Chapter 2

The first leg of the journey was to New York, where she was set to meet with the team that was traveling to Drevniye. The idea was that they would have a briefing about what was expected of them once they arrived in the country.

Chloe was no stranger to New York. She made frequent trips for vacations when she had the chance, so she had no trouble finding the hotel where the group was staying. It was a basic hotel, but it was nice and clean.

Having arrived and checked herself in, she rode the elevator to the third floor and her room. When she entered the dark space, it was to find a young girl lying on one of the beds and flipping through television stations. As soon as she saw Chloe, her eyes grew wide, and she sat up, brushing her sun-kissed blond hair out of her eyes.

"Hello," she tentatively greeted while watching Chloe, who shot her a smile as she threw her duffel bag on the luggage rack at the end of the bed.

"Hi," Chloe greeted in return. "I'm Chloe Lockwood, a nurse."

"You don't look like a nurse," the girl said with wide eyes as her gaze traveled over Chloe's silk shirt, short skirt, and heels.

Chloe looked down at herself and smiled. "I figured it was the last chance I would get to dress up on this trip, so I took it. Trust me. I am just as comfortable in scrubs as I am in this."

The girl silently looked at her with wide brown eyes. She couldn't be more than twenty-two or twenty-three at the most.

"What's your name?" Chloe asked the silent girl.

"Um, Cynthia Dunlop, but everyone calls me Cindy."

"It's nice to meet you, Cindy. Are you a nurse as well?" Chloe moved to look out the window at the parking lot below then sat in the chair at the small table that was provided.

"Yes, I just finished school and thought this would be an excellent way to get some experience." The girl turned off the television and turned to face Chloe.

Chloe usually didn't feel self-conscious, but the way the girl was staring at her made her feel uncomfortable.

"You realize that Drevniye is still a war zone? Have you had any experience in emergency medicine?" Chloe asked, trying to gauge what kind of experience Cindy might have.

"Sure, I did a rotation in school," the girl shrugged, seemingly unbothered by the question, which was a worry in itself. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Savannah, Georgia. Where are you from?" Chloe crossed her long legs, catching the girl's attention for a moment before her gaze dropped to her won denim-clad legs.

"I'm from Nebraska," Cindy responded.

Chloe took in the girl's pink cheeks, blond hair, and brown eyes and nodded. She could see Cindy coming from the Midwest.

"Have you met anyone else yet?" Chloe looked at her watch. They only had about fifteen minutes until it was time to check in and assemble for a working lunch.

"No, I got here last night, I was worried about being late, so I made sure I was early."

Chloe nodded as she stood. She wasn't one to worry about being late. Somehow things usually worked out for her in the scheduling department. "I'll just be a few minutes; then we can head down together if you like. It's always better not to have to walk into a room alone, don't you agree?"

Cindy nodded and smiled in relief.

"We'll figure it out together," Chloe assured her before she headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Chloe sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, wondering if Cindy would need a little extra guidance, and if so,  would she be the one required to give it? At thirty-one, Chloe hadn't thought much about her age when she decided to join the program, but perhaps she should have because now she was worried that she might be the oldest one. True, it wouldn't have made a difference because her overall mission was to find her father, but it would have been something for which she could have prepared.

Finishing up with what she needed to do, she emerged from the bathroom to find Cindy looking at herself in the mirror.

"Ready?" Chloe asked as she reached for her purse.

"Sure," Cindy agreed, stuffing her key card in her wallet and her wallet in a backpack.

As they exited the room and moved to the elevator, Chloe realized that in her heels, she was a good bit taller than Cindy, and they must have made an odd pair standing together.

When they reached the ground floor, they followed the signs to the dining room and entered together, joining about fifteen other people who were all standing around looking at packets that had been given to them.

Chloe noted a table off to one side with an older woman sitting behind it. She looked to be in her early forties, but it could have been the severe hairstyle that aged her. She had pulled her hair back in a tight bun, and her make-up was minimal.

"Good afternoon, I'm Chloe Lockwood," Chloe said, pulling out her I.D. in case it was needed.

The woman looked down at it and then back up at her. "You're a nurse?" she asked with an arched eyebrow over cold blue eyes.

"Yes," Chloe assured her.

The woman looked beyond her at Cindy, who followed Chloe's lead, handing over her I.D. as well. The woman shook her head and muttered something under her breath that sounded like 'lord help me' before she passed over two packets and additional I.D.s.

"My name is Helena Marks. I'll be in charge of the nurses on site." She eyed Chloe one more time as if she was expecting trouble from her. "Lunch is buffet style. Please take some time to meet the others around you and eat. We will begin the program promptly at half-past one."

Chloe kept a polite smile plastered to her face as she watched the woman speak. She had worked with some bad nurses in the past, and she would bet money that Ms. Marks was a bad nurse. She was probably lazy and quick to anger, and everything was always someone else's fault, which was why she still managed to have any kind of career.

