Target For Ransom

by Laura Scott

  Diana stared at the number for a moment, then met his gaze. “You mean, if anything happens to you.”

  That was exactly what he’d meant, but he didn’t say it. “Nothing’s going to happen.” He turned toward Elam who was hovering in the doorway. “Ready to go?”

  The man nodded.

  He drew Diana to her feet and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

  Elam fell into step beside him as they headed for the door. He glanced back at Diana, struck by the need to see Bryn one last time.

  Ignoring the deep sense of foreboding, he led the way outside, making a silent promise to see his family again, very soon.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  September 10 – 9:55 p.m. – Washington, DC

  Mustaf was roused from sleep by someone shaking his shoulder. Fighting a fresh wave of pain, he grabbed the man’s wrist in a tight grip.

  “Stop.” The word came out harsh and rough through his dry throat.

  The man easily broke free of his grasp, making Mustaf feel even more weak and pathetic. Two words that were normally not associated with him. He glared at the man who’d come to rescue him. “Watch yourself,” he warned.

  The man smirked. “For someone so dependent on others, you should be more grateful.”

  Mustaf didn’t bother to dignify that with a response.

  “Get up. The ambulance is here.”

  Gritting his teeth, Mustaf forced himself up and into a sitting position. The room spun dizzily around him, but he managed to stay upright. As much as he didn’t want to force his weary and battered body to move, much less walk across the room and outside into a vehicle, he found himself glad they were moving onto the next leg of the journey.

  Staying in one place for too long was a good way to get caught.

  And he intended to never get captured and imprisoned again.

  “Do you need help?” The question held a note of sarcasm.

  He wished he had the strength to strike the man for his imprudence, but it took everything he had to maintain what little dignity he had left. Without answering, he rose to his feet and took a couple of shaky steps.

  The man turned and led the way down the hall and to the front door. Through the window, he could see the rectangle-shaped ambulance sitting in the driveway, the red and white lights whirling.

  Two men had brought a gurney out of the back of the ambulance and were wheeling it up to the house. Mustaf stood where he was, glaring at his rescuer.

  There had been no reason to make him get up and walk if they were taking him out of here on a gurney. He muttered a Syrian curse, not caring if his rescuer heard or not. When the two men brought the gurney inside, he gladly headed toward it.

  “He’s all yours,” his rescuer said.

  The two men were dressed as paramedics. Whether they had any actual training or not was debatable. Still, Mustaf wasn’t in a position to argue. It appeared his rescuer was handing him off to this pair.

  Fine with him.

  Lying on the gurney, he suffered through the bumps and jostles as they wheeled him outside and lifted him up and into the ambulance.

  “Where are we going?” he finally asked.

  “Virginia.”

  He closed his eyes, envisioning the map of the DC and surrounding area in his mind. Virginia was as good of a place as any.

  But he wouldn’t be able to relax until he was back in his homeland of Syria.

  * * *

  September 10 – 10:14 p.m. – Washington, DC

  The trip to Liberty didn’t take long, even as they took a circular route to avoid being followed, but they wasted time searching for a good place to leave the car and making their way back to the building on foot.

  When Elam had told him which structure was the terrorist headquarters, Jordan had been surprised. It wasn’t really a warehouse the way he’d thought.

  The way the others had been.

  It was a two-story brick building, but it didn’t look like a house. More like a place that might house several small business suites inside.

  He found a spot across the street that provided a decent view of the door. “There must be two ways into the building, one from the back and one from the front.”

  “I only know the front.” Elam’s gaze was full of fear. “They will kill us if they find us.”

  Jordan knew the man had every right to be afraid. “We won’t be found.”

  Elam edged farther behind him. He remembered what the guy had said about the beating he’d sustained. These men didn’t kill quickly, preferring to torture their subjects.

  “Stay here,” he whispered. “Send me a text if anyone shows. I’m going to check things out around back.”

  Elam gave a brief nod, indicating he understood.

