Page 77 of Sweet Betrayal

He squeezed, hurting her. Still, she stubbornly refused to acknowledge him. In disgust he released her face and yanked a piece of paper out of his breast pocket. He thrust it under her nose.

“This is you, isn’t it? You are Hannah Evans, the English spy.” He practically spat out the words.

She glanced at him in surprise. Traitor, maybe. Spy, no.

“Ah-ha. I see you know who I’m talking about.”

His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. She could feel his breath on her face. “Our esteemed Chief of Security, Abdul Anwar, gave me orders to hold you until he got here.”

She broke into a cold sweat. He was coming here. For her?

“He is on his way. You must be very important for him to come and collect you in person.” He smirked. “Most of our traitors are executed on site.”

She felt sick. Anwar wanted to torture her, that’s why he was coming. He wanted to find out how much she knew.

“I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes, Miss Hannah Evans.”

Even the commander knew what was in store for her.

She had to get out of here before he arrived. She had to—or she was as good as dead.

Tom strode up the road,ignoring the shouts and commands echoing around him. As he walked, he took stock of the situation. These guys were well equipped. He spotted several rocket launchers, tactical ballistic missiles, and even anti-aircraft artillery mounted on a small truck.

Once they began advancing, it would be carnage.

He had to find Hannah. Where could they have taken her?

He roamed around until he spotted some administrative tents on one side of the makeshift base. He would start there.

He was counting on the fact that they wouldn’t know who she was. Not at first, anyway. It would take some time before anyone put two and two together. How long, was anyone’s guess.

He was rounding a stationary vehicle when an officer barked a command at him.

Fuck.

He turned around, unsheathing his fighting knife. He couldn’t afford to “go loud” here. Not until he’d found Hannah. The officer repeated the command, but Tom played dumb. He clutched the knife behind his back.

Frowning at his subordinate’s incompetence, the officer marched right up to him. Tom swung the knife around and stabbed the soldier in the neck. Blood spurted out at an angle, spattering the dirty hood of the vehicle. He held him still until the light faded from his eyes, then lowered him gently to the ground.

Tom glanced around, but nobody had seen. He rolled the officer’s body beneath the truck and wiped his blade on the grass before re-sheathing it. Keeping an eye out for any more surprise encounters, he proceeded towards the tents.

The first one was a kind of open-plan office. There were several computers set up on trellis tables, a fax machine, even a printer. The electrical equipment was run by a generator humming outside. Several young soldiers typed frantically on keyboards and darted around receiving and sending communications. They must have a military network up and running, since the local communications were all down.

He moved on to the next tent. This one was a mess hall, but it was empty. A skeleton staff were loading dirty plates into a big bucket to be taken away and washed. They were very organized, considering the latest outburst. It made him think the government had planned for this eventuality in advance. Hannah’s document couldn’t have been the first time contingencies had been discussed.

He walked past the third tent. It was smaller than the other two and had an armed guard positioned at the entrance. What was so important it had to be protected? Especially out here in the middle of a Symanian operating base.

Hannah.

He bent down to tie a shoelace as a decorated officer strode out. He waved a piece of paper in front of the guard’s face, then issued a terse instruction. Tom was sure he heard Abdul Anwar’s name mentioned.

He snuck around the back and got down on his hands and knees. Tugging a tent pole out of the hard ground, he peered underneath the canvas and his heart skipped a beat.

She was there! Bound to a chair, but unharmed.

Thank fuck.

He couldn’t see her face, but by the tension in her neck and shoulders, he could tell she was terrified. From what he could make out, there was only the one guard, but he was heavily armed. If he got off a shot, all hell would break loose.

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