The Protector by Dawn Marie Snyder Read Free Book Online Page A

tomorrow.”
    My stomach flip flopped as the words rung in my ears. “Tomorrow?” I stuttered.  “Why tomorrow?”
    “They are probably going to want to ask you some questions and I am not sure how long that will take.” Fear over took me as images of a lengthy interrogation played in my mind. I pictured the bright light, and gray metal table and chairs.  There was a mirror like window on one side of the room but I couldn’t see through the window. I was sure someone was on the other side watching me. It was something straight out of some crime show on television.
    My body shook as I then realized that it wasn’t the police who were going to be questioning me but instead some government agency.  I could feel a lump form in my throat and tears well up in the corner of my eyes. My breathing grew rapid and my heart was pounding even harder now as I thought about all the possibilities. My imagination went wild as I thought of the man sitting next to me turning me over to some men in dark suits and wearing sunglasses, even though it was dark outside.
    I hadn’t noticed him staring at me as I was envisioning everything that might happen.  It wasn’t until I felt his hand on my shoulder and felt the jolt of electricity run through my body that the images playing in my head came to a screeching halt.   I looked up at him and into his soft golden eyes. “Relax, no one is going to hurt you. I won’t let it happen.”  My shoulders were still tense and he did not remove his hand.  I tried to relax with his words but the fear did not go away. He moved his hand from my shoulder and gently put it on my hand and squeezed it in reassurance. He didn’t move his hand nor did he look back at me.
    I hardly noticed as the plane began its direct descent into Dulles. I looked out the window and saw only darkness and twinkling lights around me.  Any other time the lights and visions of Washington would have excited me beyond belief. It was a city that gave me an adrenaline rush every time I visited. When I was attending Georgetown it was probably one of the best times of my life. I enjoyed every bit of my time there and regretted not staying there to work. The regret was more intense now. 
    Now I cringed at the fate that awaited me down on the ground. Jack still had not moved his hand and he squeezed mine as he felt my body tense once again.  I turned to look at him and he looked at me.
    “Why?” I mouthed to him.
    “I promise it will be ok Sonny.” His eyes were dark but the tone of his voice was sincere.   It all had an amazing calming effect on me. I wanted desperately to believe him and I needed to believe in him. But this whole incident, it was so unbelievable.  Fear crept through my body and my chest tightened. I ignored the feeling as there really was nothing I could do about it. 
    Our plane touched down and I did as he asked and waited as all the other passengers deplaned.  It took close to 20 minutes to get everyone off the large plane. Jack gathered his backpack and I followed suit. Only the flight attendants were left as we slowly descended the stairs to the coach deck.  Everyone smiled and told us to have a good night as we walked off the plane onto the gangway that led to the concourse.
    My heart continued to race as I slowly followed Jack to the concourse. I didn’t know what waited for me at the gate and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to find out. If I could have made my legs run, I would have. I would have bolted past the man I now trusted and ran as fast as I could screaming at the top of my lungs I had been kidnapped. I was sure if I made a large enough scene at the gate, then this group of people who wanted to question me would leave me alone. But then my thoughts returned to reality as I realized they weren’t going to give up on finding out what happened in Tel Aviv.  The cold hard realization made the intense burning in my chest intensify. I could feel my airways constrict as the panic of the