his side where his solid form steadied her.
Her breathing coming just a little too fast, her pulse racing through her veins, Sunny blinked and pressed her palms against his bulletproof vest. “I’m okay. I just need to get out of this…” She lifted her feet, mentally cursing the high heels she’d worn for the show. If she’d been wearing sensible shoes, she might’ve had a chance of outrunning her captor.
Who was she kidding? The man had snuck up behind her and bagged her before she’d known what was happening. And all she’d done was to step out to find the mess hall for something different to eat.
“Miss Daye,” Joe, her head bodyguard said. “I’m sorry this happened. It shouldn’t have.”
“Damn right it shouldn’t have.” She turned to the two men with the MP armbands. “I thought it was safe to move about freely inside the wire.”
The military police nodded their heads. “Yes, ma’am. Normally, it is. Did you happen to see the man who grabbed you?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“We don’t let anyone past the gate who doesn’t belong on this base,” the MP said.
“Then someone on the base isn’t playing the same game as the rest of you,” Sunny said. “I was grabbed from behind, bagged and carried off…inside the wire when all I wanted to do was get a bite to eat.” She shook her head. “Look. You do what you need to do to find that guy. But you should know…this isn’t the first time someone has tried to take me since I landed in this country.”
An older man, wearing uniform trousers, boots and buttoning a uniform jacket came running with more military police. He held out his hand. “Miss Daye, we met before your show. I’m Colonel Bratton, the base commander.”
She gave his hand a perfunctory shake. “I remember.”
He tipped his head to the side. “Please, come with me to the command center where you and your men will be debriefed.”
Still shaking inside, Sunny refused to move away from Dash’s side. “I’m not going anywhere without this man.”
The commander frowned. “And he is…?”
“The man who saved me. I go where he goes.”
The colonel nodded. “He’ll come, too. We need to get to the bottom of this matter as soon as possible.”
The entourage moved as one, following the commander to a building with actual wooden sides and a wooden floor. Inside was a conference table and folding chairs enough to seat twelve.
Dash held out one of the chairs for Sunny. When she hesitated, he leaned close. “It’s all right. I’m going to be in the seat beside yours.”
She slipped onto the hard chair, the bare backs of her legs chilled by the cool metal.
As soon as everyone was inside and had taken their seats, the commander asked, “Can someone explain to me exactly what happened?”
Sunny drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I took a walk to find the mess hall. Someone grabbed me from behind, slapped a bag over me and proceeded to carry me off.”
Dash picked up from that point and rolled with it. “I ran into the man carrying Miss Daye, knocking them to the ground. I would’ve gone after him, but Miss Daye cried out for help. I couldn’t leave her in case her captor returned.”
The commander turned to the military police. “How were you alerted?”
The shorter man stepped forward. “Miss Daye’s bodyguards sounded the alarm when they discovered she was missing. We were making rounds through the base when we got the radio call, not far from Miss Daye’s motorhome. When we heard someone yell, we followed the sound and found Sergeant Hayes and Miss Daye. We radioed in about the abductor. The guys on perimeter are on the lookout. So far, no word.”
“Sir,” Paul Halverson, the man in charge of her bodyguard detail, raised his hand. “This is the second attempt to abscond with Miss Daye. Each base she’s performed at has had an incident, and we have three more to go.”
Colonel Bratton looked around the room. “Perhaps it’s too dangerous for her to continue.”
Sunny’s chin lifted. “What are you saying?”
The commander’s eyes narrowed. “If someone wants you bad enough, he’s going to keep trying until he succeeds. Maybe it’s time for you to cut your losses and go back to the States.”
Before he finished his speech, Sunny was shaking her head. “Sir, I knew the risks when I signed on with the USO. I know our men and women in uniform are at equal, and more risk,