Faris would be alerted that she was here. Then, he’d probably want to chat. It made the most sense for her to sit and wait until that moment. Just meet with him and improvise an attack. The question remained, how long was he going to make her wait down here? She took in another deep breath and noticed for the first time how heavy her eyelids felt. She allowed them to slide shut. Sleep wasn’t a bad idea… it would help pass the time.
But sleep never came.
“Xander,” she whispered. “I tried.”
Having never felt more alone and trapped in her life, all she could do was cry.
• • •
Blinding pain. Water everywhere. Then nothing.
Xander couldn’t figure out what was happening as he fought the blackness. He couldn’t stay like this. He couldn’t leave Leila alone with that man.
Voices echoed. White-hot pain burst through his arms and chest. For a moment, he could make out blurry faces until the darkness overtook them again.
He woke up, alone, in a dim room, one wrist handcuffed to a metal rail as he lay on a rock-hard bunk. He groaned at the dizziness that greeted him and tried to lift his free hand to his forehead, but his arm wouldn’t move. He glanced down. His entire limb was tightly wrapped in a sling.
With a moan, he flopped his head back on the pillow. So, the SIS finally got him. But what about Leila? Was she here too? He wasn’t sure what would be better for her—on that boat with Montu or here as Jones’s prisoner? Or was she dead like poor Pete? His heart felt as if it would rip in two. He had to know if she was okay.
His gaze wandered the room, landing on the small, rolling table at his left. A few of his effects had been scattered over the surface, deemed unimportant. One of them was the wooden box, still in its freezer bag.
The memory of the first moment he’d seen the artifact beckoned him to return and lose himself in that moment. Leila sat under the outcrop in the desert, turning the artifact in her hands. He could still smell the dirt, hear the silence of the desert, feel the heat of the sun. If only he could go back and do things over.
What path will you take?
“He’s awake,” someone said quietly from the doorway. Footsteps pounded toward his room.
“Harrison,” a familiar voice barked.
Xander slid his eyes shut. Jones. The last person on earth he wanted to see right now.
His eyes snapped open when he realized the agent had planted himself beside the bunk. Jones grabbed a handful of Xander’s shirt, raised a fist, and shook it in front of Xander’s nose. The man had deep scratches across his face—probably from when Xander tried to run him over with the UPS truck.
“How’s Walker?” Xander asked.
“He’s alive,” Jones growled through his teeth. “But you’re going to regret everything you’ve done. I should kill you right now and put you out of your misery.”
Go ahead, then. Xander stopped himself from saying it. From the look of fury on the man’s face, there was no reason not to believe Jones wouldn’t go through with it. And then Xander would never find out what happened to Leila. Instead, he glared at Jones.
“Where’s Leila?”
Jones growled and gave Xander a shake. “You’re going to tell me.”
“So, she got away?”
Jones lifted his other fist.
“How’d you find us?” Xander asked quickly. Keep him talking.
“You have two GPS chips, idiot.”
It would figure. They knew where he was the entire time.
“Where’s the second one?”
“Give me a second and I’ll show it to you myself,” Jones spat. His fist jerked forward, but a firm voice called out from the doorway, stopping him.
“Jones, I thought we agreed I’d get to talk to him first?”
Hawkins. Xander’s mouth twitched in triumph. Jones wouldn’t do anything stupid in front of an audience. He let go of Xander’s shirt and took a step back, glaring at Hawkins as she strode across the room.
Hawkins clicked her tongue and shook her head as she looked at Xander. “What’s this all about, Harrison? You’re in so much trouble.”
“First, tell me where Leila is,” he croaked.
The woman pursed her lips. After a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke. “Last I know, she was still on that boat. We didn’t follow. We needed to return to land for your medical treatment.”
Xander cursed under his breath, his mind whirling. Leila, stuck with Montu. Did he try to kill her too? He obviously wasn’t on their side. What if he’d been working for Faris and it was his job to carry out his boss’s threats? Maybe, just maybe, Montu took Leila to the island alive. He glanced over at the wooden box and his heart twisted. Even though he knew Leila would show Montu the same fierceness she’d shown Walker, he couldn’t just accept defeat and leave her to the wolves. He couldn’t fail her now.
My little bird, do not doubt me.
Turning his head back to Jones and Hawkins, Xander spoke. “We need to go after her. She needs help. That man with her, the bloke who shot me—”
Hawkins raised a hand to silence him. “We’re not doing anything until you answer my questions. You’re lucky enough we didn’t throw you straight in prison. Don’t test me now.”
Xander looked between Hawkins and Jones, his shoulder throbbing, the heat intensifying. He couldn’t mess this up. His next words would either mean freedom and saving Leila or lights out.
He swallowed. He’d been bashing and crashing around Northern Africa, the Middle East, and now Europe. It had only made things worse.
