Defending Hannah

She was not Goldilocks anymore and it was time he was reminded of that. “You still have a mission to complete and a life to lead you don't need to be stuck babysitting me.” Hannah wanted a reason to stay closer to him. She had missed Ben over the years. She had never met anyone like him. For the first time since her kidnapping, she felt safe. And she knew it was because she was with Ben. But knew she was being childish and selfish by trying to keep him with her. He had run away from her once for reasons unknown to her and it crushed her. This time she would be the one to walk away. She didn’t want him thinking of her as the spoiled little rich girl. She wanted him to look at her like he did that day at the lake. A strong confident woman.
Ben walked up closer to her until a hairs breath separated them. “I would never say I'm stuck babysitting you, Goldilocks.”
“But you have to complete your mission and stop Alejandro.” Why did it sound like he was trying to find an excuse to be around her? He had been only cold and distant to her since he rescued her. She was attracted to him, there was no denying that. But the thought of being intimate made her break out in a sweat. She didn’t think she could ever be intimate with a man again, but even Ben.
“And I need you to do that.” He told her matter of fact, giving her a lop-sided grin that turned her insides to mush. Then she thought about his words.
“What?” She knew she hadn’t heard him right? How could she help? She wasn’t a soldier.
“You have information we don't and I'm sure not everything is on that flash drive. You were with him long enough to notice a pattern or heard who he might be working with. I need you to help us stop him.”
“But I’ve told you everything you needed to know.” Hannah felt herself panicking. She couldn’t help them. She needed to escape still. She had to go home. She stood up having no destination in mind.
Ben grabbed her hand gently. “Hannah, relax. I’m not holding you hostage. You have inside information that could greatly help us. I’m asking for a little of your time to help us and afterward, I will personally see you home.”
Home.
It seemed such a foreign concept to her. She had dreamed of it for so long.
“You promise?” Hannah hated how her voice cracked. “I tell you everything I know and I can go home?”
“Cross my heart. You can even call your family once we land.”
“Land? Land where?” She had to fly again? Hannah didn’t like flying much. The last flight had made her feel sick. She used to fly all the time without a problem. She didn’t know why she didn’t like it anymore.
“Our home base is at Fort Irwin in California.”
California was on the west coast. Close to where she needed to be. Her brothers lived in California. She thought they still lived there. She hadn’t talked to them in a long time, they were so busy running their own empires they hadn’t had time for her.
Hannah sank to her knees and let her tears fall. “I’m going home.” She whispered repeatedly still not believing it. She had hoped and prayed to go home for so long not believing herself that she would ever make it there. She figured the guards would kill her after so many escape attempts or something far worse.
Ben picked her up and held her to his chest, protecting her as she cried. He vowed in that moment to always protect her. The stupid organ in his chest beat for the first time in thirteen years. What was he doing?
Doctors located the drugs and trackers quickly and had them removed. The trackers were destroyed and the drugs placed in the shipment box. The women carrying the drugs would recoup at the base and then be sent home. The ones not implanted had contacted their families and were being sent home. RAPCON, radar approach control system, kept an eye out for anything coming towards the base, especially from Panama.
Before she knew it, Hannah was thrown on another plane and they were headed for California. She knew she should have called her family first, just to let them know she was alive but hesitated. She loved her family and though she was the middle child she did always feel the odd man out, well woman, being the only girl. Garrett and Jason had followed their father’s footsteps and started up their own business. Hannah was still finding her way. She was not the high society girl her mother always envisioned her to be as much as she had tried. Her parents forbid her from having a job saying she needed to focus on finding a rich husband to take care of her and then she could focus all her time on charities and functions. Hence her turning thirty crisis. She had been turning thirty and had nothing to show for it. Her parents hadn’t seemed concerned but she did. She wanted to do something with her life and make a difference and not just by signing a check but she didn’t know how. Maybe by helping Ben and his team, she could finally feel like she had a purpose.
“You okay?” Ben asked sitting down next to her.
Hannah nodded. There was no point in telling him she was nervous about going home. He would probably think something was wrong with her. Who wouldn’t want to go home after being away just over a year and a half ago? And while she was happy to be going home, she knew she wasn’t the same woman who had left home and gone to Paris. That girl was gone forever. Would her parents accept her? Would they blame her for what happened? They had warned her not to go