by Kaylea Cross
Run.
She stumbled, bracing herself against the wall to steady her feet and threw a frantic glance over her shoulder. He came toward her, his expression intent. But when she realized she was staring into a pair of green eyes, the air exploded from her lungs in a gasp of startled recognition.
Tehrazzi.
Whirling on her heel, she ran.
Chapter Fifteen
Luke hefted his heavy ruck higher onto his back and headed toward the C-130 waiting on the tarmac. In the cockpit the pilots were well into their pre-flight checklist. Rhys strode beside him, his long legs eating up the distance.
“How long until Dec and his boys get here?” he asked.
Luke checked his watch. “Another forty minutes maybe. Could be less.” All he knew was, the instant that bird took off, he would be out for the entire flight. Wouldn’t get much sleep in the coming weeks, and he intended to get what he could on the trip to Bagram.
He’d only slept a few ten minute snatches last night. He hadn’t been willing to lose what little time he’d had to hold Emily against him. It shook him up, how much he was still in love with her. More than ever, if that was possible. Making love to her last night had been the most intense, shattering experience of his life. No matter what happened after today, she owned him, body and soul. If he got Tehrazzi and lived to tell about it, he was never leaving her side again.
He didn’t want to think about what awaited him in Afghanistan. Dwelling on it would only depress the hell out of him. But his mind wouldn’t shut off. His life with Tehrazzi had finally come full circle. He was going back to the place where it had all begun for them, just like the hand-written note had said. In the mountains where he’d taken that gangly, pissed-off kid and inadvertently turned him into one of the greatest threats that existed to western civilization. A man who had learned enough from his teacher to avoid capture by the most powerful agencies in the world these past six years.
But no more. Tehrazzi’s days of threats and terror were all but over. Luke would get the bastard this time, or die trying.
Nearing the aircraft, his cell vibrated against his hip. Stopping, he pulled it out to check the display. “Hey, Sam. What’s up?” Please don’t let her say something’s wrong with Emily.
“I left Ben a voicemail hours ago. Didn’t he give you the message?”
He frowned. “No, what was it?”
“Emily wants you to call her.”
Luke looked down at his steel-toed assault boots. He’d been dreading that request. He didn’t want to make any promises he couldn’t keep, and he didn’t want to hurt her anymore. It would tear him apart to hear her on the other end of the phone right now, even if she didn’t cry. Because he wasn’t sure what he could tell her to make it any easier. That’s why he’d left without saying anything. “Okay. Is she there?” When he’d left her curled up in his bed that morning, she’d been dead asleep, hadn’t so much as stirred when he’d kissed her cheek and put the chain around her neck. Still, he felt like a bastard for not being honest with her. And for sneaking out before she woke up because he was too much of a coward to watch her face crumple when she found out he was leaving.
“No, she’s still out, but—”
He stiffened. “What? Her appointment should have been over by now.” A while ago, actually. What if she’d gotten bad news?
“She said she was going to light a candle for you.”
He closed his eyes. Ah, damn, Em.. . Barbs pricked at his heart. He couldn’t believe she still did that for him. Rubbing his tired eyes, he sighed. “Please tell me she’s got a phone with her.”
“I gave her mine, and the number’s already programmed into yours. I’ve got her on GPS now, but as far as I can tell she’s inside a mosque.”
“A mosque?”
“Yeah, it’s the big one right next to a church downtown. Know it?”
He did. Knowing Em, she’d gone into both places to plead her case for his soul with God and Allah, on the off chance either one of them would intercede on his behalf. Maybe she knew he could use all the help he could get. “I’ll call her,” he promised.
Hanging up, he took a deep breath and found Sam’s cell number in the menu. There wasn’t a damn thing he could say that would make this any easier on Emily, but he was willing to try. She at least deserved to hear him say why he hadn’t told her he was leaving. And she deserved to hear that he loved her. Apart from that, there was dick all he could give her until this thing ended.
