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She looked over at Joe, who was respectfully standing a few feet away. Joe did his best to ease her stress. Any fool could see how uneasy she was, but then Eric realized she’d never seen Joe before.

“I brought my XO along to document any details you may remember,” he explained.

Abby stiffened and lowered the brush in her lap. She started squeezing the handle until her fingers turned white. She wasn’t looking at anyone. She’d reverted to that subservient role of keeping her eyes cast downward. Eric exchanged a knowing look with Joe, who seemed to know and to be aware of her unease.

“If you would rather not have me here, I do understand, Abby,” Joe began.

She appeared to swallow as she slowly lifted her chin, glancing at Eric first and then hesitantly at Joe. “No, it’s fine, Lieutenant,” she said. This time, when she glanced back at Eric, he could tell that she trusted him but was also begging him not to hurt her. This was absolutely terrifying, because at one time that would have been all he wanted in a woman. However, having a woman in this situation was absolutely maddening, because everything about her, him, and the shadow surrounding her made everything about this impossible. Eric sat in a chair beside the bed, making sure to keep a respectable distance this time.

Abby took a deep breath. “Where do you want me to start?”

“I want you to go back to when you first saw the other guy who was with you and Seyed on the boat and picture him. Close your eyes,” Eric said in his deep voice.

She hesitated before closing her eyes, but then winced and pressed her hand to her lower back.

Eric reached for a couple of pillows. “Here, settle back on these. Try and relax.”

She had such a pretty smile, and it reminded him so much of a child’s.
But she wasn’t a child, because children were innocent, or they were supposed to be, anyway.

“Close your eyes again, and I want you to picture him and describe this guy in every detail. Start with what he looked like,” Eric said.

“He had dark hair curling a bit just past his ears.” She had her eyes closed, and he could tell she was thinking as she gestured with her hand. “He didn’t have a beard, but he had facial hair, as though he hadn’t shaved for a few days.” She started to open her eyes.

“No, Abby, keep your eyes closed. Don’t open them until I tell you. What color were his eyes? Did he have any scars, marks on his face, anything that would stand out? How old do you think he was, young? Was he fat or thin?”

“He had dark eyes, his face was slender, and he was older. Not old, but maybe in his thirties, I think. He had this bump on his nose—it really stood out. I remember also he was dressed differently. He had a dark jacket on, slacks, and that was all I could tell. It was dark.”

“When you first got on the boat, before you were taken down below, was there anyone around? What did you see? Was it a marina? How many boats were there?”

She opened her eyes and gave him a look of confusion. “It happened so fast. I didn’t see anything, or anyone.”

“Come on, Abby. Close your eyes.”

Reluctantly, she did.

“Tell me where you are as you’re walking to the boat, what you see.”

“It’s so dark. I’m in the backseat, and Seyed grabs me, pulls me out. I walk behind them. I see buildings, and we’re at a marina. We walk on a boardwalk. There are many boats there, but I don’t see anyone. Wait—there was a whistle. I didn’t dare look up, but the other man in front of Seyed did this bird whistle back. I don’t know where it came from except it was over a ways from my left. Then I was on the boat and taken below. I fell asleep not long after, I was so tired.” She opened her eyes. “I’m sorry I can’t remember more.”

He couldn’t help himself. He took her hand. “Are you kidding me? You were actually very helpful.”

Joe moved forward and stood at the foot of the bed. “I’m going to get right on this.” He held up the notes and gave her a wink to break the mounting tension. “Thank you, Abby. You gave us more than you know.” Joe hesitated beside Eric and gave him a pointed glance, and Eric wondered for a minute whether his feelings were showing. “I’ll talk to you later,” said Joe, and then he left.

“I didn’t think I told you anything more than I did yesterday.”

Eric slid the chair back against the wall. “You did good, Abby.” He smiled down on her but kept his hands to himself. Each time he touched her was doing all kinds of wild things to his control. He couldn’t be the arrogant man everyone knew on that ship, who barked orders, who demanded. With her, he needed to listen, and something about her made him care about everyone more.

She shivered and wrapped her arms across her bosom.

“Are you okay?” He slid his hand over her shoulder and down her arm. She didn’t pull away, and he wondered for a minute if she actually leaned into his touch or if he was just imagining it.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just don’t like having to think about him. Eric, I mean, Captain, do you think I’ll have to see him again?”

This time, Eric sat on the edge of the bed beside her and slid his arm across her shoulder. “Where would you ever get the idea you’d have to see him again? The man’s a criminal. He bought you.…”

“But this is his child,” she interrupted him. “Do you really believe he’ll just let me go? I’ve seen the monster he is. He’ll hunt to the ends of the earth for me, for this child, and then he’ll kill me.”

“Abby, he will not get your child. You are going back to the US, where you’ll be safe.”

The look she gave him told him loud and clear she didn’t believe him. “Seyed and his people have quite a reach in the US, too, you know. I’ve seen and heard things I wish I never had. Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Eric was stunned by her cool. There was something inside of him that wanted to scoop her up and make those promises, then hide her somewhere where nothing bad could ever touch her again. But he didn’t, because he couldn’t, so instead he moved away. “I’ll come back and see you later,” he said. He didn’t wait for her to respond. He strode to the door, running his finger through his hair, and turned the door handle. He glanced over his shoulder and met her gaze, and he started to promise her something, anything, but stopped, because that wouldn’t be fair, not to her. So he gave her a stiff smile, one he knew never reached his eyes, and left.

Several hours later, Joe knocked on Eric’s cabin door. He closed the door behind him. “Captain, I filled Edwin in on our talk with Abby. She’s very nice, by the way. A real trooper for what she’s been through.” Joe didn’t wait for him to respond, which was good, because he was still feeling like crap because his promises to keep her safe meant squat as soon as she left this ship. She knew it, and he knew it.

