Target For Ransom

by Laura Scott

  “I know, but it was a risk I was willing to take.” She glanced at Bryn, her heart squeezing in her chest. “Don’t you see? If my mother had been able to find something like this, she’d be alive today. My attempt to save my mother backfired, so this was something I had to do. And I wouldn’t knowingly put Bryn in danger. I was just one cog in a big wheel. It wasn’t as if women came through on a weekly basis.”

  “I know you wouldn’t put Bryn in danger.” He surprised her by taking her hand in his. “But it was still a risk, one that could have had dire consequences.”

  “Yes.” There was no denying he was right.

  “How often would you take one of these women from the boat to the shelter?”

  “Roughly once every two to three months. Things moved very slow, for obvious reasons, and the route was circuitous to avoid discovery.” She tightened her grip on his hand. “There’s more, Jordan. One of the women I helped maybe three months ago? Her name was Fadia Haram Shekau.”

  He sucked in a harsh breath. “One of Tariq’s wives?”

  “One of his five wives, yes.” After holding the secret for so long, telling Jordan felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “I didn’t know it at the time, it’s not like I get any personal information on these women before they arrive. In fact, just the opposite. They simply step off the boat, and I assist them into my car and take them home. But I recognized her, even after all those years, and she recognized me too. I saw the jagged scar on her face, and she told me that Tariq had cut her for disobeying . . .” She couldn’t finish.

  Jordan pulled her into his arms, cradling her close. She buried her face against his chest, reveling in his embrace. He sweetly kissed her temple, and she lifted her head to look up at him, silently asking for more.

  Keeping his gaze on hers, he lowered his mouth. She eagerly met him more than halfway. This kiss was just as passionate as the first, which seemed like forever ago but was really just earlier that morning.

  “Diana,” he whispered when they both needed to breathe. “When this is over . . .”

  “Yes,” she whispered back. “I would like to spend some time with you, Jordan. And of course you’ll want to get to know Bryn too.”

  “I’d love to spend time with both of you,” he confessed.

  “I know.” Then her smile faded. “Do you think it’s possible Tariq knows I helped Fadia? Is that how my cover within witness protection was blown?”

  His gaze turned serious. “Maybe, if Fadia told him.”

  “No, I can’t believe that.” Her denial was swift. She paused, then added, “I keep coming back to the federal government. Chris Wallace was killed, maybe tortured to reveal my location. If he was betrayed by someone inside, they could have found me.”

  “But Fadia may have also told Tariq about you,” Jordan persisted.

  “Fadia was scared he would kill her. Tariq . . . is a violent man.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me, but I don’t see how Tariq could know about your role in Fadia’s escape. Not without inside help.”

  Inside help. She went still. To her shame, she’d never considered this angle. “You mean if someone at the shelter or maybe even someone along the railroad told him?”

  Jordan nodded slowly. “Unfortunately, money is a powerful motivator. Offer enough money and there will always be those who jump at the chance, no matter what horrible thing they’re asked to do.”

  The thought was a sucker punch to the gut. She leaned heavily against Jordan for a long moment, then forced herself to straighten. “If that’s true, then we’ll need to disappear again. I can’t allow him to hurt Bryn.”

  “We don’t know for sure Tariq is involved yet,” Jordan said. “As you pointed out, it could be someone within the FBI who broke your cover. I’d like to talk to Tony Balcome about that.”

  “Maybe, but again, why come forward now?” She shivered, despite the stuffiness inside the motel room. “Tariq . . . is a possibility I can’t ignore, Jordan.”

  “Let’s try to focus on one crisis at a time, okay?”

  She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay.”

  But as they worked on searching for information on the computer, she couldn’t help but think about the threat of her cousin Tariq finding them.

  After the way her uncle had been killed by Jordan, she knew Tariq would show her and Bryn no mercy.

