Kidnapped by a SEAL - Makenna Jameison Page 0,17
that was part of the rescue op. And you know nothing about it, catch my drift?” Hunter asked, raising his eyebrows.
Emily blew out a sigh. “Got it. You weren’t ever here. Neither was this Raptor person.”
Ryker chuckled, and Emily felt her cheeks heating. He looked at her far too closely, and she didn’t like feeling fragile and dependent on this man she didn’t even know.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and the doctor strode back in. “Goodness, now there are two of you in here? Both of you are going to have to leave. No arguments, Ryker,” she added before he could get a word in. “I need to assess the patient. If she does well today, she may be allowed to fly home tomorrow.”
Hunter chuckled. “I’ll touch base with you later on, Ms. Swenson. I’m working things out with the CO. And of course your charming and lovely doctor here.”
“Not another word,” she said, shooing both men out the door. Ryker cast one last glance at Emily, and she watched in confusion as he reluctantly left. A nurse breezed in with her water, and she found her mind wandering as the doctor began to list the battery of other tests they’d run.
She realized she hadn’t even gotten to call her parents and best friend yet to let them know she was okay. “Can I make a phone call?” she asked.
“Of course,” the doctor replied. “As many as you want. We’ll do the additional tests, like I mentioned, and let you rest for the remainder of the day. If all goes well, the SEALs will then escort you all the way back home.”
Chapter 8
Ryker gathered with his team in the back of the C-17 cargo plane, leaning forward in his seat as they began to discuss the situation. The roar of the engine had them all huddling together to be heard, and he glanced up to where they’d been sitting before.
Emily lay on a makeshift bed near the front of the plane, looking both battered and beautiful. The lump on her forehead had turned an angry purple, but the color had begun to return to her face after getting some fluids and rest over the past twenty-four hours.
Her silky dark hair stood out against the white blanket, and Ryker shifted his gaze back toward his men.
The last thing he needed was to get involved with a hostage they’d rescued.
Not that she’d want to get involved with him, but Jesus Christ. She was gorgeous. Maybe a little thin and frail thanks to her ordeal, but she still had feminine curves and full lips he’d just about kill to feel moving over him. He hadn’t thought of her romantically as he’d carried her to safety two days ago, but now that the adrenaline from the rescue mission had abated and he’d gotten a few moments to actually look at her?
She was fucking gorgeous.
Not to mention sound asleep and under their care until they arrived back in the States. He shouldn’t even be thinking about her that way, let alone watching her sleep with those thoughts in his head.
“So what’s the latest intel?” Colton asked, bringing Ryker’s mind back to the present.
“It’s believed Izallah escaped the compound,” Noah said. “Why the hell he wanted Emily is anyone’s guess. She was probably just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“So what—he just wanted an American woman to add to his collection of wives?” Ryker asked in disbelief.
Hunter shrugged. “Who the fuck knows? It’s about power and control with those assholes. Someone could’ve seen her on base and gotten a nice, hefty fee for ambushing the Humvee and capturing her. It probably didn’t matter who the woman was; they just needed an easy target. The fact that she’s young and beautiful certainly didn’t hurt.”
“It’s disgusting,” Noah said. “That whole backwards mindset is fucked up.”
“Agreed,” Hunter replied. “It’s also well-known that this asshole is vindictive as hell. Men who haven’t done exactly as he wanted have been found dead with their throats slit. He takes out revenge on those who dare cross him. It’s unlikely he’d come after Emily or that he even knows who she is if he wanted to track her down, unless we believe the theory that there was an informant.”
“Seems unlikely,” Mason said. “That jackass would take any woman. She was just in the wrong place.”
“She needs protection,” Ryker said.
Colton raised his eyebrows. “On the chance she was targeted? Normally I’d agree, but she’s not just some helpless woman. She’s a special