Lexi tried to swallow the fear, not wanting Salif to know how terrified she really was. She knew enough about the man to understand that he had little to lose and everything to gain. But that didn’t mean he was going to win. Not this time. There had to be a way to find Bret, get them out of here and put an end to this.
Salif spoke to Hamid, who immediately went running to a nearby tent. “He’ll be back in a minute with a video camera. And while he’s gone, you can think about what you’re going to say. All you have to do is convince your brother this isn’t a game.”
Lexi frowned at the implications, still trying to win the battle against her growing nerves.
“Tell me exactly what Trent did,” she said, turning back to Salif while they waited for the other man to return. She was going to need answers if she ever expected to wrap her mind around the situation.
“I assumed you knew.”
“I don’t think he wanted me to know. He told me he was coming to visit me. That it was a long-overdue vacation. He never told me he was in trouble.”
“Then let’s just say he’s made a few people very angry.”
“Including yourself?”
“I’m more of a middleman. I do the occasional work-for-hire. Your brother has been embezzling money from a business partner who I happen to know quite well.
Salif wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m here to ensure my friend gets his money back.”
“And he doesn’t care who is hurt in the meantime?” Her voice broke, but she wasn’t finished. “Or if someone dies in the process?”
“Your brother made a number of foolish decisions, which means he is the one who will have to live with any consequences.”
And Trent had to have known about those consequences. He realized he was about to get caught and knew if he didn’t run, he’d end up in prison or more likely, dead. So he’d decided to disappear to Africa. And in the process, he’d managed to drag her into the situation.
“And what do you get for tracking him down?” Lexi asked.
“A nice paycheck. And a sign of goodwill.”
“And Trent? What happens to him if you find him?”
“Why would you care?” Salif said. “Sounds to me as if he betrayed you.”
“He’s family,” she said, wondering if there was anything she could say that would change his mind. “My mother died a few months ago, and my father—”
“Forget the sob story. It won’t work.” Salif let out a deep chuckle.
Apparently she’d been wrong to think she might find a layer of humanity beneath his gruff exterior.
“Once he is found, he will be dealt with appropriately. But he chose the wrong place to run. He apparently had no idea that the man he swindled has contacts all across North Africa.” His smile quickly faded. “And here’s another problem. This entire situation has become personal. Besides the two-million-dollar ransom, I also lost some of my best men in that raid by the army. I can’t simply just pretend that didn’t happen.”
“I had nothing to do with any of that.”
“That doesn’t really matter. I have a feeling Colton’s family will be a bit more forthcoming with the money this time when they realize this isn’t a game.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“We’re going to make sure your brother realizes that he will need to come forward and replace the money he stole...or you will die.”
Or you will die.
Lexi replayed the words in her mind as Hamid returned with the video camera and handed it to Salif.
“You might be surprised how high-tech we manage to be out here in the middle of nowhere. I can create a video with a sat phone and on the internet I can send it anywhere in the world I want.”
Hamid secured Lexi’s hands behind her back, then shoved her onto the chair where Salif had been eating minutes ago. She winced as her arm scraped against the rough wood. This was not idle conversation. He didn’t care what happened to her. Because for him, this was nothing more than a business deal, and she had become a disposable commodity.
Thirty seconds later, Hamid was running the video while Salif stood next to her, making his demands into the camera, and then turned to Lexi.
“Tell your brother what I said.”
Lexi swallowed hard. “Trent...listen to him. You have forty-eight hours. And if you don’t show up...they will kill me.”
Salif motioned for Hamid to turn off the video. Speaking the words again out loud spread a wave of nausea through her.
“Take her back to her tent,” Salif said, “Then we’ll send this to a place Trent will be sure and see it.”
But Lexi knew the truth. Just because Trent saw the video didn’t mean he’d respond, or that she was going to be enough motivation to return the money he’d embezzled. Not that he’d ever want her dead, but he’d chosen to run and more than likely didn’t have access to pay back what he’d stolen. Which meant they had less than forty-eight hours to find a way out of here.
Hamid unbound her, but kept a firm grip on her arm. Lexi winced at the irony. He might be setting her free, but they knew, as well as she did, that there was no way out of here.
“What about Issa and Bret?” she said to Salif before turning away. “Do you have them, too?”
“They told me you were trying to stall when my men picked you up. I’m going to assume you were waiting for Issa to come to your rescue again.” Salif rested his hands against his hips. “But he’s not coming. Not this time. I can promise you that.”
“Then where is he?”
Salif nodded at Hamid without answering her question.
