“You never go to these events,” Abi said suspiciously.
“I never go because the King is always there,” he said, his words suddenly sharp. “They have declined the invite, which gives me a free pass to attend without having to stop myself from wrapping my hands around his neck and committing murder.”
Abi raised an eyebrow. “Are you ever going to tell me what this feud is about? It would really be much easier for you to forgive and move on.”
“Not in this lifetime,” Abi’s father said, resolute. “Will you attend with me?”
Abi sighed, rolling her eyes. “For an hour, and then I’m out of there. I’m not walking on the red carpet, and please do position me at the end of the table like a guest. That will be best for all involved.”
“Sometimes I don’t know if I should be proud of you or insulted by you,” her father said with a bellowing chuckle.
“Proud,” Abi said without pause. “I love you, and I love our family, but I will put you all at risk by being associated with you. You’ll be susceptible to blackmail, to ransom, God only knows what. I keep my distance to protect you and for no other reason.”
“I really do wish you would’ve become an accountant,” William said.
Abi rolled her eyes. “Then I would spend every waking hour working for you.”
“Exactly! And I could keep you safe,” he said with a laugh. “Thank you, Abi. I appreciate you coming. I love you.”
“I love you too. Send me an email with the details.”
“Be good, kid,” he said. It was his signature goodbye.
Abi was quickly distracted by an incoming message:
Asher: Call me if there are any issues, but Stevens is a man you can trust. Good luck to your team, Abi. I think what you’re doing is amazing.
Abi smiled softly, basking in the warmth of Asher’s compliment.
She shook her head. She needed to meet Sabrina at IFRT, and she needed to think clearly.
Every decision she made tonight would have consequences.
Abi
Abi sat in the passenger seat, her pockets stuffed with money—bribe money.
“When were they stopped?” Abi asked. One car had been stopped, but thankfully the other cars had made it back to Santina.
“An hour ago,” Sabrina said. “Apparently the local police were doing random checks.”
“How were the women?” Abi asked, even though she had a very good idea of the answer.
“Bloodied and scared. They’re not speaking, which was a good thing when they were stopped by the police,” Sabrina said as she drove along the dark road.
“How far away are we?” Abi asked, her eyes dropping to the navigation system. They were ten minutes from the border, and then another thirty minutes to the police station where the women were being held with two of their team members.
Unfortunately it wasn’t the first time this had happened, but fortunately Abi knew how to deal with it: money.
First, though, they had to cross the border in the dead of the night. Abi hoped Asher’s contact—Colonel Stevens—was a man of his word.
The pistol underneath her leg felt like a boulder. She’d spent two years training in how to use it, and she could wield it and pull the trigger anytime she needed to. She didn’t hesitate; she didn’t falter. She knew what was at stake.
“You know I’m blacklisted here, right?” Sabrina asked with a choked laugh.
“Not anymore, my friend,” Abi said, hoping that was true.
If they had trouble and she called Asher, would he answer in the middle of the night? She wondered what he was doing right now and quickly decided she didn’t care—or more correctly, she didn’t want to care.
Ten minutes passed like seconds until Abi saw the lights of the border security ahead.
Please, God, she prayed silently.
Sabrina was quiet as they approached. She drove under the speed limit, in a calm manner.
They pulled up to the booth, and Abi put on her poker face. “Evening, sir,” she said, passing over their forged documents with the names she’d given the Colonel. Abi’s heart banged wildly in her chest as he took his time looking over the documents.
“Drive safe, ladies,” he eventually said. No questions, not even a second glance.
Abi wondered if that was too easy.
She shook her head. Her nerves were just rattled. The return trip in the morning would be the true test. Getting in to Santina was much harder than getting out.
Sabrina didn’t waste a second putting space between their car and the border. When they were a safe distance, she said, “Let’s get this show on the road!” Sabrina turned up the volume, and suddenly their car resembled a nightclub.
Abi grinned.
They all had various ways of coping with stress, and this was Sabrina’s.
While Sabrina sang horribly loudly, Abi kept a more watchful eye. She looked into passing cars, and she looked in the mirrors to see if anyone was tailing them. Once they crossed over the border, they were in war territory and nowhere was safe. As much as the people disliked the royal family, they were immensely grateful the King had been able to secure their boundaries and save them from war. For as long as he lived, he would remain in power for that reason alone, and despite the feud with her father, Abi silently praised the King for all he’d done.
Abi’s eyes flickered to the rearview mirror again, noting a car driving a little too close for her liking. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she kept her eyes on the vehicle. There were still a lot of civilians in the war zone. They were trapped with nowhere to go, but even so, Abi kept watch.
Sabrina was quick to notice too.
“Trouble?” she asked, quickly turning down the music.
“I’m not sure,” Abi said slowly. “Keep going.”
They spoke little during the thirty-minute drive to the local police station. The car behind them stayed close all the way, but when they pulled into the station parking lot, the car continued straight past. Abi grabbed her phone and photographed the license plate before the car was out of sight. She checked the image—it was a little blurry, but she could make out the numbers on the plate.