****
Her perfume gave her away. Nothing ever disturbed him when he was in prayer, but that light note of vanilla in the air had alerted him a woman was nearby. The tingling between his shoulder blades had made him glance behind him once he was finished. He might have only frowned in disapproval had he not seen her grab the pendant around her neck. Then her face became clear to him, as did the significance of the jewelry she wore. He’d recognize it anywhere.
His teacher’s cherished medallion.
Tehrazzi took a step toward her, his heart thudding hard against his ribs. Her eyes were green, almost the same shade as his, and they widened in apprehension. He could not believe she was standing there. She had willingly entered Allah’s house. Because Allah had brought her to him.
Triumph soared through his blood. Everything was clear to him now. This was the way it was meant to happen. She was the instrument with which Allah wanted to draw his teacher to his death.
He knew the instant she realized who he was. Her face went utterly white, her nostrils flaring as she gasped. She spun to flee, but he followed. Not at a run, for it would be disrespectful to cause a scene in the musalla.
Near the door she bent to snatch up her shoes, casting a quick glance over her shoulder as she ran. He came closer and she fled, running into the courtyard. The blood red scarf she wore over her hair made her easy to follow in the crowd. He raised a hand to signal two of his men, and they intercepted her. She got out one tiny shriek before one of them clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her quickly toward the waiting vehicle.
His blood raced through his veins. The surge of triumph was harder and more potent than a hit of heroin. The end was finally here. He was ready.
****
Emily tossed her head and screamed beneath the meaty hand covering her mouth. Two men had her in a tight grip, and practically carried her as they rushed away from the street to an alley. Hadn’t anyone seen her? She kicked and struggled, managed to knock one of them in the face with her elbow, hard enough that he grunted and loosened his grip. She jerked away and whirled, pulling to escape the other man’s hold as she grabbed for the phone in her pocket. The number two, Sam had told her. She had to press and hold the number two. Yanking it out, she clamped her thumb onto the button and held it down.
A split second later Tehrazzi was upon her, knocking it out of her hand with one swipe of his arm. It clattered to the cobbled street. Enraged, she rammed an elbow into her captor’s stomach. “Let me go!” Another hand clamped down over her mouth, staying there no matter how hard she thrashed her head back and forth. Had she held the button long enough? Maybe the signal was transmitting right now. When she didn’t answer, Sam would know something was up. But then Tehrazzi walked over and smashed the phone under his booted heel, shattering it on the cobblestones. He twisted his foot for good measure, the sound of grinding plastic and electronic components loud in the empty alley.
Fear threatened to choke her as he approached again, his eyes holding an unearthly glow. If Sam hadn’t received the call, then no one would know she was missing. She would die by Tehrazzi’s hand.
Someone shouted behind them.
Emily wrenched against the arms holding her and caught a glimpse of her driver running flat out toward them, a weapon raised in one hand. He fired once. She flinched and screamed louder beneath the hand, fighting with all she had to get free. But then Tehrazzi’s other man pulled out his pistol and fired twice. She jumped at the muted pop of the silencer and cried out
when the guard crumpled, two bloody wounds blooming on his chest. His hands grabbed at his shirt as though he couldn’t believe he’d been hit. His eyes bulged and his back arched upward, fingers clawing at his throat for air. Scarlet froth bubbled up from the holes in his ruined lungs and gushed out his mouth and nose.
Tehrazzi said something to the others in another language and they dragged her away, the guard’s awful gurgling ringing in her ears. She wanted to cry. That poor man was dying a hideous death because he’d tried to help her, and now no one would know what had happened to her.
Hard hands shoved her face first onto the back seat of the waiting Mercedes SUV. She yanked her head up and lunged for the door, but Tehrazzi slid in beside her and caught her wrists, yanking the scarf off her head and using it to lash her hands behind her back. The doors slammed shut, the engine roared to life, and then the vehicle shot down the alley. He trapped her flailing legs with one knee and pushed her bound hands up. The sudden flare of pain in her shoulder joints wrenched a cry out of her.
“Let me go,” she cried.
