Page 88 of A Hero Comes Home

She stood and was gathering her stuff, preparing to leave. “Not a chance! I’d probably find myself on the back seat of the Buick with my legs through the sunroof.”

He grinned. That didn’t sound like a practically engaged woman to him.

“Tsk-tsk! What happened to the shy, modest girl I used to know?”

“She grew up.”

“Too bad,” he said, but he liked this new version of the old Laura. Maybe too much.

If Izzie thought he’d dodged a bullet with Laura, he was wrong. No sooner did Laura leave and he was standing, about to leave himself, when Sally approached.

“Are you looking for Jake?”

“No, I sent him home with the kids. He’ll pick me up later at the bakery. It’s you I’m looking for.”

“Uh-oh!” He tilted his head in question and sank back down into his chair. He nodded to the waiter for another beer and asked Sally, “What’ll you have?”

She sat across from him. “A Bloody Mary sounds good.”

While they waited for their beverages, Sally pulled an iPad out of her purse, set it on the table, and logged in to some news website. Turning it so that they could both see the screen, he saw that there was a Reuters news story from ten years ago with the headline “Nazim and Qadir Rebels Torture Villagers.”

The hairs rose on the back of Izzie’s neck. “What exactly do you want me to see?”

“This article, plus dozens of others that I’ve been Googling, all point to a totally different Nazim and Qadir government than what our administration is currently portraying. And this Nazim is the one who turned Jake over?” She gave Izzie a pointed look. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, my friend. So . . . ?”

“So . . . ?” he repeated back to her.

“Exactly what happened to Jake during those three years he was MIA, lounging in a cave, waiting to be rescued?” she asked in a scoffing tone.

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Jake is in such trouble! Durand is going to be furious. If Sally could figure this out, or be suspicious, the news media must be digging even deeper. The shit is going to hit the fan, one way or another.

“Have you asked Jake about this?”

“In the beginning, I did. But not lately. He’s clearly hiding stuff. And he’s hurting, Izz. Real bad. And I don’t just mean physically. I want to help, but I don’t know how.” She had tears in her eyes.

“I hope you haven’t been discussing your concerns with anyone else.”

“I haven’t.” She paused. “Why?”

“It could be dangerous.”

“For whom?”

“Everyone. Starting with Jake.”

“Dangerous in what way?”

“Nazim wouldn’t want him talking. Our government wouldn’t want him talking. I can think of a dozen different people and agencies that wouldn’t want him talking.”

“Oh, my God!”

“You need to discuss this with Jake. In the meantime, I’ll speak to Durand.”

The waiter brought Izzie’s beer and Sally’s drink. They each drank for a few moments.

“You think I’m meddling, don’t you?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, I think you love the guy.”