Hamid tightened the grip on her arm and forced her back to the tent. Colton was pacing inside the small space. She waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the dimness.
“Lexi?”
“I’m okay. I just... I need to sit down.” Her legs felt as if they were about to give out on her. The surge of adrenaline had started to wear off, leaving her feeling as if she were about to crash. In all the training she gone through before she came, none of it had prepared her for this. She was tired and overwhelmed. She sat down on the mat and took in a deep breath.
I don’t know how much more of this I can handle, God. I feel as if I’ve been pushed to my limits...
“They didn’t hurt you—”
“No. But it’s like this is all a game to him, and I’m simply a stepping-stone to getting what he wants.”
She’d looked into Salif’s eyes and had left wondering if there was any sense of humanity in him. Instead she saw a cycle of greed. Her brother’s greed. Salif’s greed...
Colton sat down across from her. A ray of light coming in from the flap of the tent cast a shadow across Colton’s face. His face was pale and the spot where they’d struck him on his temple was now turning a deep shade of purple. But he hadn’t lost that fierce determination in his eyes. Part of her wanted to curl up in a ball in his arms and sleep until this was over. But that kind of escape wasn’t going to help them find a way out.
“What did they want?” he asked.
“They made a video with their demands to Trent.”
“And their demands?”
She picked at a hole in the mat, not wanting to tell him everything. There was nothing he could do to change things. Plans of escape might keep them busy, but the reality was that their options were limited.
Colton frowned when she didn’t answer. “What else did they say?”
She flicked at a broken nail. Funny how six months ago, she never missed a manicure. Somehow all of that didn’t matter anymore.
“My brother embezzled a large amount of money from a man he was working for,” she said.
“And...”
“They gave him forty-eight hours to come forward, or they will kill me.”
“They’re bluffing, Lexi—”
“I don’t think so. They’ve shown they have patience, but they also they shot our plane down. Hunted us down at the Kasbah. And now they’ve taken us. These men won’t think twice about killing someone if it means getting what they want. That’s what they do.” There was no inflection in her voice as she caught his gaze. “And it might end up costing both of us our lives.”
* * *
Colton massaged the back of his neck with his fingers, but it did little to relieve the growing tension. “You’re not responsible for your brother’s actions.”
He paused at the irony of his words. How many times had his mother thrown that same line at him when it came to his father? He might not have been responsible for his father’s actions, but that hadn’t kept him from having to deal with the consequences.
Just like Lexi was having to deal with the ramifications of her brother’s choices.
“You’re wrong. This is my fault.” Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him. “I should have figured out what he was up to when he was staying with me. Instead, I wanted to think that he’d grown up. That things had changed between us and for whatever reason he wanted to come see me. But I should have known. He was simply using me.”
“Stop.” He ran his hand down her arm until his fingers caught her hand. “I meant what I said. This wasn’t your fault.”
She shrugged. “Maybe you’re right, but even if you are, it doesn’t matter. We’re still here, and I don’t see any way of that changing.”
“Lexi—”
“When I arrived, I thought I was strong enough to handle whatever I had to do. I’ve seen so much heartache over the past few months, and yet that very heartache is what kept me going. Every day, I watch women and children spend hours collecting water. I met mothers who lost their babies because they didn’t have access to a clean water supply. Health care facilities and schools lack adequate sanitation. I thought that if I could just change things for a handful of people my contribution would matter.”
“It does matter.”
“But today...” She looked up at him. “I don’t feel strong anymore. I don’t know how to handle this.”
She was crying silently now, the tears evident on her checks. “I’m scared, Colton. We’ll never get out of here with one of the vehicles. There are too many guards. Too many weapons.”
Colton pulled her against his chest, knowing that every answer he could think of seemed trite. He didn’t know if everything was going to work out. Didn’t know if they would walk away from this alive. And no matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn’t promise her any of those things.
She lay still until her breathing became steadier. She felt comfortable against him. A perfect fit. He tried to ignore the thought as he pushed back a strand of her hair and looped it behind her ear. There was something about her, though, that had managed to weave its way into his heart when he wasn’t looking. Something that made him wonder again if an ongoing relationship might be a possibility once they were out of here.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him.
“For what?”
“For not promising me that everything’s going to be okay. For just listening and being there for me.”
He nodded, wishing he could give her more. “You’re welcome.”
She wiped her cheeks, then sat back, though still close enough that their knees were barely touching. “I’m the kind of person who needs to have a plan.”
“Okay.”
“I need to figure out where my brother might have gone.”
