The general shook his head. “No. That boy’s always had issues. I tried to help, but . . . no. He jumped. End of story.”

Gavin frowned. It was like the man was trying to convince himself.

A knock on the door interrupted them. The hospital chief of staff stuck her head in. “I’m sorry, General, but we need the room now. I hope that’s not an imposition.”

“Of course not. We’ll be finished in five minutes. Is that all right?”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

She ducked out again and the general turned back to Gavin. “Well? Can I count on you to help?”

Gavin gave a silent mental groan and nodded. The general smiled his satisfaction, but Gavin frowned.

Sarah was going to kill him if she ever found out. When she found out. Because she would. He stood. But if Sarah was truly in real danger, then he’d do whatever he could to keep her safe. “She deserves to know all of this, General.”

“Maybe so, but not now. When she’s stronger. I have some phone calls to make.” He strode toward the door. “Get me a coffee, will you?”

“Sure. I could use a cup as well.”

He and the general parted ways, and Gavin found himself in the coffee line, pondering the idea of acting as Sarah’s secret bodyguard. Then he pictured her finding out and shuddered at the imagined reaction. Yeah, that wouldn’t be pretty.

With a cup in each hand, Gavin approached Sarah’s hospital room by way of the nursing station. Sarah’s nurse looked up and shot him a frown. “She’s sleeping right now. I think it’s best not to disturb her.”

“Don’t plan on disturbing her.” He planned to sit next to her and watch the door. He glanced at Sarah’s door. “Is her father in there?” The general had been headed to her room twenty minutes ago.

“No, I haven’t seen him.”

That didn’t sound right. If the general was so concerned about her safety, why would he leave her alone?

Then he spotted the man at the far end of the hallway next to the exit sign with his back to Sarah’s room. Wireless earbuds in the general’s ears and his stiff posture made it clear he was on a call and disturbing him wasn’t an option.

But he’d left Sarah wide open for trouble should the threats be real. The truth was, Gavin wasn’t fully convinced the threats on the general had anything to do with Sarah’s kidnapping. That’s what terrorists did over there. They terrorized. One of those methods was kidnapping innocent women and girls. He walked to her room and, using his hip, pushed his way inside.

He stopped at the sight of the empty bed. “Sarah?” Gavin set the cups on the counter near the sink and knocked on the bathroom door. “Sarah?”

No answer.