As soon as he’d left, Elliot sat and leaned across the table toward her. He spoke so softly she had to lean forward to catch the words.

“Now I want to talk to you about what happened last summer.”

Her throat went dry. She swallowed repeatedly. “I thought you said the detective wanted to talk to me again?”

Elliot’s half smile produced lines down the side of his mouth. “She can wait a little while longer. I’m not finished talking to my client yet.”

Darby looked away. “What do you know about what happened?”

When he didn’t answer she glanced back at him. She needed to know if she could trust him.

Elliot took a moment, preparing his answer. His eyes were a deep sapphire blue, his short blond hair looked soft to touch, chin square, lips pretty. He was incredibly handsome she realized again with surprise. Film star good looks with enough ruthless intelligence shining in his eyes to give him substance.

And he stirred absolutely nothing inside her. No lust or desire. Thankfully, no fear or panic either.

The realization made her ache though and left her feeling even more desolate. Only one man affected her that way. Only one man made her want to kiss him. And she didn’t know where he was or what he must be thinking.

Whatever it was couldn’t be good else he’d have come to talk to her by now. That knowledge sank another claw into her heart.

“I know you were abducted by terrorists. I know you were held captive for six days. I know you escaped with the help of Haley Cramer and her FBI fiancé. I know that most of the men from the island died in another attack but that the leader was never caught.”

Darby crossed her legs and stared down at the table. Darmawan Hurek was still at large despite being on the FBI’s most wanted and international terrorist watch lists. “You know a lot then.”

Elliot shifted, and her gaze jerked back to his.

“I know what you said in interviews that I watched on the flight here. I know what various reporters have written about events and about you. I know that most of your FBI case notes were not made public despite various freedom of information requests.”

She glared at him resentfully then lost her nerve and looked away. “Why do you need to know anything else, Mr. Byrne? You have the highlights.”

He didn’t answer for a long time and eventually Darby made herself meet his gaze again. She’d thought he might be angry that she wasn’t cooperating, but the pity in his eyes slayed her. A knot formed at the back of her throat, and she couldn’t speak.

“I’m not asking because I’m inquisitive or morbidly curious. Under normal circumstances I would never pry into what must have been a horrific experience.”

A shiver worked its way over her shoulders despite the warm sweatshirt. “You have no idea.”

“I know. And that’s why I need to know what happened to you. I need to know everything the prosecution might find out from the FBI agent who is currently assisting this investigation even though he’s not officially assigned to the case.”