Page 68 of Zain

His smile fell. “You’re going to learn some manners, bitch.”

“You took me, asshole. Why?”

He slid his gaze over her face, and the motion made her feel as if there were slugs on her skin. “I was given a great deal of money to do so, that’s why.”

She swallowed. His honesty stole some of her bravado. “Who hired you?” The words came out soft, hesitant. Part of her was desperate to hear the answer. The other part wanted to run from it.

His mouth quirked again. “I can’t tell you that. But I can tell you they want you dead. Just as soon as you tell me everything you know about Zain Mitry.”

Her heart pounded frantically. Misery wormed through her chest, and she fought the scream that wanted to be unleashed. Zain. He’d be looking for her by now. Worried. Scared.

Probably assuming her dead.

I’m not, Zain. I’m here. I’m alive, and I’m waiting for you.

But her thoughts were useless. He couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t find her. Not when she’d vanished without a trace. He’d have nowhere to even start. The gripping truth was that she was on her own.

She didn’t even have a weapon to fight her own battle. All she had was what she’d been born with: her mind.

He wanted information about Zain. The longer she kept her knowledge to herself, the longer she’d stay alive. But she had to play his game before he got any sick ideas about how to get her to talk. She wet her lips, her thoughts working a mile a minute. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything about Afghanistan.”

***

The elevator upto the Backcountry offices moved at a snail’s pace. Zain pinched his brow. Taking the stairs up the twenty-something floors would’ve been faster.

“Send me the screenshot of the plate,” Taschen ordered.

Zain opened his phone and sent the image. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. He got out first and strode down the hall.

Behind the front desk, Pearl stood up, her lip quivering. “Oh, Taschen. I’m so sorry to hear about Dana.”

Her words hit Zain harder than a stream of bullets. The apology sounded more like condolences.

Taschen cupped Pearl’s shoulder. “Thanks, hon.”

Pearl must have read the grim look on Zain’sface because she quickly sputtered, “D-Don’t worry. We’ve got the best team in this part of the country. I just know she’ll be found.”

He forced a smile but couldn’t muster any words as he continued to the boardroom.

The other guys were already there, in front of a large whiteboard. The fact that they all seemed as buzzed with urgency as he was pacified him somewhat.

August moved toward Taschen first. “Man. I’m so sorry this happened.” His green eyes flashed with worry. He shifted his gaze to Zain. “She’ll be okay. Dana’s smart as a whip.”

Rami didn’t approached Zain, but his face reflected every vicious emotion spiraling through him: concern, fear, and enough rage to light the room. “We’re on it, brother.”

Zain swallowed and stepped into the group. Brick patted his shoulder, and Ghost gave a curt nod of understanding. Zain cleared the gravel from his throat. “Thanks for being here. I’m going to give you a rundown of what happened while Taschen uploads the surveillance video we retrieved from the neighbor’s camera.”

Taschen lifted two fingers in confirmation while he opened the laptop on the boardroom table.

“A man dressed in a firefighter’s uniform approached me and said the police needed my mom’s statement. Rami had already taken my mom to hisplace at this point, so I sought out an officer to explain. Speaking to one, I learned they’d already gotten the information they needed from my mom. When I retraced my steps to where I’d left Dana, she was gone. In less than two minutes, the same firefighter who’d approached me had spoken to Dana and led her down the sidewalk, presumably with a similar story. Once he got close to his vehicle, he tased her and put her inside. That’s the last she was seen.”

Rami shook his head angrily, and Brick looked ready to put a hole in the wall.

Ghost narrowed his eyes. “You got a look at the guy?”

“I was too distracted to really pay attention, but I’m certain he had a scar on his left eyebrow, which matches Dana’s description of her attacker.” He returned Ghost’s questioning glare. “Did you have any luck tracing the guy through the security cameras in Dana’s building?”

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