  * * *

  September 10 – 4:58 p.m. – Washington, DC

  Amar was anxious to please. “I believe Elam planted a bomb in Baltimore, causing the parking structure to explode. It was a diversion to create confusion that allowed him to breech the Liberty Bell location.”

  He nodded. “Elam will need to be found and silenced, permanently.”

  Amar inclined his head. “Yes, but remember there are three additional devices he has not provided to us.”

  That was not good news. “How many do we currently have?”

  “Sixteen are in place and ready to go.” Amar checked his phone. “I’ve been trying to reach Elam, but without success.”

  A kernel of unease slipped down his spine. “Do you think he will try to disappear? Or stick around in an attempt to disrupt our plans?”

  “Disappear,” Amar said without hesitation. “He doesn’t know any details related to our plan, his job was only to create what we asked of him. And we did that by holding his wife hostage.” Amar shrugged. “If he has rescued his wife, then he has no reason to stay.”

  He hoped Amar was right. “I would still like him found and punished. A message must be sent to the others.”

  “I have already put the man who allowed them to escape on Elam’s trail.”

  “Good.” It wasn’t perfect, and having three fewer devices than originally planned wasn’t a major concern.

  As long as their plan went off without a problem.

  * * *

  September 10 – 5:02 p.m. – Washington, DC

  “Hey, I didn’t realize you were still here.”

  He looked up to meet his colleague’s gaze. His only purpose for sticking around the FBI office was to get information, a tactic that had clearly worked in his favor. He did his best to looked concerned. “I’m troubled by recent events and have been trying to come up with an angle to investigate.”

  His colleague held up his phone. “I just heard from my contact within the Baltimore PD. They found a backpack with an explosive device outside the Walmart Supercenter in Arbutus, a suburb of Baltimore. Inside was an explosive device shaped like a seagull.”

  He went still. Explosive device? “Are you sure?”

  His colleague nodded. “My guy told me it looked real from a distance, but up close it was definitely made of explosives. They backed off and got the bomb squad there pronto. They’re hoping to pick up some usable prints from the backpack. If they do, there’s a good chance someone’s name will pop in the system.”

  “I’d like to know what your friend finds out about that. A name would be very useful.” He didn’t have to feign interest—he knew this was big. If the bomb in the backpack was similar to the one used at the parking garage, then he had to believe the man who’d left it behind was working in parallel to them.

  Toward the same goal? Maybe.

  If only he could get his hands on Jordan Rashid. He thought about the woman’s phone that had been out of service since the failed attack in Annapolis and decided it couldn’t hurt to give it another try. Even if the phone was off, it would give him their last known location.

  Booting up his computer, he brought up the phone number and entered it into the database.

  With a jolt, he stared at the location that bloomed on the screen.

  Baltimore.

  * * *

  September 10 – 5:11 p.m. – Baltimore, MD

  Bryn still had trouble believing she was safe at last. The clothes her dad had purchased for her were nothing fancy, but Bryn was still grateful to get rid of her old stinky things. Her once favorite Minion T-shi
rt would never be worn again. She couldn’t believe how much better she felt after a shower and a change of clothes.

  Not to mention having her mom and her dad, the man she’d been told was dead, nearby.

  God must have been looking out for her. And for Meira, although the woman spoke of Allah, which Bryn figured was just the Arabic version of God.

  She had so many questions to ask her dad, but he was over talking to the beautiful Korean woman named Sun and Meira’s husband, Elam.

  Elam was a surprise. She’d heard him say something about asking God for forgiveness. He had specifically said God, not Allah.

  It was all so confusing. They had to be one and the same, right?

  “Bryn, can we talk for a moment?”

  She glanced shyly at the man who was her father. Secretly, she thought him very handsome and felt certain her mother must still care about him. “Sure.”

  He sat down beside her on the edge of the bed. “I’m very glad you’re okay, and I don’t want to bring up painful memories, but I need to ask if you remember anything about these men that might help us figure out who they are.”

