and son are alive and well,” she said gently. “It’s only a few minutes from here,” she said persuasively.
“Might as well do it,” Markus said when Mason looked over at him. “Doc here is a mite too stubborn for her own good.”
“Exactly,” she said with a beaming smile at him. “Thank you for explaining, Markus.”
Markus frowned at her. Mason just narrowed his gaze.
“I’m even more stubborn when it’s for the good of others,” she said in response to Markus’s irritation.
He rolled his eyes at her.
“You should get that problem fixed,” she said earnestly. “One of these days your eyes are going to stay in the back of your head and you’ll be blind.”
He snorted.
She raised an eyebrow and stared calmly back.
He started to look worried.
She snickered. “Gotcha.”
And she ran back to the SUV laughing. Cooper shook his head at her. “Still up to your bad jokes, huh?”
“That was a good one,” she cried out.
“If Markus was six, maybe,” Cooper said.
“Well…” she chuckled and walked to the open passenger door. She stood up on the running board on the side of the truck and as he was close enough, cute enough and the idea just seemed good enough she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’re a sweetie to be so worried about your buddy.”
And she scrambled into the back seat where she’d been sitting before.
*
Cooper didn’t need to see that the others were staring at him with smirks on their faces. He understood the awkward silence well enough. He sighed and was about to climb in beside Sasha when Markus opened the front passenger door and asked,
“Did they?” Cooper asked in a hard voice. “How is that?”
Jamel shrank back at his tone of voice. Sasha was about to admonish Cooper when she thought better of it. The camp needed doctors. The doctors needed to be safe. Therefore Jamel needed to give a good accounting of his actions. So she bit her lip and studied the wound. It would benefit from a good cleaning and a new bandage, but other than that it would pain him but it wouldn’t kill him. She looked at the leg but decided it didn’t likely require any emergency attention from her. But the wounds bothered her. “What happens with him?”
“He comes with us.” Mason held up his phone. “The Turkish want to have a talk with him.”
Jamel cried out.
She stood up. “You took money for taking those men to where we were working, so they could kidnap us, didn’t you?”
He looked at her in shame and then nodded.
“Well, that answers that question,” she said quietly. “Of course the Turkish want to talk to you. They need to know who the men were and why they wanted us in particular.”
“They wanted the Americans. Just the Americans they said.”
“Which is what we figured?” She looked at Cooper, one eyebrow raised.
Cooper half lifted and half carried Jamel to the SUV.
“Good, now we can finally get to Yalta’s family and finish this,” she muttered. As she walked back to the SUV with Markus she realized that Mason might have changed his mind about letting the father know. She raced over to where he stood with the huge mountain man that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. Along with his sidekick she barely saw clearly. Talk about living in the shadows.
“Mason,” she interrupted when there was a break in his conversation, only to realize she was the reason for the break. They were all looking at her. She brushed her hair back off her head self-consciously. “Sorry for interrupting, but I want to confirm that we’re still heading for Yalta’s family?”
She stared directly at him.
His gaze narrowed as if hoping she’d relent. Instead she straightened her back and jutted out her chin. “Nothing has changed,” she said.
“Lots has changed,” he countered. “We now have a person of interest that we need to take in for questioning.”
“And that doesn’t change the need to let a young man know that his wife and son are alive and well,” she said gently. “It’s only a few minutes from here,” she said persuasively.
“Might as well do it,” Markus said when Mason looked over at him. “Doc here is a mite too stubborn for her own good.”
“Exactly,” she said with a beaming smile at him. “Thank you for explaining, Markus.”
Markus frowned at her. Mason just narrowed his gaze.
“I’m even more stubborn when it’s for the good of others,” she said in response to Markus’s irritation.
He rolled his eyes at her.
“You should get that problem fixed,” she said earnestly. “One of these days your eyes are going to stay in the back of your head and you’ll be blind.”
He snorted.
She raised an eyebrow and stared calmly back.
He started to look worried.
She snickered. “Gotcha.”
And she ran back to the SUV laughing. Cooper shook his head at her. “Still up to your bad jokes, huh?”
“That was a good one,” she cried out.
“If Markus was six, maybe,” Cooper said.
“Well…” she chuckled and walked to the open passenger door. She stood up on the running board on the side of the truck and as he was close enough, cute enough and the idea just seemed good enough she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’re a sweetie to be so worried about your buddy.”
And she scrambled into the back seat where she’d been sitting before.
*
Cooper didn’t need to see that the others were staring at him with smirks on their faces. He understood the awkward silence well enough. He sighed and was about to climb in beside Sasha when Markus opened the front passenger door and asked,
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