Special Forces Father - By Mallory Kane Page 0,35
flesh of his hand that surrounded hers. She didn’t know how he did it, but just the rhythm of his heart and the warmth of his hand gave her strength.
She lifted the phone to her ear. “Max, hi,” she said, as calmly as she could. She didn’t open her eyes, but she did force a smile, hoping it would come through in her voice. “Hi, honey.”
“Mah-mee? Where are you? Come get me. I wanna go home.”
“Maxie, honey, I know. You’ll be—” She held her breath, trying to stop the sobs. Travis’s hand squeezed hers. “You’ll be home real soon.”
“I don’t like this place,” he said. “They don’t got movies. I wish I had my car.”
“I know, sweetheart. It won’t be long. Don’t you have any toys there?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, yes, ma’am.”
Kate smiled through her tears. He was just learning how to say yes and no ma’am. She clutched at her chest. Oh, she felt so empty without him. “What kind? Good ones?”
“There’s a bear and a big choo-choo train, and some books.”
“That’s great. Can you read the books? Do you remember the words I showed you?”
“That’s enough,” Kate heard the kidnapper say.
She crushed the material of her blouse in her fist. “Max? Maxie, honey?”
“Mommy? Mahhh-meeee!” he cried suddenly, bursting into tears. “Mahhhmeeee-hee-hee?”
“Get him outta here!” the kidnapper growled. He’d taken the phone away from Max.
Kate heard Max crying and screaming “Mommy” as he was carried back to wherever they were keeping him.
“You bast—”
“Watch out, Doc, if you know what’s good for you and your son. I mean it.”
Kate did her best to compose herself. She sucked in a harsh breath and spoke crisply. “You have to tell me that you’re taking care of him. Is he getting enough to ea-eat? Is that woman staying with him all the time?” The more questions she asked, the calmer she became. There was someone there taking care of her child. Max had actually sounded fine. He hadn’t started crying until the man took the phone away from his ear.
“You just do what you’re told and your kid’ll be fine.”
Kate blotted tears from her cheeks. “I’m trying to. Just please tell me—” She heard a click, and the line went dead. She turned to Travis. “He hung up,” she said, holding out the phone.
Travis took it from her and looked at the display, then set it on the coffee table and held out his arms. Kate didn’t hesitate. She went to him.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. It felt right, as if they’d never been apart. “You did good.”
She shook her head against his shoulder. “I did horribly. He might have let me talk longer if I hadn’t been so demanding when I first answered.”
“No, I don’t think it so. He let you talk to Max a long time.”
“A long time?” She was surprised. “It wasn’t even a minute.”
“Abductors don’t like to let the hostage have too much contact with the outside world. It makes them harder to subdue. Dawson said this guy was a professional, and I can see that he is.” Travis turned his head so his lips were near her ear.
She could feel his warm breaths and the fast, hard beating of his heart.
“It’s also better for the hostage not to have contact with anyone on the outside,” he continued. “That way they won’t waste so much of their energy screaming and crying and trying to figure out ways to escape. The sooner the hostage accepts his fate, the easier his life becomes.”
Kate frowned. What was he talking about? Certainly not about Max. She pulled back and looked at him questioningly.
“What?” he said. He touched a damp spot on her cheek with a finger. It stung. She’d cried so much and wiped the tears away so often that the skin of her cheeks was raw.
She didn’t say anything, she just kept watching him, noting, as she had the first time she’d taken a good look at him, the paleness, his drawn features, the dark circles under his eyes and the fact that his clothes hung from his shoulders, at least a size too large, if not more.
“Come on, Kate. You’re looking at me with that I’m a shrink, don’t try anything look.” He held up a hand in a halfhearted gesture, as if trying to shield himself from her eyes.
“Oh, Travis. You weren’t just on a mission, were you?” she asked softly. “You were captured. You were held hostage.”
He stared at her for a brief