Page 87 of Zain

“That’s very simple. We suspected you knew more than you let on. It’s unfortunate, but loose ends can’t stay loose.”

“I was the loose end?” He’d never considered himself close with Maxine, but over the last three years, she’d become someone he trusted.

That’s why he’d reached out to her for help at the airport in Pakistan. Why he’d called her after Dana was attacked and then taken. All the while, he’d been playing with a goddamn viper.

“It’s just the way things ended up.”

“You would’ve killed me regardless.”

“Not true. When you went rogue during the mission, we suspected you’d already given up classified information.”

“And Dana? You still haven’t told me why you took her.” It had all been spelled out for him now, but Maxine seemed to want to talk. Which worked for him.

Taschen held his phone in his hand, map open but silent as he steered through the streets.

“Really, Zain. You should understand all of this by now. We needed her to ensure your full cooperation.”

“Well you fucking have it,” he spat.

“Good. I’ll have our guy bring her to a meeting point in an hour. How’s that work for you?”

He rocked his jaw. She had no intention of delivering Dana. She’d use the opportunity to kill them all. But Maxine didn’t know about the crew he had at his back. “Fine. Where?”

She rattled off a destination—a deserted path toward a waterfall forty minutes from the city. Perfect place to dump a few bodies. If only they could dump hers and not her hired help’s.

“I want everything you have on a drive. And if there’s any hard copies, those too.”

“You have my word.”

“Good. And Zain?” Her tone rang with superiority. “Don’t cause any trouble. You know what will happen.” The line went dead.

CHAPTER 26

Dana lay onthe cold cement floor, the acidic scent of vomit close to her face. Sobs racked her shoulders.

She’d failed.

Inches from escaping and he’d caught her. She swiped the tears off her cheeks, but they kept coming. Every muscle in her body ached as her adrenaline drained away. She curled her knees tighter to her stomach. Any minute he’d be back.

Probably waiting on orders to finish her off.

She closed her eyes and replayed Zain’s voice in her head. He was close to finding her. She had to believe that. If he was in contact with her kidnappers, he could have already negotiated for her freedom.

She snorted at her naivety.

These people didn’t want anything but death. She was still alive only because they were using her to get to Zain. Then they’d kill him. Rivers of fear ran through her. It was a trap—the picture, thephone call.

She couldn’t let them win.

As she pushed up from the ground, her elbows threatened to buckle. Inhaling a breath, she drank in courage. She’d faced worse obstacles. The cave in Afghanistan. The bombed vehicle. She could do this. She could escape a stupid basement.

The sickness in the pit of her stomach grew as she forced herself to her feet. Her face pulsated where he’d struck her, and her scalp and finger throbbed. She swallowed and brushed away the almost-overwhelming agony. If she got out of here, she’d soak for hours in the hottest bath she could tolerate.

She moved across the room and inspected the door. He’d slammed it pretty hard, but she couldn’t remember if he’d locked it. He hadn’t tied her back up, nor had he tried to find where she’d obtained the glass.

His face had looked ghostly pale. With any luck, he was struggling as a result of the wounds she’d inflicted. Had he even made it upstairs? She’d been too shaken to pay attention to his footsteps. With painstaking caution, she placed her fingertips on the cold doorknob and turned the metal.

Locked.

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