No Turning Back (11 page)

Just then, he banged on the wall between them, for the fourth time. She gritted her teeth. His treachery was part of the reason she was stuck here. Nothing he could say would interest her.

“Miss Sam,” he called in a loud whisper. It hurt that she could picture his handsome face, so familiar and once dear to her. He'd been one of her only friends since coming to Iraq. “Please, Miss Sam.” More plaintive this time.

“What?” she finally snapped.

She made out the sound of him shuffling around next door. Then, “I am glad to see you.”

Well, the feeling was definitely not mutual.

After another minute of dead air, he asked, “What happened to bring you here?”

She almost didn't answer him, but her temper, usually dormant, rose as she thought of the torment she'd endured these past few days. “They think I'm working with you.”

“I am sorry.”

Yeah, I just bet you are, buddy
. “What did you tell them, Fahdi?”

“The truth.”

“Oh,
please
!”

“I never said you were involved. I will swear to Mr. Luke you are innocent when he comes next.”

Sam was dumbfounded. “You think he or anyone else will listen to a single word out of your mouth after what you did?”

Another silence stretched out. “I... I suffer for that. Ali was my friend.” His voice was thick, and she imagined the tears flooding his dark eyes, tangling on the incredibly long, thick lashes that had no right to belong to a man.

“Yeah, so much that you blew him to pieces.” She couldn't believe he'd done it. Not in a million years would she have thought Fahdi capable of something so despicable. How could he live with himself?

“I had no choice,” he said in a choked voice.

Her hands clenched into fists. “We always have a choice.”

“Not so. They would have killed Hala and the children if I did not. And Ali... He was not my intended target.”

No, Luke had been, with as many of the others as possible. It might just have easily been Ben he'd blown up. “There must have been another way.”

“If there had been, you must believe I would have done it instead.”

“You should have gone to Luke for help.” Even as she said it, a terrible pang of guilt struck her. She was one to talk. She hadn't contacted Luke either until she knew for sure the CIA wasn't going to kill her. And that was before she'd known Nev's life was at stake.

Maybe her circumstances weren't all that different from Fahdi's. Wouldn't she do whatever she had to in order to ensure Neveah's release? And Fahdi had five children to think about. Six lives, including his wife. Nev was only one. Sam frowned. Did she have it in her, if it came down to it? Could she trade one life for another? She wanted to say she wouldn't, but the only way she'd know was to be confronted with that terrible choice.

She'd contacted Ben and the others for help, despite being terrified whoever had sent her the e-mail would find out. She'd made the choice to risk her cousin's life because she knew she needed help. Thinking of what Fahdi had done made Sam wonder what she would have done if she'd been ordered to sacrifice someone from her team. Some of her anger toward Fahdi faded. He'd been forced to make a terrible decision. Now he had to live with his actions for the rest of his life.

The desolate sound of his quiet weeping from next door hurt her heart.

Curling up tighter and laying her head on her arms, she supposed she should be grateful she hadn't been put in the position of having to choose one life over another. She'd hate to have her loyalties put to the test, because she could already guess what her answer would be.

When Rhys strode into the TOC office with Sam in tow the next morning, Ben was completely unprepared for the jolt of physical awareness that hit him when she met his gaze.

“Morning,” she said, then glanced away abruptly as though she couldn't stand looking at him.

Considering where he'd left her last night, Ben couldn't blame her, but he was glad Luke had taken her out of that prison.

“Morning.” She looked like she hadn't slept at all the night before. Her eyes were puffy, with violet shadows beneath them, dark beneath her porcelain skin. She was pale, too. The light scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose was more prominent than usual. His conscience squirmed. Dammit,
he'd
been the one to put her in that cell and walk away. It was his fault she'd been awake and probably afraid all night, not feeling much safer than she had for the week she'd been alone and on the run. He doubted it would make her feel better to know he hadn't slept either, thinking of her locked up.

Sam nodded at the computer screen in front of him. “Rhys said you have footage of Nev.” Her voice was husky. God, had she been crying in her cell all night?

“Yeah.” He looked at his twin, raised his brows. Was she going to be up to this after all that had happened? And what about her security status? Luke hadn't said a word about her case since last night's meeting.

