Chapter 3 #2
She’d survived the abduction. Now she had to survive the night out in the open. Her two worst nightmares coming to life.
She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer. Just get us out of here, God. Please.
Sierra Oscura, Mexico
Tuesday–2000 hours
Call Sign: Charlie One
The jungle sounds eased Liam’s worry. If the animals and insects were comfortable enough to make noise, either Raven’s abductors hadn’t followed them, or they’d given up.
For now, he wouldn’t disillusion himself by thinking the threat had vanished.
He glanced at Raven. The woman exceeded his vision of her.
But the jitteriness and anxiety surprised him.
He’d never heard anything but total control during missions.
Liam strolled the few yards to his teammates. The absence of Rafe told him the man hadn’t returned from the first watch. He lowered his voice. “Xander, any chance Raven experienced more than the visible injuries?”
The man jerked his gaze to his. “I confess, I didn’t ask. But her reaction to me probing her ribs and such…she tensed, but no, I don’t think so.”
“Well, something happened. She reminds me of a wounded animal. On edge and jumpy.”
“You know, boss, she reminds me a bit of my uncle.” Dax joined them and crossed his arms.
“How?” Liam positioned himself with a view of Raven in case she needed him.
“Uncle Randy rarely left his house. He even had groceries delivered. If he had to go to the doctor or something like that, he had to take anxiety meds.”
The truth hit Liam like a two-by-four to the head. “Agoraphobia.”
Dax nodded. “It takes on different forms and levels, but the anxiety is a real thing.”
Xander scratched his jaw. “You know, it makes sense and tracks with her reactions. But have you noticed it’s getting worse?”
Boone waltzed over like he was on a vacation. “Y’all talking about Raven?” His southern drawl on full display.
“Yup. I was telling them about my Uncle Randy’s agoraphobia.” Dax tossed a twig he’d been twirling.
Boone bobbed his head up and down. “I think it’s more than that. I’ve been watching her reactions. That woman has noctiphobia.”
“Say what?” Liam knew what agoraphobia was, but what had Boone said? “Noc-something-phobia? What’s that?”
“Noctiphobia. Fear of the night. It’s akin to nyctophobia.
Official terms? No. They come from non-clinical lists.
You know, the ones that tell every phobia out there.
Like nomophobia. The fear of being without your cell phone.
Or triskaidekaphobia. The fear of the number thirteen.
” Boone clarified. “Mind you, none of those are official diagnoses. Just descriptive labels.”
Xander flicked his hand toward the sky. “Well, it is getting dark, so that makes sense.”
“No. Not fear of the dark. The fear of night. It’s centered around the time of day, but darkness does play a role.
People who suffer from it can walk through a dark house, but put them outside at night or leave blinds open, and they have a panic attack.
” Boone’s eyes drifted upward. “The time of night has already triggered her. My guess is that it’ll only get worse from here. ”
“How do you know all this?” Liam stared at Charlie Four. The man was a genius, but still.
Boone shrugged. “I helped my sister with her licensure exam to become a psychologist. I found phobias and anxiety disorders interesting and read up on them. Kinda fell down a rabbit hole on the subject when I did an internet search. There’s a long list of all kinds of fears.
Obviously, it didn’t help my sister since none of them are clinical diagnoses, but fun all the same. ”
Liam shook his head. “How did I not know this about the two of you?” He pointed to Dax. “You, I understand. Your uncle wouldn’t be in a normal conversation. But him.” He gestured to Boone. “Any other knowledge in that brain of yours we don’t know about?”
Boone smirked. “Well, if you ever have the need to quote the entire original Star Wars trilogy, I’m your man.”
“Dork.” Liam sighed and studied Raven. “Agoraphobia and noctiphobia? That’s quite the combination.
“I’m no psychologist, but I’d guess that whatever trauma caused one triggered the other anxiety.”
“So, what can we do to help her?” Xander asked.
“Make her feel safe,” Dax said.