  “No.” She stared down at her hands. “They smelled awful and were mean. One of them hit me really hard.” She put a hand to her cheek. The blow had hurt, but it was the sudden attack that had scared her most of all. Along with the fear of suffering another.

  “I know, and I’m very sorry that happened.” Her father lightly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Did they use any names? Or mention any places? Even the smallest detail could prove useful.”

  She thought back to those horrible hours she’d been locked in the room with Meira. She’d been so upset, her mind whirling with terror, she couldn’t remember hearing any names. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything except how scared I was.” She felt bad for letting her dad down. “Have you asked Meira? She might know more.”

  “Yes, actually, your mom is talking to Meira, and it’s okay that you can’t remember anything, Bryn. I know how frightened you must have been. But escaping the way you did was very brave. And you were so smart to call your mom.”

  “You think so?” Bryn gazed into her father’s dark eyes, so much like hers. And her mother’s. She leaned against him, needing the physical connection. She was afraid to be left alone again. “I’m so glad you found me.”

  “I’m very grateful for that too.” Her dad kissed the top of her head, and she closed her eyes, soaking up his strength.

  She didn’t know what had happened between her mom and her dad in the year before she was born.

  But she knew what she wanted when the danger was over.

  Her mom and dad together with her, as a family.

  * * *

  September 10 – 5:17 p.m. – Washington, DC

  “Jordan?”

  He turned toward Sun. He’d been disappointed that Elam hadn’t been able to find the flower pattern he’d created in any of the landmarks.

  It made him wonder if the guy was hiding something.

  “What is it?” He crossed over to where she was seated with the satellite computer. “Did you find something?”

  “Did you know Mustaf has a brother?” She gestured to the screen. “Daboor Kadir Mustaf.”

  A chill snaked down his spine. “So Daboor is likely the one bribing someone here in the US to free his brother.”

  “I believe so, yes.” She stared up at him. “But here’s what I don’t understand. How would Daboor know about you and Diana and Bryn? How could he have orchestrated Bryn’s kidnapping from North Carolina bringing her to Baltimore?”

  He frowned. “That’s a really good question.” He glanced over to make sure Diana was still in Meira’s room. “Diana has been working as part of an underground railroad to help Arab women escape their abusive situations. One of them was a woman named Fadia. She was one of Tariq’s wives.”

  Sun’s eyes widened. “That’s an interesting twist.”

  “Tell me about it.” He couldn’t blame Diana for wanting to help women like her mother. “But that link to Tariq as Diana’s cousin doesn’t mesh with a man by the name of Daboor.”

  “No, it does, don’t you see?” Sun’s gaze held a bit of excitement. “All along we’ve been wondering why there seem to be two parallel tracks to free Mustaf. Your daughter was kidnapped with the demand being to free him, yet before you could do anything, he was already in the process of being set free by someone else.” She stabbed a slender finger to the man on the screen. “By his brother, Daboor.”

  Jordan nodded slowly. “Okay, I can buy that theory, except there are still holes. Like why these attempts to free him wouldn’t be better coordinated?”

  “That’s been bothering me too. Except now that I know about Tariq, I think it makes more sense. If we operate under the assumption that Diana’s cousin is the one who arranged for Bryn’s kidnapping, the demand to free Mustaf was extraneous to the true purpose.”

  “The true purpose being . . .”

  Sun looked at him as if he were dense. “To kill you, Diana, and Bryn.”

  * * *

  September 10 – 5:19 p.m. – Baltimore, MD

  “Meira, please. I need you to tell me what you remember.” Diana didn’t quite know what to make of the woman. She owed Meira a huge debt of gratitude for taking good care of Bryn while her daughter was vulnerable and alone at the hands of the kidnappers. And she knew the woman was pregnant and worried about her and Elam’s unborn baby.

  But she wasn’t cooperating the way Diana had expected.

