by A. J. Quinn
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“I’ll keep you updated as much as possible. But I’ve got to tell you, Khalid could be anywhere by now.”
Evan shivered. “I disagree. He’s nearby.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I can feel him.” As surely as she could feel every cut he gave her.
A frown furrowed the sheriff’s brow. “What—”
“He wants me off balance, Tom. That’s why he grabbed Tate.” Her voice was wound tight with the same tension that held her shoulders in a rigid line. “But it’s me he wants, so he won’t have gone far. Trust me on that. Timing’s everything and Khalid’s obsessive. He’s not finished dealing with me. And no matter what game he’s playing, he won’t be satisfied with Tate.”
“Then he’ll contact you. When he does, we should be able to pinpoint the signal tower and roughly calculate his location. It’s not that big an island.”
Evan stared down at her hands as she nodded. She reached for and squeezed Alex’s hands for a moment, then let Jenna take over, leading him to a chair where he slumped boneless beside Nick while Kelsey brought them each a drink.
Knowing she needed to gain control over the fear welling inside her, Evan walked in the opposite direction and ran a trembling hand through her hair.
“We’ll find her,” Tom said as he came up behind her. “We’ll get her back.”
Turning, she held his gaze then lifted her chin in a slight gesture of agreement. “We have to,” she said, as she added a silent, anguished prayer.
Please. Oh, please.
Because Tate was her touchstone. It was the thought of Tate that had enabled her to endure her captivity and without her, there would be no life for her to reclaim.
Chapter Thirty-three
Sitting on the deck, Evan frowned. Angry at herself for almost falling apart, she searched the mist hoping to find an answer to the question she kept asking herself.
Could she have done anything differently?
She hadn’t taken a full breath since Alex and Nick had brought the news of Tate’s disappearance. Because in spite of Tom’s confidence, she was afraid. That Khalid wouldn’t contact her. That he would hurt Tate. That they wouldn’t find Tate in time.
“You’re getting wet sitting out here.”
Evan shrugged uncomfortably and pushed a hand through her hair, dragging it out of her eyes. “I don’t mind. I like the rain.”
“Good thing, since you’re going to live in this area,” Kelsey said and handed her a cup of coffee. “But you don’t need to get chilled on top of everything else. Tate won’t like it if she finds you haven’t been taking care of yourself.”
No, she wouldn’t like it, Evan thought as she watched the steam rising from the cup. But Tate wouldn’t say anything. It wasn’t her style. Instead, she’d tell her to take a long, hot shower and help her change into dry clothes before feeding her soup and chocolate. Like the day she’d encountered Khalid on the trail.
She remained lost in thought until she heard heavy footsteps on the deck and turned to see Tom approaching. Something was different, but she couldn’t read his expression. Rising swiftly to her feet, she took two steps toward him. “What’s happened?”
“Tate’s SUV was spotted on a side road near the bridge to the peninsula.”
Evan’s throat constricted. Dizzy with relief, she swayed slightly, felt Kelsey’s hand on her arm holding her steady. “And Tate?”
“I’m sorry, we don’t know yet. It looks like Anderson may have pulled off the road to wait until it got dark before trying to make it off the island. For the moment, we’re keeping an eye on the vehicle and the FBI agents are on their way. I’m heading out to join them, but I’m leaving two guys parked out front to keep an eye on things here. Just in case.”
“Why bother? I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not. Until we have Anderson in custody, you remain at risk, and I won’t have you walking into what’s likely a hostile situation.”
A muscle twitched at the side of her jaw and Evan fought to quell the scream building inside her. Why couldn’t Tom understand? She wanted to be there when Khalid was taken down. But more importantly, she needed to see for herself Tate was safe. “Damn it, Tom, he’s got Tate. I need to be there.”
Kelsey placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “Tom’s right, Evan, you need to stay here. I’ll go with him and make sure Tate’s all right then bring her back to you.” She then turned toward Tom and added quickly, “If anyone’s hurt, you’re going to need medical assistance. I’m a doctor and just retired from military service, making me a far better option than any of the local EMTs.”
Tom hesitated for only an instant before agreeing tersely. “All right, but you do what I tell you. And we need to leave now.”
Evan swallowed, feeling torn, uncertain. “Kelsey…”
Kelsey gave her a quick hug and whispered, “I’ll bring her back to you, I promise. Could you let Jenna know where I’ve gone?”
Evan nodded and listened to the sounds of their footsteps receding on the deck as Tom and Kelsey walked away. Heard the car doors open, then slam. Turning, she watched until their taillights disappeared.
*
At first, Tate thought she was dreaming. No, not a dream, she realized. Shivering, she forced her eyes open and tried to focus. She was instantly blinded by a searing pain in her head. She was also bound, hand and foot, lying on her side in what appeared to be the cargo area of an SUV.
It was a minute before she tried to move again, and she was riding another wave of pain when it slowly came back to her. She remembered driving to Alex’s house. Could remember waiting for Alex and Nick and getting out of the Lexus before being pitched forward into the car door. Then something struck her head and the rest of the world went black.
Fragments of other images swirled in her mind.