Cindy was young and inexperienced, but probably a hard worker. However, by the looks that both Cindy and Ms. Marks had given Chloe upon meeting her, they probably thought she was useless.

It made Chloe smile for a moment as she turned away from the other two women. She wished that Lia and Faye were there with her. They would have had a few things to say on the subject at well.

"Is something amusing, Miss Lockwood?" Ms. Marks asked.

Chloe looked over her shoulder, broadening her smile. "Not at all, I'm just extremely pleased to be here." The line between the two women was drawn.

Cindy looked between the two, sensing the tension, and then turned to follow Chloe towards a table.

"You should probably keep your distance, Cindy. I don't think Ms. Marks likes me much, and she probably won't like anyone who associates with me either." Chloe felt it was only fair to warn the young girl.

Cindy nodded. "I know her type. She doesn't like to work, and she'll blame everyone else if anything goes wrong." She met Chloe's eyes, and they smiled at each other, a bond forming between them. At that moment, Cindy became a nurse in Chloe's eyes. Nurses had to be good at reading other nurses' personalities because they had to know who had their back when things got tight.

"I had the same thoughts," Chloe whispered, and they both gave a light giggle.

"This looks like the fun table," a man who, much to Chloe's relief, was about her age said as he joined them.

"I'm not sure about that." Chloe returned as the man held out his hand to her.

"I'm Don Fellows, anesthesiologist," he introduced himself.

"Chloe Lockwood, nurse." Chloe took his hand. Then watched as Cindy softly introduced herself.

Chloe discreetly looked at the man who was trying to draw Cindy out. He was tall and thin with thick sandy brown hair and laughing blue eyes. He appeared to be a kind man.

They proceeded to talk about the food on offer until they were joined by another woman who was out of breath.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked as she fell into a chair at the table. "Happy Golightly over there, really makes one feel welcome, doesn't she?"

The woman was slightly overweight, and her light brown hair looked as if she got caught in a wind tunnel or had just rolled out of bed. Her hazel eyes scanned the table, widening as they stopped on Chloe. "You part of this crew?" she asked as she hefted a large bag on the table.

"Chloe Lockwood, nurse." Chloe greeted.

The woman nodded. "Trina Avant, I'm a nurse as well."

Both Cindy and Don introduced themselves while she dug through her purse for something that was obviously unattainable.

Two more men eventually joined them. One was named Terry Springer, who was a pharmacist, and the other was Robert Dell, who was a surgeon. Terry was young and nice with brown hair and brown eyes. Robert was handsome, and he knew it. He had dark hair and dark eyes and had an attitude like most young surgeons did. Chloe had always attributed the surgeons' attitudes to the type of personality that it took to be a surgeon. It was not a job for the faint of heart, and one had to have an overabundance of self-confidence to be successful at it.

Valentine had been a surgeon, but Chloe quickly shook the thought off.

With their table full, they all took turns loading up their plates with food and chatting as they got to know one another.

After lunch, they were introduced to a man with a thick accent who took the small podium at the front of the small room. Chloe guessed that his native language was Russian by his accent, but she couldn't be sure. Chloe was fluent in many different languages, one of them being Russian, so she had no problem understanding him, but others at the table did. During his brief pauses, she would discreetly explain what he had said if there was a question.

Robert seemed not to understand anything and spent almost the entire lecture leaning into her with questions. He was a little too close for comfort.

During a break, when Robert got up to get a drink, Don took his seat with a smile and asked her a few questions. When Robert returned, Don played dumb and stayed where he was, forcing Robert to sit between Trina and Terry.

Chloe wasn't sure if he had done it on purpose or not, but she was thankful for the move either way.

They spent two days in New York while they were coached on everything from the country's culture, to the local politics, and what to do if the hospital was attacked in battle. Valentine's name was mentioned often.

"I've seen photos of Valentine Juric. He's so handsome in a dangerous way if you know what I mean." Cindy sighed.

"I know what you mean, I wonder if we will get to meet him," Trina said in an almost giddy voice.

Chloe had remained silent. The Valentine she remembered was very different from the one they had seen in the news. At one time, she had known him on the most intimate level, and they had been as close as two people could ever be. Now she understood that it was all something she had built up in her mind. None of it had been real, at least not for Valentine. If it had been, he would have found her by now, and she would be with him.

"You know he has a girlfriend or fiancé now, right?" Trina whispered to Cindy.

"I know. She's beautiful; lucky girl." Cindy nodded.

"I imagine he deserves it after all the years he spent fighting. More power to him if he can find a little happiness." Terry interjected as they rose to leave for the day.

In a few days, they were catching a plane to Amsterdam where they would have a twenty-four-hour layover before continuing to Finland and then by boat to Drevniye.

It was the same route she had taken home twelve years earlier, and there was a feeling of having come full circle.

At least she would get to see her good friend Silas DeGraff on her layover. That would be a positive note before she walked into what was possibly one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

There was no turning back now.