CEO MILITARY

artina Chavez and I grew up side by side and actually attended kindergarten and first grade together. Even after skipping two grades, we remained friends.

I swallowed quickly, ready to trust my friend. — First, I have to thank you for letting me stay and not forcing me to talk. — You won't escape this time. — She pointed at me, her obsidian eyes narrowing. — You need to deal with these things. I raise my hand. — You're right, and I'll tell you what happened. I just wanted to thank you first for not trying to get it out of me sooner. She smiled. — Yes, I'm an incredible friend. I rolled my eyes, but appreciated the provocation. I was going to tell her everything, and it wouldn't be pleasant, but she was trying to make it as easy as possible for me. —Did you see the story on the news the day before Thanksgiving about the hostages in Iraq who were rescued from being sold? — It seemed as good a place to start as any. She remained completely still. — Yes. — Four of them were taken in Iran weeks before. — I pressed my hands together to keep them from shaking. — I know why I was caught by them too. The color drained from Martina's face, her normally honey skin as pale as I'd ever seen it. — Freedom had to have an emergency appendectomy last week in Iran, so she went straight from the hospital to the airport where I was supposed to meet her. On my way there, some armed men stopped the taxi, grabbed me, threw me into a van and took me somewhere on the outskirts of the city. — How come it wasn’t national news? International? Hell, same location? — Martina looked like she was going to vomit. — Freedom kept everything a secret because she wasn't sure what had happened to me at first. She was trying to get the police to look for me when she received a rescue video. — I still got cold every time I thought about what it must have been like for her. No matter how upset I was with her, I knew she loved me, and it must have been horrible for her. — She knew our parents could pay the ransom, but she didn't trust the kidnappers to honor their agreement, so she called an old boyfriend who runs a security agency and hired him to find me and get me out. The story became easier to tell with each word, and soon they were flowing. I told Martina everything. From being sure she was going to be raped when I was