by Kaylea Cross
But one of them caught her again. The man flattened her and swept her up in front of him, using her as a shield. At this distance they couldn’t shoot without risking hitting Bryn.
“Let her go,” Dec growled in Arabic, frantic as the guy wrenched her to the waiting vehicle. Dec kept running, praying for any kind of a clear shot once he was within range.
“Dec!” she screamed, choking as the guy squeezed his arm across her throat and dragged her inside the back seat with him. Her eyes were terrified.
Bryn…
He aimed at the back tire, fired, but he was too far away and the bullet pinged off the fender. He ground to a halt as the black car peeled away from the curb, fishtailed around the corner. Luke skidded to a stop beside him in the truck. He and Ben leapt inside. Dec’s stomach twisted as they tailed the kidnappers. He didn’t know how he’d bear it if they didn’t get her out.
The car didn’t have its lights on. It didn’t have plates. If they didn’t stay close enough to maintain a visual, they’d lose them. The car wove through traffic, running lights and dodging the crowds of people leaving the local market.
Dec’s heart sank. She’d dropped the phone fighting with her attackers. They didn’t have a GPS chip to track her with. “Don’t you lose her,” he said to Luke.
Luke sent them flying around the corner, hit the gas, searching for the car. “Where the fuck did they go?” He stomped on the brake to avoid hitting a group of pedestrians and laid on the horn to hurry them along.
The blood pounded in Dec’s ears. He couldn’t see the vehicle either. The muscles in his arms tensed. “Ben?”
“Can’t see shit out there,” he muttered.
Oh my God…
Swearing, Luke blasted the horn again, but it didn’t do any good. They waited agonizing seconds for the crowd to clear enough to let them through, and when they did, the car was long gone. They drove around for a while longer, but the effort was futile.
They’d lost her.
Dec stared out the windshield, his chest hollow. The interior of the vehicle was silent as a tomb. Inside his head, he was screaming.
Luke suddenly yanked the wheel and sent them in a one-eighty, sped back down the street. “We gotta find Fahdi. That’s the only way we’ll find out where they’ve taken her.”
Dec swallowed the lump in his throat. “How?”
“Transmitter. We’ll follow its signal.” His jaw clenched. He was pissed off at himself, as he should be. Bryn was going to die because he’d ordered her taken to Fahdi’s house.
And because Dec had left her there.
****
Bryn thrashed against her captor’s hold, tried to bite his hand as he wrapped her wrists with duct tape behind her. He swore and cuffed her across the cheek. Her head snapped sideways, the sting making her eyes water. He’d sat on her to bind her ankles, and now he jammed a knee in the small of her back and hog-tied her limbs together.
She screamed in outrage, but he slapped a piece of tape across her mouth, leaving her to suck air through her flaring nostrils.
She bucked and twisted like a landed fish, but all it did was exhaust her. She kept thinking of the cellar she’d been thrown into. She couldn’t stand the thought of going through that again, and this time she’d be alone. But maybe they weren’t going to hold her prisoner. Maybe they were just going to kill her.
Terror gripped her. Her body shook. Was Dec still behind them? Was he still coming after her?
The erratic motion of the car eased. She couldn’t see out the window. Where were they? The vehicle slowed. Maybe no one was chasing after them anymore.
Had they lost Dec? Her heart thudded. She’d dropped her phone. If Dec lost sight of her, then he didn’t have a way to find her. Despair almost choked her.
They drove for a long time. Neither of the men looked at or said anything to her. What were they going to do to her? Torture her? Kill her? Why? For whom?
Fahdi. He must have sent them after her. How else would they have found her? He’d planted the bomb that killed Ali. Was he linked to Tehrazzi? Maybe he’d been offered a reward to bring him to her. It would explain why she was still alive.