“Lie still.”
The hell she would. She wriggled and fought, an animal growl tearing from her throat. Was this really happening? Everyone thought he was in Afghanistan. Luke and the others were going there to get him. A sob of fear shook her.
“Be easy.” Tehrazzi’s low voice was without an accent, eerily soothing. Almost kind. She shivered. “My fight is not with you.”
“Then let me go!”
“You’re going to bring my teacher to me.”
Did he mean Luke? Because he’d trained him? “No,” she managed. “H-he’s gone to Afg-ghanistan for you.”
Tehrazzi grabbed her upper arms. He raised her off the seat and jerked her jaw around with one hand. “What?”
The rage burning in those green eyes withered her insides. “H-he’s going there—”
“How do you know this?” She flinched when he shook her once. “He told you this? When?”
She didn’t dare tell him she’d heard the information from another source. “Th-this morning.”
His eyes flared. “Is he still here? In Beirut?”
Emily swallowed. She wasn’t going to tell him anything that might jeopardize Luke’s safety. Maybe she’d said too much already.
His hand tightened painfully on her jaw. “Is he?”
“I-I d-don’t know...”
He released her with a snap of his wrist and her cheek hit the leather, hard enough to make her flinch. Then he spoke rapidly in another language to the driver.
“Please let me go,” she begged, squirming against his hold.
“No. You are the key to this.”
What was he talking about? “I have nothing to do with this.”
One of his hands grabbed the chain around her neck. “If you’re wearing his medallion, you have everything to do with this.”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” she cried.
“It means everything. He would only give that to you. Because you matter to him more than anyone.”
Tears burned her eyes. “Don’t do this. Please, he’s been through enough.”
He said something else to the driver, completely ignoring her pleas. She wanted to scream from the pain clawing at her. If Luke came charging to her rescue, Tehrazzi would be waiting to kill him.
****
Luke’s call immediately went to an electronic message saying the owner was either out of range or unavailable. Was she still in the mosque maybe? Instead of turning it to vibrate, she might have turned it off out of respect.
Frowning, he hung up and dialed Sam back at the compound. “Her phone’s not on,” he said as soon as she answered.
“Luke.”
His blood chilled at the fear in her voice. Sam was always calm when she worked. Even when she’d been facing an attack from an approaching enemy force alone in a cave in Afghanistan, she’d held it together. “What?”
“The signal went dead about two minutes ago. Just stopped transmitting... Hold on.”
Shit. Luke’s hand tightened around the phone. He made out an urgent male voice in the background speaking in rapid Arabic, but couldn’t hear what he was saying. Was Emily okay? Rhys strode over, his eyes locked on him.
Sam came back on the line. “Oh God, Luke, the guard who drove her reported in that three men were chasing her. He was pursuing on foot, but we can’t reach him.”
Luke’s blood congealed in his veins. Couldn’t be coincidence. No way.
Let us finish this where it all began...
The bottom of his stomach dropped out. Oh, fuck, he’d screwed it up.
Not Afghanistan. Beirut. Where Tehrazzi had first been recruited by a radical militia.
“I’m calling Ben,” he said, fighting the undiluted fear streaking through him. “Get Dec on the line for me.” Ben answered on the first ring. “Emily’s gone. I think Tehrazzi’s got her.” He could barely get the words out of his tight throat.
“Shit. The police just called me. One of my guys was found dead in an alley downtown beside a mosque.”
“Come get us. We’ll start there.”
“I’ll be there in five.”
Luke shoved the phone into its holster, struggling to get his heart rate under control. All he could think about was that Tehrazzi had Emily.
At one time he could have guaranteed Emily would be safe until he showed up, because Tehrazzi didn’t like to kill his victims himself. But no longer. He was increasingly unstable, had killed at least one man himself in the past few months. Tehrazzi was paranoid and unpredictable now. He didn’t trust anyone and was finally taking matters into his own hands. He wanted Luke, and knew damn well Emily would guarantee him coming after her.