  Jordan stared for a moment at the front of the building. The hour wasn’t that late, yet there wasn’t a single light on inside. The place looked deserted, but he knew it might be that the windows had been blacked out so that no lights or movement could be seen.

  He needed to know one way or the other.

  Staying in the shadows was second nature. After all, his years of working in the field had taught him well. He took his time, knowing that to rush was to risk exposure.

  Making a wide berth around the block, Jordan eventually found a spot in which he could view the back door. It looked just as deserted as the front had been.

  He glanced at his phone. No text from Elam.

  After watching the place for a few minutes, Jordan decided he needed to get closer. If the windows had been blacked out, the occupants inside could be having a full-blown party and they’d never know it.

  If the windows weren’t blocked out, then maybe it was time to find a way to get inside.

  Staying low, he stealthily crept up to the building. Up close, he strained to listen but heard nothing.

  Had they soundproofed the place as well? Maybe.

  Steeling his resolve, he slid over to the closest window. Drawing a deep breath, he peered through, bracing himself for the doors to bust open and for dozens of terrorists to come flooding out to grab him.

  It didn’t happen. The window wasn’t blacked out either. In fact, the room he was looking into was empty.

  Which didn’t mean the entire building was empty, but it still seemed odd. He sent a quick text to Elam.

  It was time to break in.

  * * *

  September 10 – 10:48 p.m. – Washington, DC

  “Mommy!”

  Hearing Bryn’s cry had Diana rushing into the bedroom. “I’m here, baby. You’re okay. Everything is okay.”

  Bryn looked around wildly for a moment before throwing herself into her mother’s arms. “I had a nightmare,” she whispered.

  Diana’s heart squeezed tight. She stroked Bryn’s hair. “I’m sorry. Would you like to talk about it?”

  Bryn shook her head but didn’t loosen her grip. “I wanna go home,” she whispered.

  Diana swallowed hard. “I know, me too. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that very soon.”

  Bryn took several deep breaths and lifted her head. “Where’s Dad?”

  It was humbling how easily Bryn accepted Jordan as her father. Maybe it was easier for her under these dire circumstances. Of course, the fact that she didn’t have a father figure in her life was an added bonus.

  Diana had always known, especially lately with Bryn’s less than subtle hints, that her daughter had wanted a father. Even a stepfather would do.

  But to have her biological father a part of her life? Added bonus.

  “He’s checking some leads.” Diana didn’t think Bryn needed to know about how Elam and her father had gone to the terrorist cell headquarters. The poor kid was having nightmares already, knowing the level of danger Jordan was facing would only make them worse.

  Bryn frowned. “He’ll be back soon though, right?”

  “I’m not sure exactly when he’ll be back, but we have Sun here with us, so don’t wo
rry, okay?” She smoothed Bryn’s hair from her face. “Try to get some sleep.”

  “I don’t want any more nightmares.”

  “I know you don’t. Maybe praying will help.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Bryn admitted, stretching out on the bed. “I prayed a lot when those men had me in that awful room.”

  The admission made Diana’s heart swell with love. “I’m glad to hear that, baby. I know I took comfort in knowing God was watching over you.”

  “I used to think God sent Meira to stay with me so I wouldn’t be all alone.”

  “I’m sure God had something to do with Meira being there with you during that difficult time,” Diana agreed. She definitely owed Meira a debt of gratitude. “Rest now. I’ll sit with you for a while.”

  Bryn yawned and nodded, her eyes drifting shut. Diana thought it likely Bryn hadn’t slept well while being held against her will and hoped that her daughter would feel more like her usual self come morning.

  Sun appeared in the doorway, her expression grave. Alarmed, Diana eased away from Bryn and went over to join her.

  “What is it?” Diana whispered, glancing nervously toward Bryn’s room. She’d only partially closed the door, wanting to be able to hear if the little girl suffered another nightmare.

