Long Road Home(25)

“The man asked me if I intended to join the NFR. Of course, I hadn’t even opened the envelope. Didn’t plan to. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him no way in hell. Then I told him what he could do with his questions.”

Manuel almost smiled. He could well imagine that scene.

“He didn’t appreciate my colorful language. The taxi stopped outside the town we’d been in, and he forced me into another car. He tied my hands and blindfolded me. We drove forever.”

She closed her eyes, her sadness and fear reaching out to him as if he were a lifeline. Reaching for her hand, he laced his fingers through hers and squeezed reassuringly.

“When we stopped, he made me get out, and we walked into a building. He took the blindfold off and left the room. It looked just like any office complex. We were in the city. I could tell by the traffic noises. I could hear copy machines and telephones ringing. There were other people in the building, and I contemplated screaming to get their attention. The man, Northstar as I later came to know him, walked back in before I could. The way he looked at me was frightening. So cold. I was really afraid for the first time.

“He explained that I’d been approached by a member of the NFR based on my parents’ prior relationship with the group. When I told him I had no intention of joining any sort of a group, he laughed at me. Then he told me I had no choice in the matter.

“I told him to screw off, and he pulled an envelope from a desk. He handed it to me and told me to look inside. When I did I saw pictures of Mom and Pop…and you,” she said, choking as she got the words out. “I still didn’t understand. To me you were a world away, out of this maniac’s reach. He then told me that unless I did exactly as he instructed he would have you all killed.”

Manuel bit the inside of his lip in anger.

“I know what you’re thinking.” She scooted up in the bed. “And believe me, I had the same thoughts. I figured I’d agree to anything, then I’d go to the police or the American embassy as fast as I could. And he must have figured out what I was thinking. He asked me point-blank if I thought he was serious, and in my stupidity, I said I didn’t know.

“He pressed a button on his desk and called a woman into the room. She looked like a secretary. When she walked in, he pulled out a gun and shot her in the head. Right there in front of me!” She wrapped her arms around her legs hugged them tightly to her chest.

“Mother of God,” Manuel muttered. He sat up and pulled her stiff body into his arms.

She stuck her arms in front of her, preventing him from holding her close. She fidgeted away from him, looking past him, through him with glassy eyes.

“He asked if I believed him then, and all I could do was nod. I was in shock. There was blood everywhere. And then—then—” She broke off, her voice cracking.

“Then what?” he prompted softly.

“Another man walked in. He was older. Distinguished-looking, actually. He never spoke. He just smiled. Then he raped me right there by the dead body. I was so in shock I couldn’t even fight him.”

Pure unadulterated rage boiled over Manuel. He clenched and unclenched his fingers in rapid succession. Then he pulled her close, ignoring her attempts to keep distance between them.

He rocked her back and forth in his arms, stroking her hair, her back, every inch of her he could touch. He felt in danger of losing his mind. Red crowded his vision. He’d never been so close to the desire to kill anyone before in his life, and yet if he could get his hands on the bastard who had hurt her, he’d derive great pleasure from making him bleed from every orifice of his body.

She lay lifeless in his arms. He closed his eyes and held on to her.

“When he was finished, he left me lying there on the floor,” she said, her voice muffled by Manny’s chest. He eased his hold on her to allow her more room.

“He told Northstar to take care of it. It was then I knew he was also American. After he left, Northstar took the picture of Mom and Pop and smeared the woman’s blood on it. Then he dropped it on the floor next to me and told me that if I ever had any doubts that he was serious, to look at the picture and remember whose blood was on it. He ordered me to get up and clean myself. Then he held the phone while I told the Frenchman who’d first approached me about the NFR that I was interested in joining.

“The next day, I met with him and joined the organization,” she said baldly. “Every month, Northstar sent me a new picture of Mom and Pop. It was always smeared with blood. I never found out who the man was who raped me, but I know he was in charge.”

“God,” Manuel whispered. What kind of hell had she endured? Her story was staggering. These kinds of things just didn’t happen in her world. In his they did. He was used to the twisted things terrorists did to achieve their means. But what must it have been like for a naive girl of twenty-two?

She was as stiff as a board in his arms, almost as if she couldn’t bear him touching her. He pulled her away, trying to find a comfortable position for her. Then he saw the shame in her eyes, the agony and the fear of his rejection.

“Jules, whatever you’re thinking, don’t.” He cupped her chin in his hand and rubbed his thumb over her cheek, smoothing the tear-roughened skin. “If you think any of this affects the way I feel about you, baby…you couldn’t be more wrong.”