A soft voice talking. The sense of being in a moving vehicle. It was impossible to tell how long she’d been in a fog. But her last clear memory was from late afternoon and it was dark now. Minutes or hours?
Oh God, Evan will be frantic.
The thought of Evan’s torment and the knowledge she was the cause of it sent her heart racing, and the pain in her head spiked unbearably. Fighting the moan in her throat, she clenched her jaw, aware she had begun to pant, hard and fast.
She swallowed her rage and fear and forced herself to take several slow, deep breaths. She needed to remain calm. She needed to be rational. And then she needed to get herself out of this mess and find her way back to Evan.
As she grew calmer, she began to think more clearly. There was no question in her mind Khalid was responsible for her current predicament. But she didn’t know where he was or how long he’d been gone. All she knew for certain was she was alone in the back of a vehicle—her own vehicle, quite possibly, since driving an off-island vehicle would have made Khalid immediately identifiable to police—and that was a good thing. If she was right, somewhere in the cargo area was the tool kit she’d bought for emergencies. In it, along with a tire iron and assorted screwdrivers, was a small utility knife. And if her luck held out and she didn’t cut off a finger, she just might be able to cut the rope binding her wrists before Khalid returned.
Working blindly, she wriggled and groped behind her until her hands brushed against a cold metal box. Opening it proved more of a challenge and success came with a price. All her movements had intensified the pain in her head. Bile rose in her throat, and it took several minutes of breathing through her mouth before she managed to conquer the nausea and was reasonably confident she wouldn’t be sick.
Once she could move, she managed to get the knife out and manipulated it until she could feel it pressed against the rope binding her wrists, then got to work.
She felt an occasional sting, accompanied by the warm trickle of blood as the blade cut her, and she bit down hard on her lower lip. But she persevered, continuing to work on the ropes witho
ut faltering. She hadn’t anticipated it would take so long for the rope to fray, and she began to fear Khalid would return before she succeeded. But then, suddenly, her hands were free.
Almost giddy with relief, ignoring the fiery needles shooting up her arms and into her shoulders, she grasped the knife in numb hands. With no time to lose, she bent over and cut the rope that bound her ankles.
She allowed herself only a moment to relish her victory before moving forward, badly wanting to find her keys dangling from the ignition. Her hopes were dashed when she saw the ignition was empty and distantly heard herself groan. But she fought back the panic.
Time for a new plan, she told herself and slid to the rear of the cargo area.
She switched the interior light off before opening the hatch as quietly as possible. An instant later, she eased herself out of the vehicle, praying her legs would hold her upright.
When her feet touched the ground, Tate was forced to grab the rim of the cargo hatch for a moment. Her shoulders ached and her head was throbbing. But she was alive, unharmed except for a few bumps and cuts, and she intended to stay that way. She needed to get away. Tate searched her pockets, but her phone was gone. Think.
After being confined in the back of the SUV, the air tasted amazingly good. It was fresh and clean and she gulped it greedily. The rain had stopped, but water still dripped from the canopy of tree branches overhead, and as the wind rustled through the trees, it stirred the fog that skimmed over the saturated ground. Tate shivered as dampness and fear collided. She felt a measure of security in the darkness, but somewhere in the woods she heard creatures scurrying, reminding her that the trees could cloak both hunter and prey. She needed to get away from here. And though she wasn’t certain where she was, she knew on some deep primal level survival lay in finding Evan.
For both of them.
She took a step away from the vehicle, then another, the fog snaking around her feet. An instant later, she released a sharp cry as she collided with a wall of muscle, and strong arms wrapped around her.
She immediately began to struggle.
“Tate…Tate. Keep still. Are you all right?”
Too numb to speak, Tate could only stare as the shadow holding her morphed into Tom Foley, and Kelsey Grant stepped out of the gloom beside a deputy. She experienced a moment of sheer joy before hearing someone ask the question.
“Where’s Anderson?”
Tate’s hands began to shake and she had to swallow before she could get the words out. “I don’t know. He was gone by the time I awoke and found myself tied up in the back of the Lexus.”
Very gently, Tom reached out and cupped her chin, turning her head to one side to study her face. “Did he hurt you?”
“No. I smacked my face against the SUV when he pushed me, then he hit me on the head with something. The rest of the damage I did to myself, trying to cut through the rope. I—I knew what he’d done to Evan and I didn’t want to still be here when he returned.”
She saw Tom’s eyes move to her raw and bleeding wrists, where the frayed rope still dangled. He cursed softly. “How bad are you hurting?”
Tate released a tired sigh. “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Her shoulders began shaking as control abandoned her, and she buried her face in her hands.
Kelsey gathered her in her arms. “It’s going to be all right,” she said soothingly and held her while she cried.
When she was a little steadier, Kelsey released her long enough to wrap a blanket around her shoulders and led her to the back of a waiting county sheriff’s vehicle. And because she had no choice, Tate sat still while Kelsey poked and prodded, checked her eyes, and wrapped a light gauze bandage around her wrists.
She winced when gentle hands touched her head.
