Pamela Clare - Striking Distance

“She reminds me so much of you, except for the color of her hair, of course,” her mother said. “Oh, she’s adorable, Laura!”

While Javier faced the consequences of his actions alone, answering questions in Erik’s office, the three of them spent the morning with Klara, holding her when she seemed to want to be held, guiding her as she shyly explored her new surroundings, watching as the twins found ways to draw her into a kind of play that needed no language, doting on her like big sisters. When Stella gave Klara a kiss with a stuffed puppy, Klara laughed, the sound magical to Laura’s ears.

“Mommy, I made her laugh!” Stella beamed.

As the girls played, Heidi and Laura’s mother got into a conversation about raising daughters—and about the challenges Laura would face.

“We don’t know if she’s gotten any of her vaccines,” Heidi said. “We don’t know what illnesses she’s had. We don’t know if they’d started potty-training her at all. But it will all sort itself out in the end.”

“How did Javier do this?” Laura’s mother finally asked.

Laura shared what Javier had told her. “I still can’t believe it. He gave up his career with the Teams for this.”

“He loves you,” her mother said. “Love makes us strong.”

“I sure hope they don’t plan on doing what he did and coming after her,” Heidi said. “One reason Erik is keeping this so quiet is to prevent Al-Nassar’s people from knowing where Klara is. We always have security because of his position with the government, but I wonder if he should increase it.”

The thought of Al-Nassar’s family trying to take Klara from her again made Laura’s stomach knot.

“It will be much harder to keep her out of the public eye in the States,” her mother told Heidi. “The American press has followed Laura like jackals since her rescue.”

Heidi turned to Laura. “How are you going to avoid the media?”

Laura hadn’t figured any of that out yet. “This was all so sudden. I haven’t had time to think about it.”

Her mother rubbed a hand on her back and gave a laugh. “You’d better start thinking about it soon, älskling .”

And Laura realized there were a lot of things she needed to consider.

JAVIER MET WITH one government official after the next—some military, some civilian. He couldn’t keep their names or titles straight. It was his second day of interrogation—very polite interrogation. They spoke with Erik in Swedish, then looked sternly at him and asked questions in English.

And Javier answered.

No, this operation was not approved by the U.S. No, it hadn’t been authorized by the navy or NSW either. Yes, it was true that Javier had left the SEALs. Yes, he’d gone to Pakistan alone. No, he hadn’t killed anyone. No, he couldn’t tell them how he’d gotten in and out of Pakistan or how he’d known where to find Klara.

No one asked him why he’d done it. They all understood the brutality and injustice of what had been done to Laura. They knew it was better for Klara to grow up with her mother and not among terrorists. So, although they threatened Javier with arrest and incarceration more than once, it became clear to him that they were going to let him go—but not without a few stern lectures.

They finally finished with him around lunchtime. Javier made his way upstairs, where he met Birgitta, Laura’s mother, and Inga, her grandmother, in person.

Birgitta shook his hand, hugged him, kissed his cheek. “I could never find the words to thank you for all you’ve done for my daughter. You love her, I know, and she loves you. I’m so happy for both of you.”

Inga smiled. “You are very handsome man—very brave, too, I think.”

That’s when Javier remembered they’d seen him buck naked and shaved bare. He felt heat rush into his face and hoped to fuck he wasn’t blushing. “Thank you, ma’am.”

He joined the family upstairs for lunch, watching as Laura prepared a plate of food for Klara—leftover roasted chicken, some kind of pea salad, and more banana.

Birgitta sat beside him and leaned close, laying her hand atop his. “I know what you sacrificed to free Klara. If there’s ever anything I can do, please let me know.”

He looked over at Klara, who was smiling up at her mother. “Seeing them together makes it all worth it.”

Hell, yeah, it had been worth it. And yet . . .

If you’re not a special operator, Corbray, what are you?

It was time for him to figure that out.

LAURA’S MOTHER AND grandmother went home before supper, not wishing to impose on Erik and Heidi, whose lives and routines had been turned upside down by Javier’s unexpected arrival. Laura spent every moment of the day caring for Klara—playing with her, reading to her, changing her diaper. She gave her a bath after supper, entranced to see her daughter laughing and splashing in the water. And then it was bedtime.

Laura settled herself in a rocking chair, gave Klara her bottle, and began to rock her to sleep. She looked down at the sweet girl in her arms, her heart so filled with love that it seemed to swell. Some part of her had been afraid this moment would never come, that she would never touch or set eyes on her daughter. But here Klara was, a little miracle, her smile enough to light Laura’s world, her laughter pure joy.

From the hallway beyond, Laura heard Erik and Javier speaking.

“Heidi asked me to bring on more security, but I told her she had no reason to worry. They have no idea Klara is here. Only when Laura appears in public with Klara will they know for certain where she is.”

“I’m hoping they know better than to come after her. I tried to explain to them how dangerous it would be for them to try.”

“Danger means little to a terrorist who finds glory in death.”

Laura’s heart raced to hear them talk like this. She’d always thought that freeing Klara would be the end of the nightmare, not a new beginning. Al-Nassar’s threats from the courtroom came back to her.

I am in chains, but I shall be free in Paradise, while you will always live in fear. You will never be safe, nor will anyone you love.

She looked down at her daughter, held her tighter, the feel of her precious in her arms. Klara was almost asleep now, dark eyelashes resting on her cheeks, her little body limp, an expression of complete peace on her face. So small and helpless, she didn’t know how cruel the world could be, didn’t know she was the daughter of a man who had killed hundreds, didn’t know that the world would be titillated by her very existence. She was just a tiny child.

And it was Laura’s job to give her the best, safest life she could.

Laura set her carefully in the crib, taking the bottle from her hands and tucking a warm blanket beneath her chin.

“Sleep well, Klara. Dream of angels.”

She had a few precious minutes alone with Javier, several of which were spent kissing on the sofa. “What are they going to do with you?”

“I’m under unofficial house arrest until we leave.”

Relieved for him, she rested her head against his chest, still stunned to think he’d left the Teams for her, gone all the way to Pakistan, and come away with Klara. “When we get home, I want the whole story.”

“What makes you think I haven’t told you the whole story?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Call it reporter’s intuition.”

Soon it was time to go. Erik summoned a car for her, and Laura found herself under her mother’s roof in the bed where she’d slept so well and so deeply as a teenager. She’d had such big dreams in those days, her future overflowing with possibility.