“She's all right,” Rhys said.

It wasn't his show so he didn't get to call the shots, but if it had been up to him, Ben wouldn't have let her anywhere near the rest of them until her innocence was proven. “Call the boss and Davis in. Let's do this.”

Rhys disappeared, leaving them alone. The room seemed cramped all of a sudden. Sam stayed where she was, leaning a shoulder against the wall near the door, looking everywhere but at him, fingers playing with the veil covering her hair. The black dye in her brows was too harsh for her coloring, made her look pale and washed out. Or maybe it was because of what she'd been through and the fact he'd abandoned her in a high-security
prison
last night.

It made him feel an inch tall. “Fahdi give you any trouble?”

She met his gaze, the silent accusation there adding to his discomfort. “He spent a couple hours pleading his case, trying to get me to understand why he planted the bomb that killed Ali. He felt he had no choice.”

Pleasant bedtime conversation for cell neighbors. No wonder she hadn't slept. “And what did you say?”

“I told him we always have a choice.”

Ben flinched inwardly, but was saved from more awkward conversation because the others returned and filled the void. Luke and Davis acknowledged Sam with polite nods and gathered around the computer. Ben started up the video clip from the hostage takers’ website. An image of Neveah came on screen. Sam gave a tiny gasp.

Since he'd seen it a few times now, Ben kept his attention on Sam's face. Her eyes were wide, and her tightly laced fingers pressed against her mouth as she stared at the video. Traitor or not, watching the footage was not going to be easy for her.

“My name is Neveah Adams. I am a surgeon with a Doctors Without Borders team in Afghanistan... ”

Ben watched Sam's expression. Her gaze never wavered from the image on the screen. She didn't move, seemed almost frozen as she stood there, studying every nuance of the clip. He could almost hear her brain hum as she analyzed the thing. Sam thrived on data.

“You have twenty-four hours from the time this message is posted to meet the captors’ demands.” On screen, Neveah swallowed hard, her Adam's apple moving visibly. “If you do not comply, one hostage... ” Her voice shredded, and she took a moment to compose herself.

Ben glanced at his brother and saw the lethal rage burning in that deep blue gaze, the tension in that square jaw. Rhys knew Neveah understood what the men holding her were capable of. No wonder his stoic twin looked ready to commit murder.

She regained her composure and continued. “One hostage will be executed every twenty-four hours.”

Ben watched the color drain out of Sam's face as she did the math. If they didn't get her out before the deadline, Neveah had somewhere between one and four days to live.

Fighting the urge to go comfort Sam, Ben forced his attention back to the monitor.

Nev's sapphire gaze moved to something or someone off screen, then back to the camera. “Sam, if you see this, please do whatever they tell you. I love you.”

The fear and plea for help embedded in those eyes would have softened the hardest of hearts, and must have torn Sam to pieces inside. Ben stopped the video, his chest like concrete.

“It was scripted,” Sam blurted. She had both arms wrapped around her waist. Her face was pale as snow.

“Of course it was,” Luke said. “It's all a front. Through them, Tehrazzi demanded money and the release of prisoners in Kabul, Guantanamo and Baghdad.” He folded his arms across his chest, leaned back in a deceptively casual pose to assess her reaction.

“Then why Nev? What's she got to do with— ”

“Because they know your background with her, and that getting her guarantees your cooperation.”

“My cooperation for what? What does Tehrazzi want with me?”

“We think he targeted you and your cousin in Cairo after I hired you.”

Sam gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“He knew I'd hired you. He happened to be in Cairo for a meeting the same time you were, and saw you as a way to get to me. You know our history. This is about him and me, but he saw an opportunity to play on what he considered to be the team's weakest link.”

“Me.”

“You,” Luke agreed. “The timing of Neveah being in Afghanistan played right into his hands. He's using her life as a bargaining chip, knowing you'll do whatever he asks of you to get her out, and he's betting on me stepping in to help. He knows I'd never let you go on your own, just like he knows how bad I want him.”

A hopeful expression came over her face. “So you believe that I'm innocent?”

Ben secretly winced at her naivete.

