Abi chose option one. She lowered her foot on the accelerator and saw the moment the man realized what she was doing. He brought his weapon up, and Abi screamed as bullets rained on her car. She ducked, but then she couldn’t see the road.
Her throat was as dry as the desert she was driving through, and her veins turned to ice. She was a long way from the border.
She passed the man and lowered her foot again. But a few seconds later she saw smoke coming from the hood of her car, and when she looked to the rearview mirror she saw the sedan chasing her.
Abi pulled over. She didn’t have a choice now. She checked her pistol and weighed her options. The only place she could run to was the village.
The glass behind her shattered and Abi squealed, covering her head with her arms. She needed to get out of the car.
She opened the door, but before she could get so much as one leg out, it was pelted with bullets. Abi turned and raised her weapon, keeping her body behind the car seat. She fired at the car now stopped behind her, but she only managed a few shots before she had to duck down again. The plastic of the car dashboard cracked and splintered as bullets assaulted her vehicle.
Abi tried again. She fired blindly, giving herself a moment to get into position. But as she looked up, she saw four men exiting the car, all carrying automatic weapons.
She knew what was going to happen. Her mind followed procedure, but her heart screamed in protest. She slipped the blue band off her wrist and tucked it in the crease of the chair where the backrest joined the seat. That little blue band was her message to her team—a message to tell them she’d been taken.
She grabbed a pin from her pocket and jammed it in the delicate skin behind her ear. She swore as pain shot down her neck. She quickly wiped her fingers over it, wiping away any traces of blood.
Bullets rained on the car all around her—but none were directly targeted at her. They weren’t trying to kill her—they wanted her alive. Abi looked around the car, knowing this could be her last moment of freedom. She was wearing a wire she could activate with a voice command, but she knew they would bind her hands and feet. She grabbed a razor blade concealed in the rubber of her shoe and tucked it into her messy bun, praying it would stay there until she was able to shake it loose. She’d barely hidden it when she found a pistol pointed at her forehead.
“Get out of the car, Abigail Bennett.”
Rachel
Rachel’s gaze flickered between her phone and the coronation ceremony. It was the first ceremony she’d ever seen. Asher was now crown prince, and the ceremony had been broadcast across all television stations. Rachel couldn’t decide if the King was trying to make a big deal about it because he feared the succession being contested, or if it was just a way of connecting the people to an important event for the royal family—for Santina.
But her phone was painfully quiet. Abi should’ve called in by now; she had sounded confident after the village visit, and her voice had been easy—no anxiety, no worry. But her last check-in was scheduled for thirty minutes ago. Sure, Abi could’ve stopped for something. Maybe she had a flat tire.
Rachel exhaled. Abi had crossed into their “safe zone,” an area where they knew the locals and were treated like family. They had rescued members from the villages within that zone before, and they’d never had trouble passing through there.
Rachel shook her head, refusing to let her mind go toward the darker thoughts that hid in the corners. Abi would be fine; she was just running late. It was possible she had stopped to check on the village people and see if they needed anything.
Rachel returned her attention to the screen as Asher took to the podium.
“Santina, it is an honor to stand before you today. I stand on the same podium my family has stood on for generations. And as they did, I pledge to protect, fight for, and help the people of Santina to prosper. With war surrounding us, we will continue to secure our borders and to protect you, while also working with our neighbors toward peace. I will support the King and aid him in every way I can.
“Santina,” Asher said, lifting his gaze to the crowd, and looking straight into the camera lens, “I dedicate my life to serve you. In the years to come, Santina will flourish and thrive. The years have been hard, I know, but now is our time. I walk with you, fighting for you. God bless.”
The cameras captured the raptured faces of the crowd. It wasn’t what Asher said, but rather how he said it. Rachel wondered when the King had made this decision, because from what she could tell, he had been priming Asher for this role for many years. Even through the television, Rachel had to admit she was inspired. Could Asher really save them? She didn’t know, but if any member of the royal family could, she would put her money on him.
The ceremony, and Asher’s coronation, would give Santina hope—and Rachel knew the people needed that. Maybe that’s why King Martin had held the ceremony.
She sat back on the couch, watching the future king move into the crowd, greeting his people.
Rachel smiled. He would be a good king.
Her smile fell from her lips when her phone rang and she looked at the name on her screen. She grabbed it, answering immediately. Her heart was in her throat.
“Kai,” she said to their local friend.
“Ms. Rachel, Abi’s car has been found on the side of the road . . . there was a blue band on the seat. Lots of bullet holes.”
Rachel’s eyes bulged, her mouth open. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.
“Ms. Rachel?” Kai asked.
“I’m here, I’m here!” Rachel said, jumping up. She began pacing, her mind racing so fast she couldn’t think straight.
Protocol.
There was a protocol for this situation.
She put Kai on hold while she called the Colonel. She almost fell over with relief when he answered, but it was short-lived.
“Colonel, I need assistance at the border. I need to send a team across. Abi has been taken hostage.”
“What? When? Where?” he fired questions without waiting for a response.