“Well, duh.” Liam could face a horde of bad guys, but had no clue how to help Raven.
Dax scratched his chin. “Being out in the open is making her anxiety worse. And if Boone is right—”
“I am.” Boone blew on his knuckles and rubbed them on his chest.
Why had Liam hired these knuckleheads? They were the best of the best, that’s why, but man, they could be ridiculous at times. But he trusted them with his life.
An idea popped into Liam’s mind. The cliché two birds, one stone had a whole new meaning. “Dax, relieve Rafe on watch and tell him our theory. Boone, Xander, gather the thin tarps from our packs. Create a small tent of sorts by draping them over the low-hanging tree branches.”
“I see where you’re going with this.” Xander picked up his pack. “Come on, Boone. Let’s get this done before all the light is gone.”
Liam’s team got to work. He prayed their little project would help Raven. Time to have a talk with her. He moved to her side and sat next to her. “Hey, there.”
“Hi.” Her voice shook, and her eyes darted around the area.
“I, um…” He chuckled. “Maybe I should hide behind the tree and talk to you through our comms.”
A smile curved her lips before it disappeared. “It is weird to be face-to-face.”
“Phew. Glad I’m not the only one who thinks that.”
Raven snorted.
He loved the fact that he could take her mind off her fears, even if only for a moment.
“What are they doing?” She jutted her chin at the men.
“Well, that’s what I came over to discuss with you.” He drummed his fingers on his leg.
Her shoulders drooped. “Go ahead, Liam, ask your questions.”
“We’ve observed your discomfort. Those men abducted you and tied you to a pole in a hut, but something more seems to be affecting you.” He debated whether or not to just blurt it out. “Dax seems to think you have…” Liam blew out a breath.
“Agoraphobia. I didn’t want you to know, but you all are too observant.”
He tilted his head and studied her. “So, you never leave your house?”
She shook her head. “It’s not like that. Well, not exactly. I hate leaving my house. It ramps up my anxiety. I can sit outside. I can go for walks, but I try to stay away from situations that make me feel trapped.”
“So not like on TV?” He smirked.
“They have it somewhat right, but they tend to show the extreme.” She shrugged. “Like everything, there are levels. I’m not that severe. Most people aren’t. Plus, I’ve been working on it, that’s why I’m in Mexico.”
Liam picked up a leaf and twirled it. “Boone has another observation.”
Raven’s gaze dropped to the jungle floor. “What’s that?”
“That you also have noctiphobia.”
She jerked and twisted to face him. She hissed and grabbed her ribs. “Remind me not to do that.”
“Hey, Raven, don’t move so fast. It’ll hurt.”
Her lip twitched. “Smarty pants.”
“So, is it true?” He asked.
“Kinda. It’s not an official diagnosis. The label comes from those popular phobia lists. I have an anxiety disorder that happens to be triggered by nighttime. Weird. I know.” She wiped a tear that escaped. “I’m a mess.”
Liam sat up straight. “No, you aren’t. So you have a few fears.”
“Phobias and fears are different.”
“Okay, so you have a couple of really big fears.” He gave her a cheesy grin.
Raven rolled her eyes.
And why was that so endearing?
“We all have things in our lives that affect us. It doesn’t make you a mess.” He took a chance and clasped her fingers.
Her gaze landed on their hands and drifted to his face. “I never thought we’d meet in person.”
“I have a confession.”
Her brow arched.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for some time now.”
“Me too. But I kinda wanted to look my best and not be moments away from a panic attack and caked in sweat and grime.”
“Raven, you’ve guided us through some crazy missions. You’re amazing. I don’t care that you have smudges on your face.” He smiled and wiped at a spot of dirt on her cheek. The bruises twisted his stomach, but he refused to think about that. “Let us have your back this time.”
“You don’t think I’m weird?” Wide eyes stared back at him.
“Not in the slightest.”
Her hand trembled, and he tightened his grip. “Okay.”
