Page 37 of Zain

Tears stung her eyes and her throat tightened. She pulled her knees close to her chest, tucking herself into a ball and closing her eyes. The movement outside the vehicle was making her sick.One more tree racing past her window and she’d puke.

“Are you okay?” Zain’s question nudged her from the dark corners of her mind.

She fought back a sniffle. “Yeah.”

“You’re not okay. But I need to get us to the plane before I can assess you. Can you hold on?”

She wanted to laugh. Hold on for what? Did he have some kind of miracle pill in his pocket to erase the bombing from her mind? A drug that’d take away every ache? Okay, so maybe the latter existed. But that’s not what she needed.

She didn’t care about the blinding pain behind her eyes. Or her swollen face that had been struck numerous times. Or the ringing in her ears or the gash on her head. None of it mattered because the stark reality was that with every step they took, they created more enemies.

They’d never truly be safe.

Brick’s hand on her shoulder made her jump. “Hey. It’s going to be okay.”

“It doesn’t feel that way.”

“No, it doesn’t. But we’ll be home soon.” His fingers squeezed. “That message you sent earlier was smart. I got it right before the bombing.”

Zain dragged his eyes from the road, and his heated gaze warmed her skin. Comforted her, even. “What message?”

“She sent a group text to Backcountry letting them know something wasn’t right and that wewere with Ali on the way to the airport.”

“Good thinking,” Zain said.

This time she did let out a snort. “You’re both full of it. How’s that message going to help us now?”

“For starters, it let our team know we’re in danger. Any reinforcements, even if we don’t get them until we land, are better than none.”

“Well, I sent it knowing we’re going to die. I wanted to cut out the legwork for Taschen when it came to bringing our killer to justice.”

“We’re not going to die,” Zain and Brick said in unison. It was all she could do not to roll her eyes.

Maybe trauma had blown away her optimism. Hell, she could even have a brain injury. Either way, the possibility of them reaching the plane grew smaller and smaller by the second. “Ali is a resourceful man. He’ll have reinforcements soon. All he has to do is make one phone call. And then what?”

Neither man answered.

They probably would have been better off dying in the explosion, because once Ali and Jaysh got to them, their fate would be far worse.

CHAPTER 12

Every bump onthe gravel road made Zain clench his jaw tighter. He didn’t like their odds. Didn’t like that they were still ten miles from the airport. Nor did he like the way Dana sat limp and quiet next to him.

He fought the urge to pull over and inspect her injuries. He didn’t dare. Neither he nor Brick had spoken since Dana had asked her devastating question. Because goddammit she was right. There was no sign that they were being followed. He’d thrown Ali’s and the guard’s phones out the window about three hundred yards from where they’d left him.

Ali certainly hadn’t found the devices, but hell, anyone on the road could’ve stopped and given him access to a phone.

Zain could only hope to god they reached the airport before Ali got the upper hand. If not, like Dana had said, they wouldn’t make it out of here. But he didn’t speak his doubts aloud.

They were too fucking close to lose now.

He pulled out his phone.

“Hey man, kinda risky to make a call now, don’t you think?”

“It’s important.” He hit a number on his screen and brought the phone to his ear.

“Who are you calling?” Dana asked, her brow pinched.

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