Page 36

“Now look what you’ve done,” Brax said as he moved to Jenny. As he lifted a cup with a straw in it to her mouth, she attempted to shove it away, but she was still too weak.

When she finally stopped coughing, she glared up at Brax. “I can speak for myself.”

He winced at the grating sound of her voice.

“I’m helping.”

She looked up at him. Her eyes were clearer than he’d ever seen them. “No, you’re making this take longer.”

“I don’t want you upset,” he finally whispered.

Then she smiled at him and his heart melted. “Thank you, Brax. Thank you for taking care of me, but I can handle this part.” She reached out her hand for the cup of water and he held it to her lips. She grasped his wrist with her free hand and took a long sip. When she was done, it seemed like she caressed his skin as he took the cup away.

God, I need to get a grip.

“What was your name again?” Jenny asked the embassy guy.

“Peter Meyer. I work in the Embassy’s Regional Security Office. I need to find out everything that went on when you disappeared.”

Jenny shifted, and Brax saw she was trying to sit up.

“Let me help you.”

He’d noted that the bed didn’t have an automatic lift, so he helped her up and fluffed the pillows behind her so that she could be more comfortable in a seated position.

“What do you need to know about my ‘situation’?”

Meyer winced. “You need to understand. Now that you have been found safe, it is our hope not to escalate this incident here in Bangladesh. We realize that it has already generated a lot of interest in the US.”

Jenny leaned forward. “What are you talking about?”

“The political situation in Bangladesh is already complex enough without the US getting thrown into the mix. But if you were targeted by either of the two main political parties, the Awami League or the BNP, then I need to know.”

“I think, to begin with, they were trying to make me think that they were members of Awami, but they weren’t. By the end of the first day, I knew they were just kidnappers out for a buck.”

“How can you be so sure?” Meyer asked.

“I’ve lived in Bangladesh for two years. My job is public affairs for New Era Cyber Tech in Dhaka and that means I’ve had to talk to…” She took a deep breath and motioned for Brax to give her more water. When she was done drinking, she continued. “In my job, I’ve had to talk to many people in public arenas, including politicians, academics, bureaucrats, CEOs and decision makers here in Bangladesh. I’ve run across members of the Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party. But they were completely unlike the people who kidnapped me. Those people were filth.”

Brax watched as Meyer cringed.

“But I want to know what you meant about this being of public interest in the United States?”

Meyer looked over at Brax and Brax shrugged. This was all Meyer’s problem; he was the one who brought it up.

“Two of your colleagues who worked with you here in Dhaka brought it to the press that you had been kidnapped, after they determined that New Era Cyber Tech was not paying the ransom. It’s made quite a stir in the media.”

Jenny turned to look at Brax, and he nodded. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the pillows. Then she looked back at Brax. “What does that mean for me?”

“I’m thinking a big payout from your company, so you don’t sue their ass off.”

She gave him a weak grin.

“Brax, I can’t handle reporters when I get home.”

After hearing her sound so strong, he hated hearing her sound defeated.

Brax had wheedled Jenny’s biography from Gideon, and learned that she was from Wyoming and both of her parents were dead. Her social media accounts were practically non-existent.