He opened his mouth to do so, when the general clasped his hands in front of him, the only sign he was running out of patience. “Look, I’m trying to keep her alive. She barely made it out of Afghanistan this time. If she goes back, it’ll be a one-way trip. I need you to make sure she doesn’t do something stupid like fight to prove the diagnosis in her medical—” He stopped.

Gavin felt sure the man’s definition of “Sarah stupid” differed from his. “So. Sarah was right. You had her diagnosed with PTSD and discharged.”

Only for a moment did the man look uncomfortable before his expression smoothed back into his unreadable façade. “She knows?”

“Once I told her about the diagnosis and discharge, that was the first conclusion she jumped to. It might have had something to do with the fact that you were there and dictating that she would be flying home instead of staying in the country.” He held the man’s gaze—and his own tongue. He wanted to say something to the effect that that information should have come from the general, not Gavin. “I’d say she knows you pretty well.”

The general winced. “I see.” He cleared his throat. “Well, it doesn’t matter. She’s not thinking straight. She can hate me as long as she stays alive—which is where you come in.”

“Why are you being so dogged about this? She’s a grown woman—and regardless of what you think, she’s quite capable of making her own choices.”

“But that’s just it. She’s not. She’s suffering debilitating nightmares.” He swallowed and looked away, even while his impossibly straight shoulders stiffened another fraction. “I saw her in the midst of several. She’s not well.”

“Sir—” He really couldn’t argue that. He’d seen the nightmares himself and they weren’t pretty. His heart had broken each time she’d awakened screaming and thrashing against an unseen force.

“And there’s one other thing,” the general said.

“What’s that?”

“Her kidnapping in Afghanistan may not have been a complete coincidence.”

Gavin went still. “What do you mean?”

The general blew out a low, almost inaudible breath. “I’ve been receiving threats,” he said softly. “Against myself only, nothing about my family. But . . .”

“But you’d rather be safe than sorry.”

He met Gavin’s eyes. “Yes.”

“Again, what about Caden?”

“I have someone watching him as well.”

Gavin hesitated, then asked, “What about Dustin? Could his death have been anything other than a suicide?”

The general’s granite features hardened even further. “No. There’s security footage from the roof that clearly shows Dustin jumping. But . . .”

“But?”

The general hesitated. “I don’t know. All evidence clearly shows suicide.” He shook his head. “I think I’m just questioning it because I don’t want to believe he could do something like that.”

“Are you investigating?”