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“That sounds like an important area to check first,” Ray said in his usual gruff tone but Chad appreciated the concession.
“Thank you, General.”
Chad hung up. He dialed Hope’s number, but she didn’t answer. It was two-thirty in the morning. He texted her, asking why she’d left and telling her he’d come as soon as he could.
Then he trudged to his own suite.
Hope had left him.
He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but it hurt. She’d said she’d be here. He needed her right now, and she’d left him.
His mum thought he was amazing and that Hope would wait up. Hope must not think he was too amazing, as she had disappeared after she’d assured him she’d be here. Had something happened, or did she and Faith want to be at their own home after all the craziness?
Had all the hard-won progress in their relationship tonight somehow been reversed? Their phone conversation had been beautiful, and she’d seemed to reciprocate his longing.
Chad’s heart was heavy. Her going home shouldn’t be a big deal. He’d see her in the morning.
But it felt like a very big deal.
ChapterEleven
The driveto Wengen seemed to take forever. They got there after midnight and Captain Levi asked if he could check their house before he left. He was a great guy. Hope could see why Faith was so intrigued by him, but she doubted anything would come of it. Chad had said Captain Levi had darkness in his past. Faith wasn’t a fan of darkness. Also, Hope would never return to Augustine.
Faith was grown and could make her own decisions. Maybe she would go to Augustine without Hope, fall in love with Captain Levi, cast the darkness from his soul as only Faith could do, and Hope would really and truly be alone. Her work would be her life.
Once again, she felt very little hope in her life. Her parents had named her poorly. Big surprise.
After Captain Levi left, they deadbolted the door behind him, armed the security, and went to bed. Faith had tried to get her to talk things out about Chad again, but Hope told her she was exhausted. It was more than needing sleep, though. She wasn’t in a good frame of mind. She didn’t know when she would be again. A reset through prayer might help, despair pushed away and hope shining through. She didn’t know how that was possible without Chad, but she’d taken a lot of hits and kept going with heaven’s help before.
Hope automatically woke at six and saw a missed call and text from Chad. Her heart skipped a beat, and she longed to respond. She couldn’t. With her past, she’d known she needed to stay far from men who couldn’t be faithful. Maybe if he would’ve even nudged that nurse away …
Why hadn’t he?
She started making phone calls to get a helicopter to take them to the Bern Airport and then a chartered flight from Bern home. The helicopter wouldn’t be here until ten. Darn. Chad’s text had said he’d come as soon as he could. She hoped it wasn’t too soon. If he caught her here, it would be the emotional battle of her life to keep her defenses up. She would focus on that nurse kissing him and him not shoving the woman away. She’d bring up all the pain of him kissing Bermuda years ago.
Hope tried to deal with work emails and new distributor requests, but she couldn’t. It was a deep level of anguish if she couldn’t even work. A workout would help clear her mind.
Something had to help.
Heading to their home gym in the basement, she needed not only a clear mind but a distraction. She’d prefer to get outside, but with the terrifying bomb yesterday and Roger on the run, the gym would be safer.
Halfway through a lower body weight workout, the doorbell rang. Hope turned off her music. Chad? Her traitorous heart leapt before she reminded herself that Chad would use the code and come in through the garage.
Their house was half a mile from the main village, around the side of the mountain. Occasional runners or hikers followed the trail past their house and up the mountain, but most people didn’t even know they were here. They didn’t have neighbors or tourists come ring the doorbell often—or ever.
She pumped up the stairs and into the entryway. Her heart took a nosedive.
A young man had a pistol pointed at Faith.
Her sister was stiff. She turned around, terrified eyes on Hope, and squeaked out, “Hope?”
Hope had absolutely no idea how to fight against a gun aimed at her sister. Her innocent, sweet, loving sister. Hope had to stop this man before he hurt Faith.
“Hello there, Hope Radisson. It’s a delight to make your acquaintance. I’m Ramone Pitcher. My father and I need a little help, and we think you and your sister are the perfect people to fulfill our objective.”
Roger’s son. Her stomach flipped over. What did they want them to do? What would they do to them? They could hurt or kill Faith. No! How could she keep her sister safe? She prayed desperately and tried to appear brave.
She tilted her chin up and stared him down like a vendor who wasn’t representing her product well. “I don’t know how we could possibly help you.”