  “I have told you everything I know.” Meira’s soft voice was firm. “I am but a mere woman, they would not speak freely in front of me and the child. More often than not, we were left alone, with men standing guard outside.”

  “I was raised in such a household too,” Diana said. “And I know that women are often unseen. Men forget we are there and assume we are not paying attention.” She’d been so thankful her mother had fought for Diana to attend college, which was where she’d met Jordan.

  Before their lives had changed so drastically.

  Meira finally lifted her gaze. “I only heard a mention of Syria, nothing more. No names.”

  “No one mentioned Tariq?” She held her breath, hoping Meira wouldn’t recognize her cousin’s name.

  Meira shook her head. “No. As I said, only Syria was mentioned. I was given the impression that someone in Syria was giving the orders.”

  “Okay, thank you.” Diana offered a wan smile. “And I want to thank you again for how you looked after Bryn. When you are a mother”—she swallowed hard—“you will learn that you will do anything for your child. Anything.”

  “I understand. Your daughter was very brave.” Meira placed her hand over her abdomen. “My hope is that my child will be born in freedom and not in oppression.”

  “I can help, there is a woman who runs a shelter back in North Carolina where I live. She provides new identification for women in your position.” They’d never before accepted a woman accompanied by a man, but Diana was determined they would make an exception in this case. “Once this is over, we’ll get you and Elam to safety.”

  Meira nodded. “That would be good.”

  Diana knew there wasn’t anything more to be gained by grilling Meira. She stood and made her way to the doorway.

  “Diana?” She looked over her shoulder at Meira. “Thank you.”

  “As I thank you.” She slipped through the door and closed it behind her. Movement caught the corner of her eye, and she frowned when she noticed a dark SUV rolling slowly down the street.

  Using her key, she quickly entered the room. “Jordan! I think we’ve been found.” She swallowed hard and added, “I had my cell phone on at first, but then shut it down. Maybe I was too late!”

  “Get Bryn and hide in the bathroom with Meira,” Jordan said, pulling his weapon from his holster. “Elam and Sun, you’re with me.”

  Diana put her arm around Bryn, urging her daughter toward the smal
l bathroom. Sun already had her gun in her hand. “But Elam isn’t armed!”

  “I have a knife and a plan, just go!” He looked as if he wanted to say more but headed toward the door.

  Diana swallowed hard and urged Bryn into the bathroom, Meira coming up behind her. It was tight with three people, but she didn’t care. “Into the bathtub,” she whispered. “Both of you.”

  “But it’s still wet,” Bryn protested.

  Diana pulled a towel off the rack. “Use this, but get in. Hurry. I want you and Meira to lie down in the bottom and don’t move no matter what you hear, understand?”

  “But, Mom.” Bryn’s voice wobbled with tears.

  “We’re going to be fine, just please do as I say.” Diana practically shoved Bryn down into the bathtub, then helped Meira inside. This mess was her fault. Why hadn’t she turned the phone off right away? Stupid, she’d been so stupid.

  She quickly glanced around for something to use as a weapon.

  The top of the toilet tank? It was all she could come up with.

  She held it in her hands and waited, straining to listen.

  Praying Jordan, Sun, and Elam would be okay.

  Chapter Nineteen

  September 10 – 5:32 p.m. – Baltimore, MD

  “Elam, use the knife to slice the tires.” Jordan glanced at Sun. “You and I will take the two in the car.”

  “But she is a tiny woman,” Elam whispered in protest. “They’ll kill her.”

  “Trust me, she can hold her own.” He didn’t hesitate, even knowing he was putting his family’s lives on the line by trusting Sun. “Go, hurry.”

  Elam went to the left, the direction that would place him behind the vehicle, while he and Sun headed toward the right, staying low behind other cars that were parked in front of the motel. The vehicle was rolling slowly through the motel parking lot. It was still light out, so he couldn’t help but wonder if this was a test run rather than the real deal.