Tears gathered and rolled down her cheek, off her nose as she lay on her side on the back seat. Dec had been so close to saving her. The torment in his eyes when he knew he couldn’t get to her, haunted her. He’d blame himself for whatever happened to her. He hadn’t wanted to leave her at Fahdi’s.
She wished they’d had more time together. At least they had the memory of the night of the air strike to hold onto. She wished she’d told him she loved him. Now he’d never know.
The car sped through the darkness, picking up speed. The pavement smoothed out as they accelerated. They were on a highway. She cranked her head up to try and catch a glimpse of a road sign.
Time crawled past but she kept at it until the muscles in her neck screamed from the strain. Finally they passed under a streetlight and she made out the sign.
Basra.
A silent sob shook her. They were headed south away from Baghdad.
Dec and the others would never find her now.
Then the car slowed and finally stopped. The driver’s side window hummed as it lowered. Footsteps approached.
Her heart leapt. A checkpoint. Soldiers would inspect the vehicle. She reared up, flailing, screaming through her gag to get their attention. The passenger reached back and swatted her across the side of the head.
“Quiet,” he snarled.
She kept on hollering, desperately trying to make eye contact with the Iraqi soldier as he came to the driver’s side. He met her gaze, and she went utterly still at the lack of reaction in his face. He looked at the driver, spoke with him, checked the papers he handed him.
Why wasn’t he helping her? What wasn’t he doing anything?
Then he handed the papers back and waved them through.
Rigid with disbelief, Bryn watched the window go back up as the car started moving. No. No!
She tried to understand what had just happened. Had her captors paid him to let them through? The soldier had given her as much attention as a bag of groceries.
Had to be one of Tehrazzi’s men.
Shit, were they taking her to Tehrazzi? Her blood turned to ice.
The car picked up speed, the engine whirring smoothly as they sped into the darkness.
Holding back her tears so her captors wouldn’t hear her, she dropped her head against the upholstery and squeezed her eyes shut. She thought of all the ways there were to kill someone.
Please God, when it happens, let it be quick.
****
Luke was in a cold rage as they drove into the desert, following the transmitter’s signal with the GPS. They’d hopped a helo to Mosul, then grabbed a truck to take them the rest of the way to Fahdi. Looked like the bastard was trying to make a run for the Iranian border.
It took a lot for Luke to get worked up like this, but Fahdi’s treachery had pushed him from pissed off to lethal. He wanted answers, from both him and Sam. And he wanted them yesterday.
Most of all, he wanted Bryn back, safe. The guilt was eating him up. If she died, it was completely his fault.
Beside him in the passenger seat, Dec sat staring at the pictures of Sam with Fahdi and his wife from the dossier Davis had compiled for Luke. He’d given it to Dec to try and take his mind off what might be happening to Bryn, after saying whoever had taken Bryn wouldn’t kill her because Tehrazzi—and he was certain that’s who was behind Fahdi’s actions—would want her himself. Probably didn’t help worth a damn, but it was the best he could do.
“We still don’t know for sure Sam’s involved,” Luke offered, more to Ben than Dec, since he’d seemed most troubled about Sam’s possible role in all this. All that was eclipsed by their worry for Bryn now anyway. Ben was halfway through a roll of Tums already. Dec looked sick to his stomach.
Christ, where had he gone wrong? He’d never made so many mistakes, and never with
his crew. Fahdi he’d never completely trusted because of his role as informant, but Sam… He’d trusted her, as had Rhys and Ben. Hell, they all had.
Her being AWOL on top of everything else made him damned uneasy. He’d bet his right nut she had to have known what Fahdi was up to. She did all the transmitters and GPS chips, after all. How deep was she into this? Had whoever had broken into her place been pumping her for information all along?
She’d seemed so sincere when she’d come to him only this morning with her theory about Fahdi. Either she was innocent and merely behaving suspiciously, or she was one hell of an actress and in it up to her pretty neck. He’d dealt with a few of both examples over the years.
Ben sighed. “It doesn’t compute. Even if she was in with Fahdi, she would never have endangered Bryn.”