  “I’ve seen the same SUV pass by the house twice,” Sun said. “I think we need to get out while we can.”

  Get out? Leave the safe house? “Are you sure? How do you know the two SUVs are the same? Did you see their license plates?”

  “I know they are the same because the plates are covered with mud.” Sun glanced over her shoulder at Bryn. “You grab Bryn, I’ll get Meira.”

  Diana didn’t waste any time. She shook the girl awake and put a finger to her lips. “Shh. We need to leave.”

  Bryn’s eyes filled with horror and fear, but she didn’t say a word. Instead, she shoved her feet into her running shoes and drew on the dark blue hoodie Jordan had purchased for her.

  Diana put her arm around Bryn and guided her out of the bedroom and toward the back door. Where she stopped abruptly. A tall Arab-looking man stood there, inside their safe house, holding a gun. Instinctively, she shoved Bryn behind her.

  “Hello, cousin.”

  Diana’s blood congealed with fear. The man’s eyes bored into hers with eerie familiarity. She wanted to respond, but her throat was frozen.

  Tariq had found them.

  * * *

  September 10 – 10:53 p.m. – Washington, DC

  “We need to get back,” Jordan said. “I don’t like the way we found the terrorist headquarters empty and seemingly abandoned.”

  There had been nothing left inside, other than maybe dust. Seeing the interior for himself gave him a nagging itch along the back of his neck.

  Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  Elam looked grateful as they hurried to the car. There was no need for stealth now, but he still made a couple of turns on the way back to the safe house. He thought about calling Yates and asking for a crime scene team to go to the building, just in case there may be a spare fingerprint that had been left behind.

  But first he wanted—needed—to get to Diana and Bryn.

  As he approached the street where their safe house was located, a black SUV parked on the road a few yards down from the place Sun had obtained for their use stood out like a sore thumb. At the last minute, he wrenched the steering wheel to the side, making a tight right corner at the intersection in an effort to avoid driving straight toward it. In that brief moment, he’d noticed the license plate was darkened out somehow.

  His heart slammed against his rib cage.

  The women were in trouble.

  * * *

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

  “I told you, Jordan’s not here.” Diana had been doing her best to stall Tariq. “I’m not sure what you hope to accomplish.”

  Only she did know. Tariq wanted her dead. And Bryn and Jordan dead too.

  But he didn’t know about Sun.

  She hoped.

  “Please, let my daughter go. She’s innocent. It’s me you want, isn’t it?” Once Diana had found her voice, she’d purposefully spoken loud enough so her words would carry.

  “None are innocent,” Tariq said with a sneer. “I will kill all.”

  Fear churned her stomach, but she tried not to show it. “It’s over, Tariq. Mustaf has already escaped. That’s what you’d wanted all along, wasn’t it?”

  “You know nothing of what I want. Now back up, slowly.” Tariq ignored her questions, and she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from the business end of his gun. If she made him too angry, there was nothing to stop him from simply shooting her and Bryn.

  She’d sent up a silent prayer the minute she’d recognized Tariq. But she didn’t have any idea what God’s plan was, leaving her determined to do whatever possible to stay alive long enough for Sun to make her move.

  Or for Jordan and Elam to return.

  Or both. Please, God, please?

  There was the barest hint of movement behind Tariq. She did her best to keep her gaze focused on Tariq and the gun. She took one step back and then another, reluctantly giving him space to enter the room. Bryn gripped the back of her shirt tightly, and Diana thought she could hear her daughter softly sobbing.

  But there was nothing she could do to reassure Bryn they’d be okay.

  “Jordan works for the FBI, shooting a Federal Agent is a big deal. They won’t rest until you’re found. Are you really sure this is a smart move to make?”

  “Shut up!” Tariq’s abrupt shout startled her so badly she stepped back and tripped over Bryn, the two of them falling to the floor.

  At the same time, something struck Tariq hard in the back of his head. His body jerked, then he dropped the gun and fell to the ground.