“She was in Adani, in a safe zone. Abi left a blue band on her car seat, a signal that she was taken—kidnapped. I need to get a team across the border,” Rachel said so fast she wasn’t sure he would understand what she was saying.
“Security is strict today, Rachel. Due to the coronation ceremony, the border has been temporarily closed.”
“We have border privileges, and we’re going out of Santina, not coming in!”
“I understand, but I cannot defy the King’s orders. Let me make a call,” he said. “I’ll call you back as soon as possible.”
The room felt so cold Rachel wondered if she’d left the windows open. Her eyes darted to them, but they were closed.
Rachel called Noah, her first reaction—and then she realized what she’d done.
Hot tears pricked her eyes.
She didn’t know what to do.
She saw Asher on the television, being swept into the crowd. She knew he wouldn’t answer his phone, but maybe someone else would and she could get a message to him. She had to try something. She couldn’t wait for the Colonel.
“Hello?” A woman answered Asher’s phone—and it sounded like the Queen.
“Hello, this is Rachel. A friend of Noah’s,” she said. She was using her connection to Noah to her benefit, but she didn’t think he’d mind.
“Hello, Rachel. I know who you are. This is Asher and Noah’s mother,” she said.
“I’m sorry to do this right now. I know Asher is busy—very busy—but I need help and I don’t know who else to call. Abi was taken this morning, kidnapped. I need to speak to Asher; I need border privileges so I can send a team in straight away. I know I’m asking a lot, but please, help me.”
“Rachel,” Queen Emilia said with a thick voice, “I can’t speak to Asher right now, nor King Martin. Have you spoken to Stevens? He will be able to help.”
“He can’t—he said the King gave strict order
s to close the border for security today due to the coronation service. He said he’d make a call, but I don’t know who he plans to call, and I can’t wait for him to take action. I need to get a team across the border. If we wait, it might take hours, and Abi might not have that long.”
Rachel leaned against the wall for support as the walls began to shift. Was she having a panic attack? She couldn’t process the thought of Abi being taken.
“Please, Your Majesty, I need to mobilize a team,” Rachel said, her voice breaking.
The Queen spoke quickly. “Without Asher’s contacts, what would you do?”
“Is this line secure?” Rachel asked.
“Yes,” she said, sounding as if she didn’t like what she was going to hear next.
And she wasn’t.
“If we can’t get a team through security, we’ll have to smuggle them in—but obviously that’s risky. If the guards see them, they’ll shoot. The entire process will take additional time because the only places we can smuggle across the border are in the north.”
There was a pause, then an intake of breath. “When was she taken?” the Queen asked.
“Her last check in should’ve been about forty minutes ago, meaning she could’ve been taken anytime in the last ninety minutes. Please, is there anything you can do?”
“Give me ten minutes,” she said.
Rachel noted the time and then typed furiously, sending out emergency response emails to their team. Before the Queen called her back, the response team would be mobilized and ready to respond.
She checked the responses: Ready to go.
Rachel wasn’t ready for this. She’d always known this day could come, but now that it was here, she didn’t want to—couldn’t—face it.
Her phone rang a few minutes later.
“Your Majesty,” Rachel said quickly.
“I’ve made a few calls, and Colonel Stevens can give your team access. Please keep me informed. Good luck, Rachel.”
“Thank you, thank you so much,” Rachel said in a rush.
“We will provide what resources we can, and I will inform Asher as soon as possible.”
“Thank you again. We’re leaving now,” Rachel said, pulling out her emergency bag, which was always prepared and stored in the bottom of the cupboard. Excluding Abi, she was the best coordinator for their group, and she would go with the team to make sure Abi had every chance of surviving.
She grabbed her bag and ran.
Rachel
Rachel walked through the dusty room again. Dirt floors, concrete walls. There was no trace of Abi except for a few blood stains on the floor and the crushed communication device.
Chills ran up Rachel’s spine. She knew they’d found the device because they’d removed Abi’s T-shirt.
“We need to move,” Daniel said, his voice compassionate but firm.
Rachel shook her head. “We’re missing it. Abi left something here, I know she did. She knows how this works better than anyone. When she left the band in the car, she activated the device. She would’ve left some kind of clue for us. I’m not leaving until I find it.” She dropped to her knees, running her fingers through the dirt that formed the floor of the old hut.
Daniel joined her. “Rachel, there’s a chance she didn’t have time to leave something behind. You heard the recording. She could’ve been knocked unconscious, or . . .” His voice trailed off.
Rachel shook her head. “No, they won’t kill her, not yet. She’s too valuable. A ransom will be requested soon, but not before they make her suffer.” It wasn’t death Rachel feared for Abi, it was the horrors she would endure. They would rape her and torture her—of that Rachel had no doubt.
She closed her eyes, trying to block out everyone else. If she were Abi, what would she have done?
Rachel lifted her eyes to the blood stains. They were low on the wall. If Abi had been sitting and tied up, that’s where her hands would’ve been resting.
Why were her hands bleeding?
Because the rope was too tight? Or because she’d cut them on something?