“Unless she had to,” Luke put in. “Maybe they’ve threatened her.”
“Or someone she cares about,” Dec added.
“Most likely her cousin,” Luke said. “Rhys spent time with both of them in Paris and said they’re real close. He mentioned something about a photo of the pair of them at Sam’s place this morning.”
Ben wiped a hand over his goatee. “Christ. I never saw this coming. You?”
Luke balled his fists. “I had a hunch Fahdi was trying to protect his family by playing both sides of the fence. Didn’t know he’d jumped clean over it.”
A tense silence passed.
Ben finally cleared his throat. “This whole CIA shit is whacked, man. In a military op, everything’s black and white. Since I came on with you, there’s been nothing but gray.”
“It’s an acquired taste,” he said dryly.
“When this is over I’m gonna stick to private security.”
“Want a job?”
“What do you mean?”
“After we get Bryn back and I nail Tehrazzi and his cell, I’m gonna start my own company. Bryn’s offered to rent me her father’s place for headquarters. I want solid guys I can trust. You interested?”
Ben’s brow creased. “Maybe.”
“What is it with you and Tehrazzi, anyway?” Dec grumbled. “Is he the guy who’s going to propel you to fame and fortune at the end of your career, or is it personal?”
Luke didn’t give a shit about fame or fortune. “Personal. Very.”
“Wanna enlighten us? I think we could use the distraction right about now.”
Luke sighed. No shit. “Tehrazzi and I go way back. Over twenty years.”
“How’s that?”
“A little war between the Russians and the Afghans. The U.S. thought it was a hell of an idea to get in there and help defeat the Communists, and I was sent to train some mujahedin.”
Dec’s shot him a disbelieving look. “You trained Tehrazzi?”
“Yep. Created him and a few other monsters. Even had a hand in making America’s former public enemy number one.”
“No way, bin Laden?”
“I don’t do anything half-assed. Even my fuck-ups.” Which were few, but catastrophic. Some of he world’s most dangerous terrorists. Abandoning his wife and kid. Sending his son’s best friend to her death…
No. She’ll be okay until she gets to Tehrazzi. They still had some time to find her and get her out.
“Christ,” Dec said. “What a mess.”
“Yep. So I’ve made it my personal mission to clean this one up before I die.”
Ben raised a brow. “You gonna stick at it that long?”
“Long as it takes.” Along the way he’d given up everything that mattered to him. He didn’t give a shit if he died, so long as he made everything right first. The chance for redemption was all that kept him going.
Chapter Twenty-One
Day 12, Iraqi Desert outside Basra
Bryn tried to stop trembling in the cave dug into the hillside. Her kidnappers had blindfolded her before carrying her in and dumping her here hours ago. She’d managed to wriggle around enough to get the blindfold off, but her face was scraped up from her efforts.
At least she could see now. Even though it was pitch dark, she felt a little less helpless to know she’d be able to see them when they came for her.
She’d lain on her side all night, her hands and feet bound behind her. They’d long since gone numb. She’d dropped off into an exhausted doze, and woken to the sound of her own cries, muffled behind the tape. She’d dreamed Dec had come for her. He’d ripped the tape away and pulled her into his strong arms. Told her he loved her.
Tears threatened. No way he could know where she was.
She’d come full circle now. A prisoner again, left to wither away in the darkness. Only this time she was alone, didn’t even have her father’s presence to comfort her.
Calm down. Breathe. Panicking won’t help. Keep your head clear.
Her breaths evened. She focused on her memories of Dec to keep her composure.
Men moved around outside in the darkness. Soldiers? She could hear them talking, but couldn’t understand more than a few words and phrases. She didn’t know where she was, other than somewhere close to Basra. She had no idea how many of them there were.
Not that it mattered. She was trussed up and powerless, waiting to find out who wanted her here and what they would do to her. She was terrified it was Tehrazzi.
