Prologue
Our top story tonight is the kidnapping of four service members by the terrorist group ISIS in Syria. A new video has surfaced showing who is believed to be Sergeant Penelope Turner, once again declaring her allegiance to Allah and warning the United States and Great Britain that if they don’t pull all troops out of the Middle East, the wrath of Allah will be brought down upon all Americans and Brits.
Sergeant Turner, along with three other Army personnel, was kidnapped about a month ago while she was on a humanitarian mission in Turkey. The refugee camps on the Syrian border have swelled to hundreds of thousands of people trying to escape the unrest in Syria. There’s no running water and not a lot of food. The conditions are primitive, at best. The Turkish forces are doing all they can to deal with the influx of people, but it’s simply not enough. The President authorized American troops to go in and assist with the situation. Turner and the other soldiers were kidnapped while patrolling a particularly dangerous section of the camp. Unfortunately, the men who were taken along with Turner were found two days later; they’d been strung up on crosses and burned alive.
There had been no word of Turner’s fate until two weeks ago when the first video surfaced. She was wearing a veil, and while not much of her could be seen, officials say she sounded good and looked like she hadn’t been heavily tortured.
Her fate is still unknown, and as of now, the government has no idea where she’s being held. They continue to reassure her family that they are doing all they can to find and rescue her. Stay tuned for an interview with Penelope’s brother, Cade Turner, a firefighter from San Antonio, Texas.
Chapter One
Caroline lay in bed with one arm slung over her husband’s chest and idly ran her fingers over his nipple. They were both content and sated after making love for the second time that night.
“Do you think they’ll ever find her?” “Who, darlin’?” “Penelope. That woman who was kidnapped in the Middle East.”
Matthew “Wolf” Steel shifted under his wife and kissed her forehead lightly. “Probably not.” He felt Caroline sigh as she turned her head into his chest and nuzzled farther into him.
“I can’t help but imagine myself in her place,” Caroline said sadly. “Ice, I can’t—” “No, I know. It’s not the same thing really at all, but every time they’ve shown that video of her and how she’s probably being forced to say all those horrible things, all I can think of is that her tone doesn’t match the look in her eyes.”
“What do you mean?” Wolf asked, genuinely curious. “She sounds meek and serious, but I swear, Matthew, her eyes look pissed. As if she’s just waiting for her chance to turn around and kill all those men who are keeping her captive. And I see it because I know just how she feels. When I was kidnapped and that jerk was filming me, I was saying one thing, but deep inside felt something way different. And I was doing everything I could to send a message to you, and whoever else might watch that video, through my eyes. I know, it was stupid to think you could actually read what I wanted to say in my eyes, but inside I was thinking about how much I loved you. I was trying to tell you where I was, and I was pleading for you to come and find me. I could be wrong, but it’s obvious, at least to me, that Penelope Turner is trying to say many of the same things.”
Wolf turned until Caroline was on her back and he loomed over her. He braced himself up on an elbow and brushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear with his other hand. She grabbed his biceps and looked up at him with such love, he still had to pinch himself sometimes to make sure it was real.
Three years had passed since he’d made her his wife, and every day since then he thanked his lucky stars they’d found each other. She made him happier than he’d ever been in his life.
“Yeah, I saw it back then as I watched you on tape, and I see it in Sergeant Turner now.” Caroline bit her lip, then asked, “Do you think they’re…hurting her?”
Wolf kept his voice low and tried to sound reassuring. “It’s hard to say. They’re certainly keeping her for a reason, probably because she’s small, blonde, and a woman. They want to force the world to pay more attention to them and take them seriously.”
“You mean the bombing of that wedding last month didn’t do it?” Caroline’s tone showed her irritation.
Wolf shook his head, amazed that he could fall in love with his wife more every time she opened her mouth. He loved that she didn’t take things at face value, that she felt deeply and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “Unfortunately, no. They need something bigger than that. And kidnapping a group of Americans isn’t big, not like on the scale that 9/11 was, but if they keep the U.S. distracted—and putting a beautiful, petite woman on television and making her say anti-American and anti-British things is distracting—perhaps they can work their way up to another grand gesture.” “I love you, Matthew.”
Wolf smiled down at Caroline, not surprised at her change in subject. “I love you too, Ice.” “I’m also very proud of you.”
“Thank you, baby. You’ve done some pretty awesome things yourself in your research too.” “I wasn’t done,” Caroline pouted, gripping Matthew’s arms tighter.
“Sorry,” Wolf chuckled. “Go ahead.” “I’m proud of you, but if you ever get kidnapped by those assholes, I’m gonna have to gather the girls, and Tex, and knock some heads.”
“I’m not gonna get kidnapped. I hate to say it, but those soldiers didn’t follow proper protocol. I’m not sure what happened, but they obviously separated from their unit in that refugee camp and didn’t have backup. I don’t know if they were lured away from the rest of their unit, if they simply didn’t think they were in danger, or even if they were ordered to patrol without proper procedure being followed, but you know the team and I are always very careful, Ice. We’d never willingly expose ourselves to danger.”
“Okay, I’m just saying.” Wolf smiled, leaned over, and kissed Caroline. “What time is this thing tomorrow?”
Caroline smiled hugely and Wolf eased down next to her onto the mattress again, letting Caroline snuggle into his chest once more. He never got tired of her affectionate nature, and the way she would immediately throw a leg over his, and how she’d curl into his side the second he lay down.
“Well, it’s supposed to start at two, but I’m sure the others will trickle in as they can get there. Jess is always late, but I can’t blame her. It has to suck trying to get two babies out and ready and gather up all the stuff she needs to bring with her. I swear, I’ve never seen so much baby stuff as she and Kason have!”
Wolf chuckled. “Yeah, and where did she get all that baby stuff?” He felt Caroline smile.
“Okay, me and the girls might have gone overboard two years ago, but Sara was the first baby born to any of us and we wanted to make sure Jess and Kason had everything they needed. Besides, it’s still getting plenty of use with John.”
“I think they certainly have everything they need, and then some,” Wolf said with a short laugh. Caroline poked him. “Hush.”
They were silent for a moment, then Caroline asked softly, “Are you sorry we don’t have kids?”
“No.” Wolf’s answer was immediate and sincere. “I’ve never felt the urge to have kids like a lot of men have, and as I’ve told you before, I like having you to myself. If that makes me selfish, so be it.”
“You don’t get asked by the others when you’re having kids?” “Nope. They know where I stand. And Ice, they’re our friends, they couldn’t give a shit if we have them or not, as long as we’re happy.”
“It’s just that…” Wolf squeezed Caroline. “I know. We’ve been over this. Screw society. I know many people don’t think we’re normal if we don’t have kids. That we should be popping them out by now. But there’s no rule book that says we have to have children if we don’t want them. Besides, you’re kept busy with everyone else’s kids. I know you babysit every chance you get.”
“I love them, but I also love being able to give them back.” Wolf smiled and kissed the top of Caroline’s head. “Go to sleep, baby. You have to work in the morning, I’ve got PT, and then we have to survive the craziness that will be Brinique and Davisa’s adoption party. I have a feeling you girls went overboard.”
Caroline didn’t answer, but Wolf felt her smile against him. Yup. They totally went overboard.“Love you, Matthew.” “Love you too, Ice.”
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