Page 89 of Keeping Kara

“She’s probably feeling so guilty right now,” Obi-Wan mused.

“That fucker completely played her,” Pyro growled.

Chaos’s mind was in turmoil. He felt awful for Jen. She’d done nothing wrong, and yet he knew Obi-Wan was right, she probably felt as if this was her fault. But Kara had told him over and over how smooth and charming Nolan had been. How she’d had no inkling that he was a psychopath.

“I’m going to stay here and try to talk to her, if that’s okay with you, Chaos,” Edge said.

“Of course it is.”

“If she says anything else helpful, I’ll call immediately.”

“Don’t pump her for intel,” Chaos said. “She needs to know that we don’t blame her. That Kara won’t blame her for what happened. Oh, and be sure to tell her that Fred is okay. That he went home and Penny has him in her apartment.” As much as he wanted to know every single detail about what happened, having Jen relive her own kidnapping wouldn’t be good for her mental health, and it was obvious that she was already struggling to deal with her role in Kara’s abduction. He wouldn’t add to that, no matter how badly he wanted to know everything Nolan had said and done.

“Thanks, man. I bet Tex could check traffic cameras for her car. It’s not too common of a model or color.”

“Buck’s already talking to him.”

“Good.”

“Take care of Jen and we’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks.”

Chaos cut the line and turned to his teammates. He was at a loss as to what to do. Yes, they had a bit more intel, but he was no closer to finding Kara than he’d been five minutes ago, except now he felt horrible for Jen. She’d been put in a horrific position to trick her friend. Not to mention, she had to be feeling blindsided that the man she’d been dating turned out to be using her to get to Kara.

“Tex is on this. He said he’ll find Jen’s license plate number and he’s using a new program he has to scan not only traffic cameras, but the cameras that busses around here have as well. He knows where to start looking based on where Jen was found. Once he has a general direction, he can hopefully narrow down a location,” Buck said.

“I’ll call the colonel and see if we can get permission to get in the air to search. That’ll be much faster than a ground search,” Casper said.

“Nolan will probably want somewhere isolated, like he had back in North Carolina,” Pyro mused.

Chaos wanted to throw up. Just thinking about Nolan taking Kara somewhere remote to torture her was more painful than he’d expected. Not for the first time, he wished it was him in danger and not Kara. She didn’t deserve this. Hell, neither did Jen. No woman did. He’d never understand why some men felt it was okay to hurt their girlfriends or wives. If they didn’t like their partner anymore, they should just leave. Move on.

“Hang in there,” Obi-Wan told him. “Kara’s smart. She’s not going to do anything to antagonize him. She knows you’ll be looking for her, and she’ll stay strong for you.”

Chaos agreed with his friend, but the pressure on his shoulders was immense. What if he couldn’t find her? What if her faith was misplaced? He’d rather she fight back than comply, just in case he couldn’t get to her in time.

No, he couldn’t think that way. Kara was smart. No matter what that bastard did to her, they’d get through it together, just as they’d dealt with the aftermath of her first kidnapping. And Obi-Wan was right, this time was different. She had him. She wasn’t alone anymore.

Of course, Nolan would also be aware that Kara had friends who were most likely looking for her, unlike last time. It would probably make him less likely to draw this out. Fuck.

“Come on. I don’t know about you guys, but being in hospitals reminds me too much of being here with Mandy when she was hurt,” Buck said. “Tex is going to call us when he has anything.”

“Let’s head to base so we’ll be ready to fly when the approval comes through,” Casper suggested.

They all headed out of the hospital, but Chaos’s mind was focused on Kara. On her smiling face. Her laughter. The way she looked as she slept next to him in bed. How she could be shy and adventurous at the same time. How the smallest thing made her happy.

He prayed that Nolan wouldn’t completely crush everything that made Kara who she was. But no matter what, he wouldn’t give up on her. Would do whatever was necessary to bring them back to where they’d been that morning, when he’d left her at the house. Content, happy, madly in love.

Because any other outcome was unacceptable.

* * *

Kara concentrated on breathing. She could only take shallow pants, but it was enough…for now. She couldn’t turn her head because her neck was restrained so tightly to the headrest. All she could do was stare straight ahead as Nolan drove.

She’d tuned him out long ago, not willing to listen to him brag about how easy it was to dupe Jen, or inform her of all the plans he had for her, once he got them to where they were going.

If she thought too much about the things he was planning, she’d lose it.