  Sun ran forward, scooped up the weapon. She gestured to the back door that Tariq had used to come inside. “Let’s go. Now!”

  Scrambling to her feet, she helped Bryn up. “What about Meira?” Diana couldn’t help glancing down at Tariq. He lay perfectly still, his eyes closed as if he’d been killed on the spot.

  But how? What had Sun hit him with?

  “She’s behind you, hurry! The black SUV is still sitting out front, there’s no telling how long before the others will come inside to check on him.”

  Others? That was enough to spur Diana into action. Hauling Bryn close, she urged her daughter to follow Sun outside. She sensed Meira hovering close behind, oddly enough carrying one of the satellite computers, and risked a quick glance over her shoulder to be sure. Meira’s posture was tense, indicating she might be upset, and Diana knew how she felt. She didn’t necessarily want to leave without Jordan either.

  But staying wasn’t an option.

  Sun moved with a silent grace Diana admired, holding her weapon ready as they made their way out into the very small backyard that was shared with the home adjacent to theirs. Diana saw a tree in one corner and wished she’d taken a better inventory of the backyard when they’d first arrived.

  She’d gotten soft over the recent years of being in witness protection. In the beginning, she’d had trouble sleeping and had constantly looked over her shoulder everywhere she went. Had expected to see Tariq around every corner.

  The reality of seeing Tariq with a gun had been worse than her imagination. Especially since he’d changed his features. But not his eyes.

  She’d always remember his eyes.

  Sun lifted a hand. Diana instantly stopped, once again edging Bryn behind her. She listened intently but couldn’t hear whatever had caught Sun’s attention.

  “Jordan?” Sun’s whisper was so soft Diana wondered if she’d imagined it.

  “Sun? What happened? Where are Diana and Bryn?”

  “Here.” She stepped forward and noticed there was a dark shadow beneath the tree. “We’re fine.”

  “But we need to move,” Sun interjected. “One man is down, but there a
re more outside.”

  “I know, I saw them too. This way.” Jordan and Elam stepped out from beneath the tree.

  “Elam,” Meira whispered in relief.

  There wasn’t time for a tearful reunion. Diana and Bryn followed Sun and Jordan to the vehicle they’d parked on another block. Meira and Elam were close behind them.

  It would be a tight fit for all of them in the car, but no one voiced a single complaint. When they were finally on the road, Diana reached over to tap Jordan’s shoulder.

  “It was Tariq who found us, although I have no idea how he found the location of the safe house.”

  “Tariq?” Jordan’s voice rose in alarm. “Are you sure it was him?”

  “Positive. I recognized his eyes, and he greeted me by calling me cousin.” She glanced at Sun who was squished up against the opposite door. The men had taken the front, leaving the three women and Bryn in the back. “Sun took him out with a single blow. How did you do that?”

  “A well-placed kick to his cervical spine, near the base of his skull. It paralyzes them from the neck down and, in some circumstances, causes intercranial hemorrhage.”

  Jordan hit the brake, bringing the car to a halt along the side of the road. “I need to go back.”

  Diana gaped at him. “Are you crazy? You can’t go back there.”

  Jordan exchanged a knowing glance with Elam. “If he has the trigger device to detonate all the bombs that have been placed somewhere in DC, then I need to get it before they do.”

  The realization sank deep. He was right. They had to go back.

  She swallowed hard. “Okay, we’ll all go.”

  Jordan did a quick Y-turn and went back the way they came. When he pulled over the second time, he glanced over at them. “I’m going in while the rest of you stay here. If I’m not back in ten minutes, Elam will get you someplace safe.”

  No! Diana didn’t want to let Jordan go alone, but glancing at Bryn and Meira, she couldn’t argue. They didn’t deserve to be put in danger.

  “I’ll give you ten minutes,” she said hoarsely.

  Jordan met her gaze, nodded, and slid from the vehicle. Within seconds, he was out of sight.