sick of apartment living,” he admitted. “I’m twenty-nine. I joined the military right out of high school, so after a decade of living with a bunch of guys, first in the barracks and then in apartments, it got old. I wanted my own space.”
“I understand. I rent an apartment but live alone. I always thought I was done with roommates, but I have to admit, after my kidnapping, I’d probably feel better with someone else there.”
“Well, Hailey ended up moving out here and right in with Ghost.”
“I still never talked with Hailey about what happened to her. You said she was kidnapped as well?”
Ethan nodded. “She was. Oddly enough it related back to everything at Bagram. There was a traitor in the general’s office who thought she could ID him. They had someone out here go after her.”
“Holy crap. But that doesn’t relate to my kidnapping, does it?”
“They seem to be separate incidents. The traitor was feeding intelligence to the enemy for money. They still don’t know who took you.”
“Jesus,” Kim groaned, setting her fork down. “I can’t believe both Hailey and I got caught up in all that insanity. After I met with the investigators, they basically said they’d be in touch. What if I’m somehow still in danger?”
“You’re not,” Ethan assured her. “That guy who was after Hailey was arrested and is in jail. The terrorist assholes who took you are in the mountains of Afghanistan.”
“But whoever kidnapped me—what if it’s someone on base with connections? I mean, they kidnapped me from a secure military base. That never should’ve happened.”
“It shouldn’t have,” he agreed. “Personally, I think one of the insurgents snuck in after the suicide bombing at the gate. There were multiple attacks in the area prior to that incident, as I’m sure you’re aware. The Afghanis who work on base are thoroughly vetted.”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I know there were many other incidents with servicemembers killed, but I feel like there’s more that I can’t remember.”
“From when you were kidnapped?” Ethan asked, raising his eyebrows. Kim saw the spark of anger in his eyes. She knew his team had been there a couple of times dealing with the terror cells in the area. With his high-level clearance, he probably knew more than her. At least with regard to the terror cells operating in the region.
“Yeah. The kidnapping itself is all kind of a blur. I don’t remember being taken—just waking up tied up. There were men there talking in Farsi and the one guy who…hurt me.”
“Shit,” Ethan said, reaching across the table as she sniffled. He took her hand in his, running his thumb soothingly over her skin. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.”
She nodded, blinking away tears. “I’ll never forget that guy. I know you don’t believe me, but I swear I saw him at Bagram.”
Ethan blew out a sigh. “You were scared. I believe you think you saw him.”
She shook her head.
“Okay, so say it was him. You’re not TDY there anymore. You’re quite literally thousands of miles away. You don’t need to be afraid of him.”
“You think I’m crazy.”
“Not crazy,” he reassured her. “Stressed. Upset. Hell, I have no idea what I’d think or how I’d act if that ever happened to me. I’ve never been in your shoes.”
“Sorry. Let’s just finish eating.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” he said gently. “I’m glad you’re opening up to me. I’ll talk as long as you need to about it. I just hate seeing you upset.”
“It’s not something I can just quickly get over,” she said, looking at him sadly.
“And I’d never expect you to. That’s why you’re here, remember? To give yourself a little breathing room. I promise you’re not in any danger here, but I swear, if someone tried to hurt you, I’d protect you with my life.”
“Ethan….”
“I would. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m not exactly proud of it, but I shot some of those bastards chasing us down the mountain. If someone showed up here trying to harm you, I’d do the same damn thing.”
She swallowed, staring across the table at him. None of this made any sense—not her feeling of foreboding. Not her panicked feelings when she was alone in a crowd. And certainly not her attraction to the handsome Navy SEAL sitting across from her. She’d just been kidnapped for God’s sake. She shouldn’t be interested in a guy, should see?