It was clear both of the thugs we’d secured in the chairs had struggled and failed to get out of the binds that held them. All I could do was look at them and say, “Nice try, assholes.” I had a million questions, but I didn’t think these guys were ready to talk, short of me dragging them outside again.

I stepped over to the couch and checked the woman, who was now conscious and staring in disbelief at the men who had been her captives. It looked like she would live, and that was good enough for me.

I took a man’s heavy coat from a hanger near the door and slipped it around Bailey Mae. As I leaned in, I said, “Don’t worry, kid. Help is on the way.”

Natty and I dragged the two chairs with the men tied to them all the way into the kitchen, away from the freed men. I ripped the tape off their mouths, but neither spoke immediately. The man in charge just shook his head and mumbled, “I won’t forget you, Mitchum.”

“Wish I could forget you and this whole nightmare.”

“But you won’t be able to. No matter what happens. No matter how this all plays out, I’ll still be thinking of how you screwed things up and what I’ll do to you the first chance I get.”

“What, exactly, did I screw up?”

“A chance to make a difference. A chance to really protect the country. Instead, we’re no better off than we were before September 11.”

“You really believe that, don’t you?”

“Someone has to.”

“How does torturing a few scared men protect anything?”

“You don’t get it, do you, Mitchum? It’s all connected. The Middle East, Europe, the US; every action has a consequence. From supporting Hamas to supplying electrical parts that could be used to bring down a jet. It’s all connected and you’re gonna have to live with the guilt when shit happens because of what you did here.”

I was tired of this guy. “How does kidnapping a little girl protect anything?”

“I didn’t say we were perfect. Accidents happen, people make mistakes. One day I hope you’re collateral damage to an accident.”

I just stared at him as I fantasized about shooting this creep in the head, but I wasn’t like him. Thank God I wasn’t like him and I had to know there was a difference between us. I gave him a smirk, then turned my back on him. I hoped for good.

When I stepped out of the kitchen, Bailey Mae reached out to take my hand.

She pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, “I knew you’d find me.”