Free SEAL Under Siege (Men of Valor) by Liz Johnson Page A

flux. I thought I had a plan, but it didn’t work out. I wasn’t really sure what was next, but when I heard Judy and Hank talk about the kids, I thought I might be able to help. I was an elementary ed major in college, so I figured I could teach some English and just be there for the kids. At least do something.”
    “And then what happened?”
    “I was there for two years without a problem. We offered free low-level medical care—Hank was a nurse—to women and children in need. And in Lybania that’s just about everyone. We gave out food and offered classes for the women, teaching them skills that they could use to help support their families.
    “And then police came.” Her voice took on a distant quality, as though she was more in the Middle East than Southern California. “They had guns like I’d never seen. Big and black and ugly. Hank had a line of patients waiting to see him, but the gunmen just barged in, herding us into a rickety, brown van.
    “There had been a dust storm that morning, and the air was still thick with it. I thought it was the dirt that made it hard to breathe, but then I realized that my heart was pounding so hard I could feel nothing but the thudding inside my own chest. And my lungs couldn’t get enough oxygen.”
    “I’m so sorry. That must have been terrifying.”
    Another long pause, and he had to force himself to let out a measured breath and inhale again silently. He shouldn’t be listening to this conversation, but he didn’t want to interrupt and risk her stopping. This was so different from the briefing he’d received.
    The facts were the same. But the details made the story real.
    This was her life before he’d met her. Before he’d stolen her from under the noses of those madmen.
    “I’m glad I couldn’t hear anything else, because I knew the men were yelling, but I couldn’t understand any of their words. Even when the uniformed officers passed us over to the guerrillas, I followed their pointing fingers and angry shoves more than their words. Because whatever they were saying, their tone conveyed the truth. They hated us.”
    “But why?”
    Did she even know why she’d been captured? Did she even know what her crime had been?
    “We had a bible.”
    It sounded like Ashley patted Staci’s hand, and his sister sighed. “Did they hurt you?”
    Another long pause, and he could envision those long, slender fingers brushing past the scar on her face. “They intended to. But they were waiting for their leader to arrive.” Staci’s voice tapered off like the wind had carried it away. “And then L.T. showed up. And your husband. And they ran with me until I was on the boat.”
    “Safe.”
    Staci made a vague sound that could have been an agreement, but he knew it wasn’t.
    “Well, I’m—” Ashley grunted. “Oh! This baby is ready to kick his way out.”
    “He’s kicking?”
    “He sure is. Want to feel it?”
    Staci’s stool scraped across the floor, and he assumed she was reaching for Ash’s belly until she spoke. “No. That’s all right.” A short pause and then, “Maybe I should go.”
    “Where? I mean, if Tristan brought you here, he must think it’s the best place for you to stay. You’re welcome here.”
    “I— Thank you. I appreciate it, but with your baby on the way, I don’t want to—that is—I don’t want to get in your way.” Staci’s words were a deluge, stammered out fast. But they didn’t make any sense.
    Why would she want to leave?
    “I’d like you to stay.” The tone in Ash’s voice rang true, compassion woven through every word. “I could use the company if you don’t mind.”
    “But you just met me. You don’t even know me.”
    What had her scared enough that she’d rather face a man trying to kill her than stay in his home?
    Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to let Staci put herself in danger while he figured it out. They had a bigger problem to deal with. They had to stop a possible terrorist attack.

SIX
    T