“You’ve got quite the bump and your pressure’s a little low. But you look better than I expected, and at least you don’t need any stitches. You’re lucky you didn’t do more damage.”
“I was trying to get away from a knife-wielding terrorist. Losing a bit of skin somehow didn’t seem that important.” Tate stopped watching what Kelsey was doing when she pulled out a syringe. A moment later, she asked the only question of any importance to her. “Is Evan all right?”
“Your disappearance shook her up pretty hard,” Kelsey said gently. “But she’ll be fine once she sees you in one piece. After the Lexus was spotted, it was all we could do not to have her come with us. We just couldn’t risk it in case Khalid was still here.”
Tate’s heart began to thunder. “She’s not alone, is she?”
“Hell, no. Jenna, Alex, and Nick are at the house with her, and two of Tom’s deputies are parked outside the front door. Although Tom and the FBI really thought we’d find Khalid here with you, no one was taking any chances in case he circled back to get to Evan.”
The words reverberated until Tate could think of nothing else. “We need to go. I need to be with her.”
Tate grew increasingly tense as they drove back to the house. She’d borrowed Kelsey’s phone, but Evan wasn’t answering. Kelsey and Tom both tried to reassure her Evan was well protected, but every instinct she possessed told her something was very, very wrong. And when at last they pulled into the driveway, she knew she’d been right to be worried.
“Oh Christ,” Tom muttered.
They were too late.
*
A muffled sound was the only warning Evan got. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to alert her. Glancing toward the driveway, she blinked. Tried to focus on what she was seeing. Blinked again and tried to keep her head from spinning.
She could see the big Suburban bearing the county sheriff’s seal. The one that had been sitting there all day. Except this time, one of Tom’s deputies sat slumped and motionless in the passenger seat, while on the opposite side of the vehicle, the driver’s door was open and the second deputy was lying on the ground.
Evan reacted instantly, adrenaline flooding her senses.
“Jenna,” she called over her shoulder. “Grab Alex and Nick and get out of here. Go through the master bedroom and get as far from the house as you can. As soon as you’re able, call Tom. Tell him Khalid’s here. Do you understand?”
Jenna’s eyes widened. “What about you?”
“Trust me, I’ll be right behind you. Now go.”
Evan ran in the opposite direction, intent on following Jenna as soon as she got her Sig Sauer from the top drawer of the foyer table where she’d stored it.
She never reached it.
The front door flew open and she had just enough time to think she should have been better prepared before Khalid slammed into her, knocking her hard against the wall. Thrown off balance, she had no opportunity to defend herself.
His fist caught her hard enough to send her sprawling to the floor. Hard enough that she could feel the pain overtaking the adrenaline shielding her in the first few seconds.
“Commander, how nice to see you. But you really shouldn’t have kept me waiting.” His soft voice chided her as if she were a recalcitrant child. Then he smiled at her even as he leveled the weapon in his hand, pointing it at her chest.
Memories cued other memories, and for an instant Evan felt trapped between past and present. As if reading the direction her thoughts had taken, Khalid’s smile widened, and with his empty hand, he toyed with the knife he had tucked into his belt.
Evan stared at the knife gleaming in the light and fought hard not to shudder. She knew it wouldn’t do to show any vulnerability. If he remained true to form, any sign of weakness would only increase his sense of control.
Wiping her mouth gingerly with the back of one hand, she licked her lips and slowly got back to her feet. “Hello, John,” she said and had the pleasure of seeing the smile vanish from his face.
“That’s a name I no longer use. A boy’s name. I’m a man and a man chooses his own name. I chose Khalid.” He paused as he looked at her. “Do you know what it means, Commander? Do you understand why I chose it?”
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“It means magnificent. Everlasting,” she said, feigning a bored tone. “Quite obviously, it shows you’re delusional.”
He retaliated with amazing speed, lashing out with his fist. Evan went down hard once again, pain lancing through her as her head struck the floor and the air was forced from her lungs. Control? No, he wasn’t nearly as controlled as she had believed.
“Get up.” The hand touching the knife twitched. “You really don’t want to make me angry.”
She might have responded had she been able to breathe. Instead, she rolled onto her side, coughing and gasping for breath while the room spun around her.
Khalid scowled. In a show of impatience, he kicked her. Excruciating pain exploded on impact. “I said get up. Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Do you not remember what it felt like each time I cut you? Each time you bled? I’ll enjoy reminding you. One cut for every time you fail to do what I ask. Now get up.”
Evan remembered. Remembered only too well, but forced the images back. Pressing her lips together, she managed to get to her knees, never taking her eyes off his face. She never flinched. But while she tried to mask the pain, he needed only to hear how labored her breathing was to know she was hurting.
It was ironic, she thought, as she looked up at him. With his hair short and without the beard, dressed in a black T-shirt and khaki pants, he looked incredibly young. Radically different from the half-American insurgent she’d known in Afghanistan.
But she knew this was no innocent, and she could see nothing beyond what appeared to be cold-blooded intent.
“You’ve got to know help is on the way,” she said, hoping it was true. “It won’t be long before the sheriff and FBI show up. You killed a CIA agent in Kabul and the two deputies outside. You won’t get away.”