Abi turned her attention to the white, square building that looked like it could do with a fresh coat of paint.
Here goes.
“Keep the engine running,” Abi said before stepping out of the car. She would do this alone, because if all went to hell, she would need Sabrina to make a few calls.
Abi pulled her shoulders back, wiped her sweaty hands, and took a calming breath.
You can do this.
She strode into the local police station.
“Hi, my name is Rian Colemann. You have two women here, and two of my colleagues,” Abi said. “I believe there has been a mistake. We are with the United Nations and must return to Santina tonight.”
The policeman’s face remained impassive, so Abi continued to play the game. She handed over additional documentation—forged United Nations documents. The policeman looked at Abi longer than he looked at the documents.
He sighed. “Why are your colleagues here? They should be in Santina. As should you,” he said.
“They were here to counsel the women who are being relocated in Santina,” Abi said, making sure her voice was strong. She pulled out another document from her back pocket and slid it across the table. It didn’t take the policeman long to see the bills.
He nodded slowly. “They’ve been waiting for you,” he said with a glint in his eye.
Abi’s stomach clenched. She didn’t trust this man, but she was in too deep now to walk away.
She followed him to the cells and her eyes landed on her colleagues and the two women who had been traveling with them—Libby and Savannah. Abi was grateful only one car had been stopped.
The policeman unlocked the cell door, and swung it open. “Safe travels,” he said.
Abi searched his eyes. She didn’t like anything about this man.
&
nbsp; Her colleague, Daniel, was coaxing Savannah to stand, but she was trembling so badly that Abi didn’t think she could physically manage it. Anger washed over her like storm waters.
“It’s okay,” Abi said as she walked into the cell, past the curious eyes of the policeman. “We’re taking you home, I promise.”
Savannah looked at her with pained eyes and Abi knew what she was thinking: I have no home. But she was wrong—Abi was going to give her one . . . and a second chance at life.
“Please stand. You need to come with us now. Take my hand, and don’t let go,” Abi said, and Savannah did.
Savannah’s hands were like ice and Abi squeezed her fingers, giving her what little reassurance she could.
“Their car keys, please,” Abi said, referencing the keys that had been confiscated when the police had stopped the car and escorted them to the station.
He shrugged and pulled them from his pocket. “Safe travels,” he repeated strangely.
There was something off about him, but she didn’t know what it was. His voice gave Abi chills.
Bribing policeman in this country was common—it was a way of life. Abi had bribed many over the years . . . but this man was different.
Abi led them out of the police station without incident, and when Savannah refused to let go of her hand, Abi sat in the back with her while the others got into the car that had been stopped.
“Go,” she said to Sabrina, calmly, so as not to rattle Savannah.
Unease crawled over Abi’s skin, and it didn’t improve as they headed out of town. As per protocol, the second car was a distance behind them so they didn’t look like a convoy.
Abi laid a blanket over Savannah’s lap.
“We’re going to take care of you. I’m Abi,” she said.
Savannah looked at her with scared eyes. It was a look Abi had seen far too many times.
When the public thought of terrorists, they usually thought of men—but in the war-torn zones surrounding Santina, women were turning to terrorist groups to survive, and they were the ones luring other females into traps, straight into the hands that tortured them. The very thought was abhorrent to Abi, but it was happening every day.
Abi had been so lost in her thoughts that it took her a few moments to notice the slight movement of Sabrina’s head—the constant checking of the rearview mirror.
“ZZU-546,” Sabrina said, and Abi’s blood ran cold.
It was the plate of the car that had followed them from the border.
“Increase speed,” Abi said as casually as possible, not wanting to alarm Savannah.
Abi felt the car pick up speed as Sabrina lowered her foot on the accelerator. Abi, too, looked into the rearview mirror, and even from the angle she was viewing, the car’s headlights didn’t fade into the distance.
Abi leaned forward, checking the navigation. They were minutes from the border.
“Go!” Abi said, and Sabrina put her foot flat on the accelerator.
But the headlights grew larger.
“Go! Go!” Abi said.
“I am!” Sabrina said, and Abi’s heart was in her throat as the headlights continued to grow in size. They weren’t going to make it.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the number of someone who might be able to help them.
“Colonel Stevens speaking,” the man responded.
“Colonel, this is Abi,” she said, hurried.
“Yes, you crossed the border earlier,” he said.
“Yes, well, I have a problem. We’re headed back toward the Santina border, but we’re being followed,” Abi said.
“How close are you?” Colonel Stevens asked quickly.
“Five minutes,” Abi said—just as the glass behind her shattered.
She screamed, dropping the phone as she ducked. The gunfire was deafening, and when Abi felt the car slow down, her head snapped up.
“Sabrina! Sabrina!”