“Eric, are you listening?” Joe asked.

“Yeah, sorry, so what did Edwin say?”

“They suspect the guy that Abby described was most likely part of the ring responsible for some of the sabotage that happened on one of the British destroyers last month. Edwin confirmed that he also believes it was Seyed who arrived on Kish Island, and right now, they’re tracking his whereabouts. He said he couldn’t reveal anything else right now, but he did say they suspect that whatever was planned, there was most likely another boat out there, and the plan changed when Abby clubbed this guy over the head and then disappeared on the dinghy.”

As Eric listened, a sick feeling stirred in his gut.

Joe said, “The CIA may try to get a hold of Abby to talk to her.”

Eric vaulted out of his chair, sending it flying, and leaned over the desk, bracing both hands in front of him and glaring icily at Joe. “No way in hell are they going to talk to her, get their hands on her, or come anywhere near her.”

His heart was pounding so hard he couldn’t hear anything over it. He was shaking. He was so angry, and he wanted to slam his fist into something, anything, because the CIA knowing anything about Abby being here was about the worst thing possible. They’d use and break her for their own means. They didn’t give a crap who she was. “They’ll have to go through me if they want her!”

Joe closed his eyes and looked away briefly before speaking. “Eric, get a grip. You and I know damn well that if the CIA wants her, they’ll find a way to get her. Right now, Edwin was giving me the heads up.”

“How do the CIA know she’s here to begin with? Did Edwin tell them? I thought you told me he wouldn’t repeat whatever you said,” Eric barked.

“It wasn’t Edwin, but someone did. Could be anyone, Eric, you know that. It went out on the wire when we found her. Command knows, the admiral—she’s the whole talk on this ship, with the fact that she’s still here.”

Eric threw his hands in the air in answer.

“You know it could mean your career if you interfered,” Joe said. “How far are you willing to go for her?”

In reply, Eric fixed a dark, penetrating look on him. He was furious the CIA knew anything about Abby, and he pumped his fists a couple times, imagining pounding the crap out of whoever had filled them in on the matter.

Joe sighed. “Look, Eric, hopefully it won’t go there, but you need to be prepared. Just what do you think you can do to protect her, anyway? It’s not like you’re married to her.”

Eric glared at Joe. “Stop it, would you? This is about a young woman who never asked for any of this to happen to her. She was kidnapped and sold like an animal, and you know what this animal did to her. She’s now pregnant with his kid, and she was beaten so badly.…” He stopped, unable to finish.

“I know that, Eric. I was there when she was brought aboard.”

“I will do what I need to do to protect her. Do you know what she said to me after you left?”

Joe simply shook his head.

“She said I can’t protect her, because when she goes back to the US, Seyed will still get her, and when he gets his hands on her, he’ll take the baby and kill her.” He shook his head. “As long as she’s here, though, on my ship, no one can get her. This Seyed Hossein—tell me Edwin at least gave you something on him. His whereabouts would be nice?”

“He narrowed it down to some activity with sailboats in the Gulf a week ago. From what we understand, they were going out at night, possibly targeting military ships in the area. Unfortunately, Edwin’s information is sketchy. He assured me they will track this guy and find out what’s going on.”

Troubled by the sudden iciness in the air, Eric paced the room.

Joe rose from his chair. “Eric, I understand how you feel, but how long do you think you can keep her here?” He didn’t wait for Eric to answer. He must have seen that his stubborn friend
had made up his mind and there was no reasoning with him, because the next thing Eric knew, Joe had pulled open the door and left.

Eric dropped back in his leather chair and groaned. Not since he was a kid forced into the system had he remembered feeling so helpless. In that moment, he made the decision that he would do whatever
was needed to protect her. For just a second, he allowed his thoughts to wander to the reason for this protective instinct. As commanding officer, he had taken her under his protection. “Yeah, right.” He spat the words out, shook his head, and cursed aloud at such a ridiculous argument.

Pulling open the top drawer of the desk, he reached in and took out his medals. He looked down at them and tried to rekindle those powerful feelings of satisfaction, glory, and pride from when he had earned them on a mission years ago in the South China Sea. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember that feeling of excitement. He’d been lonely for so
long he hadn’t even realized it, and for the first time all this glory meant nothing without someone special to share it with. Sighing, he returned the medals to the drawer and then closed it. He left the cabin, slamming the door after him, making a decision to do the one thing that had always worked before. He would bury himself in work: his first love, the sea.

Heading up to the bridge, Eric made a mental note to do a surprise inspection at all the stations. His crew were really
gonna love him for this.

“Captain!” someone yelled again. The pounding on his cabin door brought Eric from his bed and ripped him from the sound sleep he’d finally fallen
into. He yanked open the door to young Petey, his corpsman, who looked barely old enough to enlist.

“What the hell?” Eric barked. He shoved his arms in his shirt and buckled the pants he had shoved on when he jumped from bed, quickly lacing his black boots.

“Captain, Doc said to get you. Abby’s in labor.”

“What do you mean, she’s in labor? I thought it was too early.” He tucked his tan shirt in his pants as he headed out the door, buttoning it as he walked at a hurried clip, Petey on his heels.

“I don’t know what happened, except the guard heard her screaming. Scared the shit out of him, he thought someone was killing her. He got the doc, and he said to get you.”

Eric made it in record time to sickbay. The guard jumped to attention and opened the door for him. Both the doc and Lynn were beside Abby, the lights blazing overhead. “What’s going on? Petey said she’s in labor.”

“Deep breath in…blow it out. That’s it. Now relax,” said the doc as he pulled back the blanket covering her.

Eric was right beside her as the doctor grabbed latex gloves and shoved his hands in.