Boone waltzed over. “Ready for a tour of your mansion?”
“Charlie Four—Sorry, Boone—lead the way.” Raven struggled to stand.
Liam helped her to her feet and held her arms until she steadied herself. Once certain she wouldn’t fall, he escorted her to their creation.
“You’ll love it.” Boone extended his arm, gesturing toward the structure. “Xander rigged a little curtain. We included a couple of glow sticks to pop if you want a bit of light.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Her voice cracked.
“Go on. Try it out. You can sit inside while we talk if it’ll make you feel more at ease.” Liam jutted his chin at the tent.
Raven ducked inside and lowered herself onto a tarp they’d placed on the ground as a floor. She used the tree as a backrest.
“I wish we had a sleeping bag and pillow for you, but we travel light.” Liam crouched at the opening and examined the interior. The guys did a great job with the enclosure.
“Which brings me to my next question. How did you find me? No one except my therapist knew I was in Mexico.” Raven had already relaxed a bit. The terror in her eyes had dimmed, and her voice had steadied.
Liam joined his team, who’d taken up position outside of Raven’s safe place and sat where she could see them.
“By the grace of God.” Liam’s whispered words spoke louder than if he’d shouted.
“Amen to that, brother.” Boone nodded and rested his forearms on his knees. “We got hired to find a contractor’s daughter. But the moment we stepped toward the trail that led to you, a Fed told us to abort because the ‘package’ died in a car crash.”
Rafe, who had joined them a few minutes ago after swapping with Dax, snorted. “We don’t abort because some Fed tells us to. We’re private security, not their puppets. We stop when we’re satisfied.”
Xander sat cross-legged and picked the leaf off a twig he’d found on the ground. “Boss’s gut said to keep going. We did, and voila, we found you in a hut in the middle of the jungle.”
Her chin trembled, and one tear carved a clean line through the dirt. “I can’t believe you ignored the abort mission,” she whispered.
“The whole thing felt off. We listen to instinct. And mine said not to stop.” At the time, Liam’s gut screamed at him to keep going. Now he knew why.
“Thank you for not leaving me with those men.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t think they would have kept up the questioning much longer, if you know what I mean.”
Liam nodded. His heart hurt at what she’d gone through.
And what if they had listened to the agent and headed home?
Their Raven—his Raven—would have been lost forever.
“Once we get back to civilization, I want a full investigation into our mission. It still doesn’t sit right with me. ” His comm came to life.
“Charlie One, Charlie Three.”
He held up a hand and pointed to his ear. His team sat up straight, listening. “Go ahead, Charlie Three.”
“I’ve got two tangos playing in the jungle.”
“Lima Charlie.” Liam had copied that message loud and clear. “Boone. Xander. Get out there and help Dax. Rafe, you’re with me. Cover the camp.”
“Copy that.” The men said in unison and moved with purpose and confidence to their assignments.
Liam turned to Raven. “Dax has spotted a couple of men out there. We’re going to up our intensity and make sure they don’t get to you.”
Raven hugged her middle. “It’s weird not to have you in my ear.”
“Don’t worry. Once this is over, you’ll have to put up with us on comms again.”
She smiled. “I can’t wait.”
“Go ahead and get comfortable. Well, as much as possible. I’ll close the curtain, but feel free to open it if you need to.”
Raven snorted. “Like that’s going to happen until morning.”
“Then I’ll see you at first light.”
“Thank you, Liam.” She waved her hand at the tent. “This helps more than you know.”
He nodded and slid the tarp closed. Time to get to work. Liam strode to Rafe at the edge of camp.
Rafe shifted to face him. “She’s one strong woman.”
“That she is. Even if she doesn’t think so.” Liam gripped his weapon, determined to protect Raven. “You take this half. I’ll take the other.”
Rafe nodded. “On it.”
Liam stepped soundlessly to his position on the opposite side of camp. Gun at the ready, he stared into the night. Listening. Watching. Ready to defend.