Tory had sent her an e-mail saying she was leaving on assignment but not detailing what she was doing. Her parents tended to worry whenever she left New York. And right now she had news she just didn’t want to spill to her parents yet.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, sweetie. Dad and I wanted to invite you to come down to the ranch for the Fourth. Derrick and his family are going to be here.”
“Just me?” she asked.
“Are you still with Ben?”
Tory sighed, not sure she’d ever really make her mother understand the complexities of that relationship. And not knowing how to tell her it had just gotten a lot more complex. “Yes, I am.”
“Of course we’d love it if he came with you,” Charlotte Patton said.
She loved the way her mom covered her own dislike of Ben by making it sound as if he’d be welcome. Tory had a sudden picture of Derrick and her dad taking Ben out to a remote area of the ranch and talking to him about commitment. She smiled to herself. There was something to be said for being the baby of the family and being surrounded by their love. Baby. Oh lord.
“We can’t make it. I’m on my way to Berzhaan to cover a story.”
“I knew it was someplace dangerous. As soon as I read that e-mail I said to Dad, look at the way she didn’t say where she was going.”
“Mom, it’s not dangerous. It’s a foreign assignment. The same as when I’ve been to Ireland or London.”
“It is not the same, Victoria. A news crew was taken hostage there.”
“That’s why I’m going. I’ll e-mail you when I have a chance.”
“Be careful, Tory.”
“I will.” If you only knew…. But this wasn’t the time.
“Tory?”
“Yes?”
“I…I’m sorry I asked about Ben like that.”
“Mom, it’s okay. I understand why you did.”
“Love you, honey.”
“Love you, too.”
She hung up the phone and entered the VIP waiting room. She powered up her laptop and focused on work, doing what research she could before she got to Suwan.
She tried to concentrate but her mind was filled with the news she’d gotten at the doctor’s office.
She was pregnant.
She’d tried to put it from her mind. It wasn’t as if she felt any different today than she had yesterday. She looked the same, had even spent precious minutes in front of her bedroom mirror trying to see some physical evidence of the baby that was inside her, but there wasn’t anything yet.
She’d almost told her mom, but how was she going to explain her pregnancy when she hadn’t had a chance to talk it over with Ben? And given her mom’s concerns about the relationship, about Ben’s picture always appearing in magazines and newspapers with gorgeous women….
She checked her e-mail and saw she had one from Alex.
I can’t get Ben to call me back, are you two going to be around on the weekend of Fourth? We want to see you.
Tory rubbed her head where she felt the beginnings of a bad headache. She and Ben both came from families who were tight and close, she thought. They shared that kind of upbringing and yet there was a part of both them that liked to be alone.
D.C. was closer than Florida and Ben’s family wouldn’t ask uncomfortable questions. Plus, lately, she suspected that Alex had realized there was more to Ben’s job than met the eye.
She swallowed hard. She was never really going to be alone again. She’d have a child with her for the rest of her days. A child.
The words echoed in her head and she felt her entire world spinning out of control. The world that she’d always kept carefully ordered was being filled with chaos.
Get hold of yourself, Patton. You’re an Athena grad, not some average wimp. She took a deep breath and pulled her Blackberry PDA/cellular phone from her pocket to check Ben’s calendar. He was supposed to be back in the country on Monday. The Fourth was on Friday so they might be able to see the Forsythe family.
But Tory wasn’t sure that she’d be back from Berzhaan by then. True, it was seven days away, but the timing might be too close.
Deep inside she knew she was being a coward, afraid to face Alex knowing that she was pregnant with Ben’s child. Afraid to be at a family gathering and know she was carrying the great-grandchild that patriarch Charles Forsythe craved. Afraid that she was going to have to come clean before she was ready to.
She e-mailed Alex a quick note cautioning her that they might not make it. She mentioned Andrea and the kidnapping, which Alex had undoubtedly heard about by now, and the fact that she was on her way to Berzhaan.
She e-mailed the three UBC field producers in Berzhaan with the information she’d pulled together so far and asked them to forward anything they had from Andrea. A producer hadn’t been assigned to Tory yet. She hoped that she’d get Joan Simpson, who’d worked directly with Andrea. At the very least she wanted to talk to the woman.
Tory was booked into the same hotel that Andrea had stayed in and planned to start looking for clues to her friend’s whereabouts there.
Her phone rang again. “Patton.”
“It’s Jay. I’ve spent all day roaming around Suwan looking for any locals who might have seen Andrea or know what story she’s been following.”
“Did you find any?” she asked, pulling out her notepad to take notes.
“One guy, but I’m not positive he didn’t have Andrea and Shannon confused. He said he saw the blond TV woman yesterday. I’m going to see if I can find anyone to corroborate that.”
What if Shannon had been the target? What if Andrea had been taken by mistake? Both women were similar in height and build. Tory made a note to find out what she could about Shannon and her reporting from Suwan.
“That’s something. Can you check out where she was and see what she was asking about? Maybe try to find a more reliable source? I’ll be there shortly and I’m going to want to roll as soon as I hit the ground. I’ve been in touch with the producers and they said Andrea had a hot tip about some sort of rescue mission. Did you get a lead on anything like that?”
“Not a word, but I spoke only to locals. I didn’t think there were any hostages until Andrea and crew got nabbed.”
“Me either. I’ll start digging on this end and see what I can find.”
“Sounds good. I’ll meet you at your hotel later.”
She turned her attention back to her computer and started looking through files, searching the wire and the databases she had access to.
Thirty minutes later she found what she was looking for. A unit of Marines had gone down in the mountains of Berzhaan when their helicopter was hit by enemy fire. Four men were rescued but two were missing.
She had a tingling in her stomach that she couldn’t ignore. Ben was in Berzhaan. Was he close to Suwan? Had he seen Andrea? Damn him for being so cool on the phone when she’d mentioned the incident.
What kind of relationship did they have?
She understood the need for secrecy. She wouldn’t betray him. When was he going to start trusting her?
Chapter 3
Russ Dorn didn’t like the heat in Berzhaan. It hung in the air in oppressive waves, making a man struggle to breathe.