As they rose high in the sky, he checked his man. One gunshot in the leg. Damn it all to hell. He thought grimly and glared at the young lady huddled in the far seat. There were things worth getting shot for, but saving someone like her wasn't one of them.
The other team members had already started emergency first aid. Asher moved back to give them room. He picked up a headset and motioned for Kimberly to do the same.
"I need to get my man to a doctor," he told her, speaking into the attached microphone.
Her gaze moved from him to Paul then back to him. "Of course," she said. "I can stay with you at the hospital"
There was no point telling her that they weren't going to a hospital. Public health facilities required too much paperwork, and the staff would have too many questions. Asher had his own state of the art medical center with trained specialists -all former students military doctors -on call.
"One of my men will take you to a safe place" Asher told her. "You can wait there until I'm available"
He figured Kimberly and her father could hold on a few hours before seeing each other.... maybe even more. As his was the only face most of his clients ever saw, he would have to return her himself. Just as well-he could pick up his sizable check at the same time.
He jerked off the headset and fought his temper. It should have been an easy job. He told himself. No one was supposed to get hurt. Certainly not Paul -the youngest and newest member of the team.
----------------------
Kimberly Blake paced the length and width of the small room. She had no idea how long she had been held there -no windows provided light, she wasn't wearing a watch and she couldn't find a clock. She figured at least a couple of hours had passed. Maybe more.
The space was spare to a point of being monastic -a single bed, a sink and a toilet. No closet, no desk. Nothing to read, nothing to look at, nothing to do. She supposed she should have slept -she hadn't been able to do more than doze since the kidnapping
But anxiety kept her moving. While she wanted to believe she had been rescued, she knew it was unlikely.
Fear gripped her. In the part Twelve days she had grown used to the cold fingers clutching her midsection and the sense of looming disaster. She tried to tell herself that everything was going to be fine. But she was still so scared.
The only door in the room was locked from the outside. She had already tried it several tines. There was no way she could break through the metal door and she doubted she could claw through the walls. So she was trapped till her rescuer returned.
The man who had rescued her was being unnecessarily mysterious. He hadn't even answered her question about her father. Hell, he hadn't even told her his name... And he probably knew everything about her. For all she knew, this might even be another group kidnapping her. There were a lot of weird people around. She knew that now. People who would do anything for money.
Why else would he rescue her and then lock her up again. He was really handsome though. She thought. She remembered the way he had stared at her before they entered the helicopter and she shivered.
She didn't get the guy. One minute he was staring at her like -she didn't even know what to think about that stare. Because seconds later, he was staring at her like he wanted to grab her and strangle her.
She thought about his team member who was shot. She hoped he was going to be okay. She hated that someone had gotten hurt because of her.
She was worried about her Dad... And Phoebe. She knew they would be so damn worried about her. She hoped they were okay. That they hadn't been kidnapped too... Or maybe hurt. She shook her head. Willing the thought out of her head. Thinking like that wouldn't help her in any way. Right now she had to figure out a way to get the hell out of here.
A faint sound came from the hallway. Kimberly turned and braced herself for the inevitable. For the sight of God knows who. Maybe her kidnappers had come back for her. Maybe this was all a prank. Instead the door opened and her rescuer stood in front of her.
He was tall, muscular and dark in a way that went deeper than his black hair and dark eyes. He was the kind of man people walked around rather than confronted. Power and confidence surrounded him like a visible aura. He wore black and there was a gun at his belt. Just how much did he know about her? She asked herself. Would he be using the gun on her?
"Sorry to have kept you waiting" the man said, sounding more angry than actually sorry.
"It's all right," Kimberly said, forcing herself to look directly at him. "How is your friend? The one who got.... Shot" she asked.
"He is still in the hospital," Asher replied. "But he's going to be fine"
"Thank goodness. I hope he's going to be all right" she said. She didn't need the weight of a stranger's injuries on her already burdened conscience.
A case could be made that the shooting wasn't her fault -she hadn't asked to be rescued or even kidnapped in the first place. But the injured man had been there because of her, and she couldn't make herself believe that she wasn't somehow responsible.
The man who stood in front of her looked her over. "Are you hungry? Did they feed you?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Kimberly replied. She couldn't imagine ever eating again. She couldn't imagine life ever being normal. "I'm sorry, you never told me your name," she said.
"Adams," he replied. "My name is Asher Adams. It's Mr Adams to you"