Page 76 of Sweet Betrayal

“Sit down.” He pushed her into a chair, securing her hands behind her back with plastic handcuffs. She had seen them on TV in cop shows but had never in a million years envisioned that one day they’d be used on her. They were tight and cut into her wrists.

“Wait here,” he barked, and left her alone.

She wiggled her wrists, but the ties were too tight. They wouldn’t budge. She tried to get up, but the bastard had tied her ankles to the legs of the chair.

She was screwed. The worst part was, Tom wouldn’t know where to look for her. He’d get back to the building, find her bag and realize she’d been taken. Would he try to find her? What if he couldn’t? Would he arrange for their contact to transport him out of the enemy base to the coast, taking the safe house locations with him? That was all he needed anyway.

Another soldier came in. Taller than the other, with a full beard and even harder eyes. His superior, perhaps? He held a large semi-automatic rifle, not unlike Tom’s. Was he going to use it on her?

She shuddered and tried to keep calm. Panicking wouldn’t help her.

“Don’t get any ideas.” He nodded to his weapon as he stood guard.

Great, now she had an armed guard as well as being tied to the chair. Hot tears burned her eyes. This was it. It was well and truly game over.

CHAPTER 31

“Where the hell is she?” Tom growled, checking behind the crates.

Jamal looked around. “Could she be hiding somewhere?”

“No, she’s been found.” With a sinking heart, he bent down and retrieved her bag from beneath the boxes. “Here’s her bag. The gun’s missing though.”

Fuck. This was not good.

“We have to find her.”

“There’s no time,” Jamal said. “Ibrahim has been instructed to leave in fifteen minutes.”

“I’m not leaving without her.” His voice was firm. He surveyed the area. There was no blood, not evidence of a struggle. That was a good sign. It meant she was still alive.

“We don’t know where to look. This place is crawling with soldiers.”

“Then I’ll become a soldier.”

Jamal stared at him, then nodded. “I’ll try to stall Ibrahim. You have an hour. If you’re not there by then, he’s going to go without you.”

“Thanks.” Tom ran from the building.

He darted around the back and crept up to the corner of the street, staying close to the wall. He waited in the shadows until an unsuspecting soldier walked past. Less than a minute later, he pulled the unconscious soldier into the nearest open doorway and stripped him to his underwear.

The uniform was a snug fit, but it would do.

He had to find Hannah.

Hannah sat quietly waitingfor something to happen. Her guard didn’t move, content to keep vigil by the tent flap.

Eventually, a man in a uniform covered with badges walked in. She could tell by the way the guard straightened his back and saluted that this man was important. A commander, maybe? He surveyed her with interest.

“What is your name?”

She didn’t answer.

He stepped forward. “I said, what is your name?”

She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. As soon as he knew who she was, she was history. If they’d thought about an alias, she could have used that, but her brain was paralyzed with fear.

He grabbed her chin, thrusting it up toward the light. She focused on the apex of the tent roof, trying to pretend she was somewhere else. Anywhere but here.

---