Delta Force Rescue - Elle James Page 0,7
stretched between them for several heartbeats. Then she whispered, “Will you stay with me? On the phone?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, glad she would be in communication all the way. She sounded distraught. If he could keep her talking, he might get her to pull into a hotel and wait for him.
“Just got onto 55,” her words came across his speaker.
“Good, just keep going. When you get close to Springfield, Illinois, we’ll see how far out I am. We can meet up there or somewhere close to that.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m sorry. What did you say your name was?”
“Rafe Donovan.”
“Rafe,” she said, as if rolling his name across her tongue. He liked the way she said it.
“So, Miss Hayes…do you mind if I call you Briana?” he asked.
“Please. Miss Hayes makes me sound old.”
He chuckled. “You don’t sound old to me.” He’d never been good at chit-chat, but he wanted to hear her voice. It made him feel connected. If she ended the call, he wouldn’t know where she was or how she was doing. If she ran off the road, he’d have no idea where to look. “How old are you? Or is that one of those questions a man’s not supposed to ask?”
“No. It’s okay. I’m twenty-seven,” she replied. “How old are you?”
“Old,” he said. “I’m thirty-four.”
“That’s not old.”
“Tell that to my body,” he said. “It’s seen better days.”
“How do you know Ryan?” she asked.
“He’s one of my teammates.” Rafe frowned. “Was one of my teammates.”
“Was?”
“I separated from the Army a week ago. Your brother and I worked together.”
“Delta Force,” she stated.
“That’s right.” He set his cruise control to keep from speeding up and slowing down.
“Ryan and his teammates are pretty tight,” Briana said in that soft, gravelly tone.
“It happens when you go through some of the shit we’ve gone through. Hayes—Ryan—saved my ass on several occasions.”
“And I’m sure you returned the favor,” Briana said. “My brother calls his teammates his brothers. They’re as much a part of his family as I am. Maybe more.”
“Don’t sell him short. He cares about you. He was on the phone with me right after he hung up with you and Hank. If he hadn’t been on a mission, he would’ve been there for you.”
“I know. I hated calling him, but I didn’t know what else to do.” Her words faded off.
“What happened?” Rafe asked.
“A m-man broke into our ap-partment…and k-killed…my roommate.” He could hear the tears in her garbled words.
“Do you need to pull over?” he asked.
For a long moment, she didn’t answer.
He worried that she would run off the road because she couldn’t see through the tears she must be shedding. “You must have loved your roommate very much,” he said in a soothing tone. “What was his name?”
“Her name was Sheila,” she answered. “He killed Sheila. And yes. I loved her like a sister.”
His gut knotted, and his fists tightened around the steering wheel. He’d lost close friends in battle. No amount of words made it better. He didn’t begin to think anything he could say to her would make the pain any easier to bear. “I’m sorry.”
“She did nothing to deserve what he did to her. Sheila wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Did the homicide detective have any clue as to why he did it?” Rafe asked.
“No. But I think I know why,” she whispered.
Not wanting to push her, he waited for her to continue in her own time.
“I helped a woman and her child find shelter. She was running from the child’s father. H-he sent the man who broke into our apartment and killed Sheila. He was looking for the woman and the child.”
“How do you know this?” Rafe asked.
“I didn’t know that I had the woman’s cellphone. Her baby’s father called it. I answered thinking it was for me. When he didn’t get his woman on the line, he demanded I tell him where she was and threatened to come after me.” She sniffed. “After what his man did to Sheila…”
“You did the right thing to ask for help.”
“I had nowhere else to go. I don’t know who works for him or how deep his contacts might be.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Someone followed me from my apartment. When I tried to lose him, he remained on my tail, until I ran a stoplight and he was blocked by traffic.”
He could hear the terror in her voice. “So, you’re the only one who knows where this woman and her child are hidden?”
“The only one who knows who and