Private Rogue

Chapter 30

Beth took a sip of wine and followed it with a deep breath.

“I know the Third,” I said. “I flew a Sea Knight in Afghanistan.”

“You look like you’ve seen combat,” she replied. “Not that you’re scarred or anything. It’s in the eyes. Hard to describe. You’ve seen trauma, and it’s left its imprint.”

I nodded slowly. I knew exactly what she was talking about. The horror of battle, the deaths of friends, these were things that would never leave me.

“I was an Osprey pilot,” Beth said. “That’s how Floyd and I met. I always said I’d never marry another soldier, but love makes liars of us all.”

She had another drink.

“I took my discharge when Maria came along. We married soon afterwards, but the nature of Josh’s work means we kept the wedding secret. The Army classified his file. No one is supposed to know we’re together, and we go to great lengths to keep it that way. He doesn’t really go out when he’s on leave, and the kids have been taught never to talk about him.”

She put her glass on a side table, leaned forward and peered at the flames.

“We have an arrangement. If he is ever captured, I’m supposed to take the kids to a cabin we have in the woods and hunker down with them until the danger passes.”

“Makes sense,” I observed. “Bad guys can’t use you and the children as leverage to get him to talk.”

She nodded.

“Three days ago, two guys posing as cops pulled me over when I was bringing the kids home from school. I escaped, but they used a drone to follow us to the cabin — I spotted it just in time before they showed up with others. We had to make it out on foot.”

“And when you did, the guy posing as your father hired me to track you down,” I remarked. “I checked him out thoroughly. His cover was impeccable. Whoever these people are, they’re well-resourced and professional.”

Beth nodded somberly, and I watched her wrestling with concern for her children and husband. I felt anger rising that the man calling himself Donald Singer had used me to put them in harm’s way.

“I’m going to find out who’s behind this,” I assured Beth. “And I’m going to make sure you and your family — including Joshua — are safe.”

Beth replied with a faint smile. Studying her face in the flickering light of the fire, I got the distinct impression she didn’t believe me.