Sabrina groaned but that was the only response Abi got. Then Sabrina slumped forward and their car careened off the road, slamming into a tree.
Abi slammed into the back of Sabrina’s seat, and her vision faded.
Abi
Her cheek burned as the sting brought her back to consciousness.
“Who are you?” the man, who was holding her hair in his clenched fist with a pistol pointed at her temple, asked.
Abi closed her eyes, pretending she was slipping back into unconsciousness. She needed a second to think, which was impossible with the violent pounding of her head.
The second slap across her cheek packed a severe sting.
“Answer, or she dies!” the man growled.
Abi’s eyes snapped open and landed on Sabrina. Another man had a pistol in her mouth and her terrified eyes pleaded with Abi.
“My name is Rian,” Abi said, giving the name on her forged documents. If they’d searched the car, they would’ve found them. “What do you want from us?” Abi fought to keep her voice strong even though she was trembling inside. She’d trained for moments like this, but her real-life experience had been limited. She felt the weight of the pistol tucked into the back of her jeans—the men must have missed it in the chaos.
The man looked straight into her eyes and Abi shivered.
“I want your informant,” he said.
She couldn’t breathe. Had they been set up?
“Informant? What are you talking about?” Abi asked with wide, terrified eyes. She shook her head, pretending she didn’t have any idea what they were talking about. Her papers said she was with the United Nations, and she was going to play that character now.
Think, Abi. Think!
Her hands weren’t fastened but she didn’t know how quickly she could grab her pistol and aim it before one of the men realized what she was doing.
“Three, two—”
“Wait!” Abi screamed, raising her hands in surrender.
It was enough to return the attention to her. The man in front of her smirked like he’d already won. A slither of her fear vanished, and determination blossomed. She would not be defeated. Not here. Not now.
And she would not let Sabrina or Savannah down.
“You want my informant?” Abi asked to buy herself some time to think. “What do I get in exchange for that information?” Her voice was higher than usual, but she managed to keep the tremble out of it.
The man’s smile made her stomach churn. “You get to die first.”
Abi refused to look away. She wouldn’t back down from his perturbing gaze. He’d chosen the wrong car to stop tonight.
Her eyes darted to Sabrina. She was on the ground, a weapon still pointed to her forehead.
Abi saw the man’s hand coming, but she was too slow to react. His hand connected with her cheek, and fury flooded her veins.
She reached for her pistol, and everything moved in slow motion. She saw his eyes widen as he realized his mistake.
She pulled it and fired the trigger. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t falter. She turned to the man beside Sabrina, who looked to be frozen in shock, and fired before he could do the same.
Sabrina screamed as blood sprayed over her face.
Abi spun, wielding the gun—and came face to face with Colonel Stevens.
He raised his arms in surrender.
She almost pulled the trigger—she was ready to shoot anything that moved.
“Put it down, Abi,” the Colonel said softly.
Abi gulped, dropping the weapon. Her eyes landed on the man on the ground in front of her. He was the second person she’d ever killed. She looked away quickly.
She gasped in air, feeling like she was winded. She must’ve stopped breathing at some point.
“Abi,” Colonel Stevens said, warily.
She couldn’t meet his eyes.
He’d just seen her kill two men.
What would happen now?
He cleared his throat. “Let’s get you out of here before we’re all in trouble.”
&nb
sp; He took a step toward her and kicked her weapon out of her reach so one of his men could grab it. The Colonel took her arm, helping her up.
Abi’s legs were weak beneath her, but as she looked at Sabrina and Savannah, she knew she had to keep it together.
One of the Colonel’s men were trying to help Savannah up, but she started screaming. Abi rushed to her, kneeling on the ground.
“Please,” Abi said as she put a hand on the man’s forearm, guiding him away.
She looked into Savannah’s eyes, but she didn’t touch her. “It’s okay. These men are going to take us home,” she said, hoping that was the truth and that she wasn’t going to end up in prison.
Savannah seemed to search Abi’s eyes. Abi nodded, and then extended a hand. Savannah took it and she helped the woman up. Abi’s legs were still trembling, and Savannah had a tremor to match.
She saw the Colonel guiding Sabrina into the car.
Abi and Savannah sat in the back. Savannah was trembling violently, but other than putting a rug over her knees, there wasn’t much more Abi could do right now. She could barely think straight herself.
“It’s okay,” she whispered again.
The Colonel took the driver’s seat.
Only once they were across the border and in Santina did Abi breathe properly again. She rubbed her palms on her knees, trying to warm herself. Colonel Stevens hadn’t said a word, and Abi had no idea what he was thinking. What repercussions would tonight have for Asher?
What repercussions would tonight have for IFRT?
They pulled over a short distance from the security point. Colonel Stevens turned in his seat, facing Abi.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Abi said, hoping the sincerity and gratitude in her voice matched that in her heart.
Colonel Stevens nodded. “What happened on the other side of the border should never be spoken of again. I did not see anything.”
Blood, Love and Lies Page 4