Beyond the Breaking Point - Lori Sjoberg Page 0,37
the phone as though she’d never seen one before. Then the full weight of the gift he was offering sank in, and gratitude swelled her heart. “I—I can call my uncle?”
“Call whoever you want, but don’t tell them where you are. It could jeopardize the mission. Like I said, you’ve got two minutes of airtime. We can’t afford to let the battery drain down any more than that.”
She wanted to hug him but knew that kind of display of affection would only make him uncomfortable. So instead, she choked out a simple, “Thank you.”
Two minutes wasn’t a whole lot of time, and she paused to gather her thoughts. With trembling hands, she pressed the power button, dialed the only number she knew by heart, and raised the phone to her ear.
Uncle Evan picked up on the second ring. A game of some sort played in the background. Judging by the noise, somebody just scored. “What?”
God, she missed him so much. Tears blurred her vision as she grinned like a fool at the sound of his gravelly voice. He probably assumed she was a telemarketer calling to sell him timeshares or something. “Uncle Evan, it’s Hope.”
The line went silent for five or ten seconds—even the background noise went away, and she wondered whether the connection had been severed. Her heart sank as the grin faded from her face. “Uncle Evan, are you there?”
“I’m here.” There was an edge to his voice that hadn’t been there before, but it still sounded like music to her ears. “This better not be a damn prank.”
“It’s not, I swear! It’s me, Hope. I can prove it. You called me Doogie while I was in med school, remember? Oh, and back when I got my driver’s license, you wouldn’t let me drive the truck on my own until I learned how to change a tire.” She checked her watch. Almost twenty seconds had already ticked by. “Uncle Evan, I don’t have a whole lot of time, but I wanted to let you know I’m alive and safe, and I’ll call you again as soon as I can.”
The safe part was a stretch, but she didn’t see the point of making him any more worried than he already was.
A shuddering breath carried over the phone. “Holy shit, it’s really you. I didn’t think I’d ever hear your voice again. Where are you, baby girl? What happened?”
“I was kidnapped while working for Los Ayudantes. They didn’t hurt me,” she added to assure him. “A few days ago, I escaped. I’m with a group of people—Americans—they’re keeping me safe. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be coming home soon.” She spoke quickly in order to squeeze in as much information as she could in the short amount of time she’d been given. “I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but I promise I will when I get back.”
“When?”
“I can’t say for sure. Hopefully soon.” She checked the time again. Less than ten seconds left to talk. “I’m sorry, but I have to go; the phone’s almost out of power. I love you, Uncle Evan!”
As she pulled the phone away from her ear, she heard him say, “Wait! Don’t hang up. Tell me where—” Though it killed her to do it, she switched off the phone and handed it back to Wade.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I—no, not really.” Emotions boiled beneath the surface, and she struggled to keep them at bay. She coughed to clear the clog in her throat and blinked back the burn in her eyes. “He sounded so worried. I think I might have made things worse by calling him.”
“I’m sure he feels a whole lot better knowing you’re alive.” Wade’s gaze met hers, and she could have sworn she saw empathy in his eyes. “We’ll get you home to him as soon as we can.”
Hope took a deep breath and tried her best to keep her voice from shaking. “Thank you. For letting me call him.”
He shrugged. “Don’t thank me; thank Austin. He’s the one who thought to bring a sat phone.”
True, but she doubted Austin would have voluntarily allowed her to use it. The battery would only last so long, and every minute of jabbering with friends and family could cost them dearly in the event of an actual emergency. Not to mention, Austin didn’t know about her uncle, which meant Wade had to have brought up the subject and made it possible for her to use the phone.