I shook my head no and Nate relaxed a little. "We had hoped you weren't. Are you hurt though? Do you need medical care?" he asked cautiously. I got the feeling he would rather not be the one having this conversation with me.

"No, thank you," I said not wanting to discuss exactly where I was cut, "just scratches. They've all scabbed over by now."

It didn't surprise me when Nate said he was in charge of security, he spent the next hour smoothly questioning me on every aspect of my capture. He never raised his voice or rushed my jumbled descriptions; he just wanted every detail. I may have...