Page 71 of Commander

Hamir lifted his hand to slap me but stopped the instant he heard his son’s voice.

“No, Abbu. You can’t hurt her. The world will turn against us if they see any marks on her body. Remember she is a means to an end.”

Tarik came into sight with Ameera.

Oh God, what had they done to her? Her signature locks were cropped so close that it looked as if someone had taken a razor to her head. Ameera cradled the side of her face, where I assumed Tarik had punched her, and blood seeped from wounds on the side of her mouth and her left ear.

I clenched my fists.

She’d lost a lot of weight but didn’t look malnourished. As I examined her closer, I noticed her injuries were fresh, more than likely sustained in the last twenty-four hours. This would be a constant in her life if Hamir had a chance to get her out.

“Where are your men?”

Hamir brought my attention back to him, but before I turned my gaze to him, I saw Ameera tap her stomach.

Sneaky girl. She knew I was armed. It was something we’d learned to do when we were in field training. If I could get close enough we could take these assholes down.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Don’t play games. You’ve cost me too much. You have exactly one minute to tell me.”

“Or what?”

He turned his gun to Ameera. “I will shoot her. You risked your life and your husband’s career for her. I’m sure you’d do anything to protect her.”

“Shoot me, you asshole.” Ameera shouted in Urdu as she thrashed in Tarik’s arms and tried to kick out toward Hamir. “I’d rather die than let you sell me to that old man whose money you need so much. You aren’t my father. Travis Angelo is my father. You’re nothing but a sperm donor.”

As soon as the words were out, Tarik slapped Ameera again and then threw her against the side of the truck. I jumped in her direction, catching her before she slammed onto the ground. I cradled her body against mine as we slid to the dirt.

“You need to show him some respect. He is your king. You will never speak to him like that again.”

“She is an American citizen, asshole. She has no king.”

The sounds of helicopters echoed off the mountains, and I knew our support would be here any moment.

“Abbu, we have to get out of here. The military is doing a sweep.”

“Get them into the car.”

Ameera’s fingers worked their way under my shirt, and I felt her pull the piece in the front of my pants out.

I rocked Ameera as if to comfort her and tugged out the gun at the back of my waist.

“Let’s go.” Tarik grabbed my arm, hurling me up.

I twisted out of his hold and held up my gun. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Very brave, but you have only one gun and there are two of us.”

“Wrong.”Ameera stood and without another word, shot Hamir in the head.

“No.” Tarik charged Ameera.

I lifted the cocked gun, but before I could fire, a bullet pierced his forehead, and he dropped to the ground.

In the next moments, two helicopters landed, Solon agents grabbed both Ameera and me, and we immediately lifted off.

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