The flap covering the entrance pushed open. She sucked in a breath when a tall man appeared, carrying a flashlight. He set in on the ground. The white beam pointed to the ceiling, illuminating his face. Her heart stuttered.
Farouk Tehrazzi.
His green eyes glittered down at her, fanatical in their glee. He strode up to her, his feet crunching on the sand. He bent and reached out a hand. She cringed, ducking her head away, but he merely ripped the tape from her mouth. She gasped at the quick sting.
“Luke Hutchinson. Where is he?”
The sharp question threw her. “What?”
He nudged her with the toe of his boot. “You heard me. Tell me where he is.”
“I-I don’t know.”
His smile was cruel. “You don’t think I can force it out of you?”
She remembered the pictures of Qamar and husband’s headless bodies. The gaping hole blasted through Masood’s chest. Oh, God…
“I know you’re working with him. Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
He hit her in the belly with his boot. Not too hard, but letting her know he was running out of patience. “Where?”
“I—your men kidnapped me off the damn street! How am I supposed to know where he is?” It surprised her she could get the words out of her tight throat.
His stare never wavered. “Still in Baghdad, then. Does he know where I am?”
“I don’t know.” She would not cry. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“He will want you back.”
Yes, but how would he ever find her? They had no way to track her.
Tehrazzi continued to stare at her, his face thoughtful. It was almost worse that he was a handsome man. It made the blackened soul inside that much more heinous. She trembled at the thought of how he would kill her. Would he do it himself? Or would he leave it for his bodyguard? She didn’t want to die screaming and thrashing. Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might explode.
“Perhaps you will be of use to me yet. Perhaps I should not kill you until you have served your purpose.”
In an instant, she knew what he was saying. He wanted to use her to get to Luke. And through Luke, Dec. And the twins.
She’d be damned if she’d help him. He’d taken enough from her already without taking her soul for aiding in the death of people she cared about. Loved.
The fear began to fade. A rush of anger swept it away. You spineless coward. Terrorizing me while I’m tied up and helpless. Because you’re secretly afraid of me. Why don’t you untie me and fight me like a man?
She drilled him with a contemptuous glare. “I won’t help you.”
He sneered. “You don
’t have a choice.”
Oh yes, she did. She could choose to die rather than submit. She swallowed. Did she have the strength to go through with it? Would she break before she died? “What have I ever done to you?”
“You escaped me.”
“Why did you kidnap me?”
“You were not my intended target. Your father was.”
“You killed him.” Her voice shook.
“Your father was responsible for the death of thousands.”
The rage kept building. This one man had caused so much pain and suffering. How could God let that happen? “I thought Islam forbade the harming of innocents.”
His mouth tightened, went white around the edges. “Do not presume to lecture me on my religion. Arrogant infidel whore.”
“What do you want from me?” She almost screamed it at him. “Money?”
“Money,” he spat. “I have more money than you could ever dream of.”
“Then what—weapons? Power?”
“Justice.”
Justice? Is that what his twisted mind thought he was meting out every time he killed someone? Or sold explosives so a suicide bomber could blow up a crowd of innocent women and children in a marketplace? You piece of shit.
“Justice for all the Muslims that have suffered and died at the hands of men like your father and Hutchinson. Allah will wipe them and all the unbelievers from the face of the earth.”
He was insane. “You sick freak—”
His eyes flared. “Do not dare speak to me like that.”
“I hate you,” she spat. “When you burn in hell after you die, I hope all you see is my father’s face and mine.”
His expression tightened. His hand twitched, went to the scabbard on his belt. Bryn’s gaze locked on the hilt of the knife. Her belly quivered. If she kept pushing him, would he lose control and kill her right here? Would it be better than waiting? Would it be quicker, less painful if he did it while he was enraged?
Sweat beaded her chilled body. Faced with the reality of such a hideous death, she cringed. She didn’t know if she had the courage to go through with it.