Rachel scrambled over to the blood stains, and then she saw it: a tiny nail sticking out of the wall. Rachel’s eyes ran the length of the wall—nails were spaced evenly along the wall, like something had once been tacked to it.
Had they positioned Abi there? Or had she managed to get herself close to the wall? Rachel knew that using rope was common, as all of their hostages had reported having their hands and feet tied with rope. Had she managed to cut through the rope?
Rachel hissed and jerked back her hand. A droplet of blood fell from her fingertip. Carefully, Rachel patted the dirt where her hand had just been and she found a tiny blade that looked like it belonged to a utility knife. The IFRT team carried them in their shoes. But how would Abi have gotten to it without untying her hands?
Rachel continued to carefully search the ground, but she couldn’t find anything.
“Rachel!” Daniel hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the door.
Rachel ran, her pulse spiking, matching the fear in Daniel’s voice. She didn’t ask questions, didn’t look back. Daniel was right beside her and heading for an old dilapidated brick wall that surrounded the group of huts. It would’ve been a village years ago, before war had claimed it.
Rachel heard a car behind them and didn’t know if they were going to make it.
Daniel hurdled a low section of the wall where bricks had fallen in and created a dip. Rachel climbed over as best she could.
Her heart thundered in her chest and she was breathing so hard she was sure the entire universe could hear her.
“We have to stay here,” Daniel whispered. “It’s not safe to keep moving, there’s not enough cover.”
“Did you leave the communication device on the ground?” Rachel asked, her voice barely audible.
Daniel nodded. “Everything is as it should be,” he said, shrinking back against the wall. He pulled a small camera from his pocket, extended the stick it was attached to, and aimed it so he had a view through one of the cracks in the wall.
Rachel heard voices and pressed her back flat against the wall.
Had they been seen?
They’d come on foot, leaving their car and their team at the closest village. It was risky to come here, but Rachel was convinced Abi would leave them a clue. Maybe Daniel was right—she hadn’t had the chance.
Daniel whistled. “Adani officials,” he said under his breath.
Here? Now? Rachel mouthed.
Daniel nodded.
Were they coming to investigate?
Rachel remained motionless except for her pounding heart. She could feel it in her ears and although she was sitting, she was poised to jump and run at any second.
Her ears strained to listen, but she couldn’t make out what the men were saying.
Rachel heard voices again as the men emerged from the hut, and she looked at the footage Daniel was recording via an app on his phone. The men looked far from concerned, and it took her a second to realize they were walking toward the wall. Daniel realized it too, and he ducked down farther, even though their heads were already hidden.
The footsteps kept coming, and Rachel’s heart pounded in sync with them. She smelled cigarette smoke, and when she looked at the ground beside Daniel, she realized it was littered with cigarette butts.
They had to move.
Rachel pointed wildly at the patch of dirt that was being used as an ashtray and Daniel’s eyes bulged. They were sitting on each side of the dip in the wall. If one of them moved across, they’d risk being seen.
Rachel pointed to each end and Daniel looked conflicted—but as the voices neared, they didn’t have an option.
Rachel pressed up onto her palms and feet and shuffled along the wall as quickly and silently as she could. It would’ve been faster to crawl, but she couldn’t crawl in the dirt without making noise and dust.
She saw two shadows emerge, and she froze. The men were dir
ectly on the other side of the wall.
Rachel squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t dare move, because she knew they would hear her, and she wouldn’t get very far—they’d definitely catch her. She had no choice but to wait and pray she had miraculously become invisible.
They continued to talk, their conversation lighthearted and easy. They were talking about soccer and sounded like they didn’t have a care in the world.
Suddenly, they stopped talking. Rachel was certain her heart skipped a beat. She held her breath, not daring to make a single sound. She didn’t glance sideways, terrified even moving her eyes would capture their attention.
The silence seemed to last an eternity.
Then a cigarette butt flew over the wall, landing beside Daniel’s foot.
They still didn’t move. But the shadows did—they became smaller before they disappeared completely.
Rachel’s eyes ran the length of the wall, looking for more shadows. Maybe the men had pretended not to see them to lure them out. Maybe they were waiting for them to make a move.
A car started and drove away a few moments later.
Daniel shook his head slowly, indicating she shouldn’t move. They sat like statues, and it occurred to Rachel they were like village people, lined up on a wall ready to be killed.
Rachel counted the seconds in her head. After a few moments, Daniel slid a camera up, scoping the area. Eventually, he gave a long exhale.
“I think they’re gone,” he hissed.
Rachel was still scared to move.
“What do you think they were doing?” she whispered.
“I don’t know, and I don’t think we should stick around to find out,” he said, moving onto his knees. He peered over the wall, taking a second look.
Daniel turned back to Rachel. “Ready?”
She took a calming breath. “Ready,” she said. Her voice sounded unsure even to her.
Daniel extended his hand, helping her up. They climbed through the dip in the wall and ran back to the hut. When they stepped inside, Rachel knew what they’d come back for.
BLOOD, LOVE AND LIES (THE ROYALS Book 1) Page 18