But until Luke got there, there was no telling what he’d do to her. Luke’s stomach lurched sickeningly. He was going to kill that fucker.
Without a word he and Rhys ran back to the hangar to wait for Ben.
Chapter Sixteen
Emily’s heart was in her throat when the SUV finally stopped and the engine turned off. She couldn’t lift her head enough to see out the window. Where were they? Was he going to hurt her? Torture her for information she didn’t have?
Tehrazzi said something to his men and then dragged her out of the vehicle, forcing her to walk in front of him as they approached a darkened industrial building. The air was heavy and damp, carrying the salty tang of the sea. They must be near the waterfront.
It was growing darker outside, and the oppressive shadows deepened as he pushed her inside the empty room. The metal door shut behind them with a bang, echoing off the concrete walls. She shivered and snuck a glance around. A single barred window in the far wall let in the fading light. No other doors. She had to get out the way she’d come. Tehrazzi wasn’t looking at her. His back was to her as he moved purposefully around the barren room while he gathered things and stuffed them into a backpack. The SUV was parked out on the street. If she could get outside and run in the opposite direction, maybe she could get enough of a head start to lose them and get help.
Her heart thudded against her ribs. She had to try. She couldn’t stay here and let Tehrazzi use her as bait to trap Luke.
Luke might be gone already. Airborne, well on his way to Afghanistan. She didn’t know. Sooner or later, Sam and the others would realize she was missing and start looking for her. They’d find out about the guard who’d died trying to save her. The police would be alerted. Were they out looking for her now? Every major security agency in the world wanted Tehrazzi, yet he’d made it into Beirut without arrest. Did he have someone protecting him from the inside? The idea made her sick with despair.
Careful not to glance over her shoulder, she watched Tehrazzi stuff clothes, money and some ammunition into his bag. Wincing inside, she slid one foot back and slowly transferred her weight from toes to heel. Then the other, while her fingers twisted in the scarf binding her wrists. He’d tied it tight enough that it cut off the circulation, and she cou
ldn’t get a good enough grip on the velvet to loosen it. She took another step backward, sensing the door at her back. She’d have to ram it with her shoulder and run for it. And pray she could find some kind of cover before they shot her in the back.
Another step. Beads of sweat broke out over her upper lip. Then Tehrazzi paused and looked back at her. She froze.
His forest green eyes pinned her like an insect. “Don’t.”
The look on his face, the quiet warning frightened her. The door was right behind her. Only a few feet away. Tehrazzi was on the other side of the room.
Now or never.
She spun and lunged for the door, slamming her shoulder into the release bar with a heavy clang, but her head snapped back and she fell to the floor, one hip and elbow taking the brunt of the impact with the cold concrete. Cool air washed over her bald scalp. She scrambled onto her knees and faced Tehrazzi, preparing for the beating she feared was coming. He stood above her, her long wig dangling from his fist.
His expression transformed from buried rage to astonishment as he stared down at her. “You’re ill,” he said softly.
Body tensed, she glared up at him and gritted her teeth. She would not let the bastard see how afraid she was.
He took a step toward her and she flinched despite herself, but he merely placed the wig back on her head and moved away. She would have sworn his eyes filled with sympathy, but that was impossible. He was a twisted, hate-filled terrorist and wouldn’t care about anything but his perceived duty to Allah.
“I’m sorry that you’ve suffered so much in this life.”
His softly spoken words sent a chill rippling down her backbone. He spoke as though he planned to send her to the afterlife to ease her. And what did he know of her suffering? The look in his eyes was all wrong. It confused her. Why would he feel sorry for her? He must hate her because she was a non-believer, an American, and worse, Luke’s ex-wife.
Then he surprised her again by reaching out a broad, strong hand. She flinched, but he merely grasped her upper arm gently and helped her to her feet in an almost chivalrous gesture. He was shockingly gentle with her, even adjusting the wig before he moved away. She pulled back, almost more afraid of this oddly tender side of him. Was he clinically insane? That would explain his polar personality shifts.