“Who did your brother work for back in the States?” he asked.
“Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“Okay, then just tell me what you do know about him.”
“He’s twenty-six. Knows he’s charming and knows how to make people laugh. He’s never held down a job for long, floats from one place to another, looking for the next payoff. He’s suave and a bit of a con. Has always got by on his good looks.”
“You said the two of you weren’t close.”
“Not really.”
“What about your stepfather and their relationship? Would he go back home?”
“He might. My stepfather spoiled him growing up. That’s probably part of why he’s not responsible. He always used to bail him out. Though when he came to see me he paid for his own ticket.”
“Did he go out at night?”
“Yeah. He made friends with a few ex-pats and met them for drinks a few times.”
“Any strange conversations you overheard, or anything that seems off now that you’re looking back?”
“I heard him talking on the phone one evening. I didn’t really think much about it at the time, but he seemed... I don’t know. Upset. Like he was afraid something he was working on was about to fall through. But while I knew he had a few questionable friends, I never thought he could be this stupid.”
“Do you think he wanted to tell you the truth?”
She pondered his question for a minute. “Looking back, I think he didn’t know what to do and had no idea what the consequences were going to be. He’s not a horrible person. Just in way over his head.”
“What about his airline ticket? Where had he planned to go when he left you?”
“He was planning to fly to Morocco.”
“Did he know anyone there?” Colton asked.
“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me much about his plans.”
The bottom line was that Trent was going to have to come forward on his own. But he wasn’t sure her brother was man enough to do so.
He shot her a reassuring smile, hoping to convince her that this wasn’t a hopeless situation. “You said Salif mentioned he had a sat phone.”
“Yeah.”
“If we could somehow get a hold of it, it’s possible for someone on the outside to track the phone through the built-in GPS.”
“Even if we were able to manage that, who would we call?”
Colton knew that with the growing number of terrorist organizations that threatened American interests, there were special operations located throughout North Africa.
“I have no idea how many special operations bases there are, but I do know that the US has a footprint all over Africa, including the Sahara. And while our government might not pay ransom, there are military resources who might be able to help.”
Lexi frowned. “They didn’t help with Bret.”
“We didn’t know where he was until I made the swap.”
But could he really expect the US troops to sweep in and snatch them from the middle of the Sahara?
“Do you really think it’s worth the risk?” she asked. “Trying to get the phone?”
“I think we need to keep our eyes open for an opportunity.”
“I asked about Issa and Bret.”
“And?”
“He wouldn’t answer me as to where they were. But he did promise me Issa wasn’t going to rescue us this time.”
“Do you think they’re here?”
“I don’t know, but I do think they have them. It’s the only thing that makes sense. They have the manpower and the weapons to conduct a search. Even if it is in the middle of the desert.”
“What about me?”
“Salif didn’t say anything about you.”
It was strange they hadn’t brought him to talk with Salif. Was Becca’s life truly in danger? Or were they waiting to find Bret so they would have more leverage?
* * *
The dreams were back. He was running again. This time through an endless brick maze, with faceless men behind him. They were gaining on him. For every step he took, they came closer until they were breathing down his neck.
Colton opened his eyes where he lay on the hard mat and stared up. His heart pounding as if he had actually been running. In the faint light, he could see Lexi on the other side of the tent. He wasn’t sure if she was sleeping, but if she was, he didn’t want to wake her. She needed her rest. They both did. And they also needed a plan.
He’d heard the fear in her voice. She believed without a doubt that Salif would follow through with his threats. And he had to admit she was probably right.
He drew in a deep breath, trying to slow down his breathing. No matter what they did, it seemed like a no-win situation.
So what were they supposed to do? They’d have as much of a chance of delivering the moon as they would have coming up with the two million dollars. And who knew where Lexi’s brother was, or if they found him, if there was any money left to repay the partner he’d embezzled from.
So what happens now, God?
Becca and Noah were in hiding. He had no way to communicate with anyone for help. They could make a run for it and pray they didn’t get shot in the process. He wasn’t sure he believed Issa and Bret had been captured, but if they had, would he and Lexi be sealing their fates if they ran?
“Colton?”
He turned back over, the sudden movement shooting pain through his head. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust.
“Lexi?”
“No, it’s Issa.”
“Issa?”
“Don’t talk right now, but I need you to get up. I’m going to get you and Lexi out of here.”
Colton had to still be dreaming.
Issa couldn’t be here. Or maybe it was a trap.
“Colton? We don’t have time to wait. I need you to come with me now.”