Luke gave a cold half-smile. “Bottom line, Sam, Tehrazzi is using you to get to me. Beauty of that is, it also means I can use you to get to him.”

Even as Luke said it, Ben's insides clenched in angry denial. Sam was not equipped to deal with an op like this. Hadn't they already dragged Bryn through a similar disaster? He for one was sick to death of putting innocents in danger to try and trap Tehrazzi. The hell of it was, the terrorist had masterminded this whole thing. No doubt they were playing right into his hands. There had to be another way.

To her credit, Sam didn't react other than to raise her chin a notch. “So this is some sort of test, right? Dangle me out like a shiny lure in front of him and see which side I'm loyal to?”

Luke shook his head. “You've made it abundantly clear whose side you're on.”

That was a no-brainer. Her cousin's.

Sam huffed out a frustrated breath. “So what, I'll come along in handcuffs until you're ready to throw me to the sharks and see what happens?”

“I doubt we'll need to cuff you. I think the boys can take care of anything you might dish out.”

Her face tightened.

“And you don't need to worry about being dangled alone. One of us will be with you at all times.”

“But not because you want to protect me,” she said in a voice that wobbled despite her brave posture. “It's because you don't trust me.”

Luke shrugged. “Trust is relative in this business, Sam, and ultimately pointless.”

She squared her shoulders. “But you're going to get Nev out no matter what you think of me, right?” Ben shifted in his chair, and she turned her eyes on him. “Right?”

“Yeah. We'll get her out,” he promised, feeling the impact of her gaze deep in his gut. If this went down, he was going to be on her like a second skin the whole time, and not because it was what Luke wanted. Ben might not trust her completely, but he still cared about Sam and wasn't going to let anything happen to her if he could help it. Plus, he could make sure she didn't pose any further threat to the rest of them.

“You got informants in the region?” Rhys asked Luke.

“Yes. Tehrazzi's in tight with the local population, but I have my ways.”

Yeah, stacks of American hundred dollar bills tended to loosen poverty-stricken people's lips when they were facing a hard winter and the threat of starvation.

“If we're under CIA contract, we're considered civilians. Who've we got for backup?” Rhys asked.

Davis spoke up. “The Night Stalkers will provide insertions, extractions and close air support if possible.”

If possible. Meaning they might be busy helping the military when the team needed backup. Great.

“Once we get a lock on the location, we'll go over the logistics of the op. You'll handle the hostage extraction with the rest of us as backup,” Luke said to Rhys. “Ben, you'll be with Sam on coms and then on the op with us.”

“Sounds good.” Bonus was, he could keep an eye on Sam himself. Far as he could tell, he and his brother were the only ones that truly gave a shit about her well-being.

Luke pushed away from the wall, and Ben swore he covered a wince. He'd bet his next three paychecks Luke had left the hospital against medical advice. Head injuries were dangerous, and the effect of multiple brain lesions was cumulative. He hoped the hell it wasn't going to affect Luke's judgment or decision making ability, because if it did, people were going to die.

“Let's break into teams and get our equipment together.” Luke turned his gaze on Sam. “We're going to be in rough country, so pack light but make sure you've got enough to keep you warm at night.”

A tiny frown formed between her brows. “And what about the CIA? They're letting me go with you, just like that?”

Luke gave her a bland look.

Ben did, too.
Sam, honey, look who you're talking to.

She flushed a little. “Who am I working with, then?”

“I thought you'd appreciate being paired with Ben, since you seem to prefer his company to the rest of us.”

Her eyes flashed to his, and Ben caught the secret dread there.

An ironic smile tugged at his lips. “Cheer up, sweetheart. Look at it this way: Time spent with me is less time spent in your cell.”

Tribal region, Afghanistan

Late morning

Farouk Tehrazzi entered the warlord's camp and headed straight for the largest hut in the middle of the fortified compound. Villagers stopped what they were doing to watch him pass, staring as though the prophet Mohammed had appeared amongst them. Dressed in his white robes, Tehrazzi supposed he must look the part to them. With the money and weapons he'd given them, their standard of living was worlds better than anyone else's in this bleak region of Afghanistan.