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But that had been a raid, not a rescue. There were different rules of engagement. Even knowing they’d be careful, there would be cross fire. And she’d screwed up her rescue once, so they might be leery of what she’d do this time.
Still, this was different. She’d signaled for them. Surely they’d get it that she wanted to be rescued now. Of course, it all depended on them figuring out the Four of Diamonds clue. What if Morgan and Freya hadn’t seen the video?
There were so many potential pitfalls. She’d spent the last six weeks focused on what she needed to do and refusing to consider the worst-case scenarios.
Now all those worst cases came crashing down.
So here she was, giddy with excitement and frozen with fear. She was the Diana she’d been the day Salim had proposed, and also the Diana who’d been trapped in a car with a mangled ankle and bleeding-out fiancé.
She closed her eyes and listened to the even breathing of Bassam, who slept in front of the door.
She was not permitted to move unescorted through this house. This was a prison in a way being stranded in the desert was not.
Now her hands were tied and one of her guards blocked the doorway.
Any SEAL attempting a rescue would have to go through Bassam to get to her. This time, she wouldn’t let Bassam have the upper hand. His knife wouldn’t get near her neck. She’d trained with Morgan. Knowing the fight was coming, she’d stop Bassam’s attack at the first sign of commotion in the corridor.
She practiced what she’d do in her mind. Her body coiled with tension as she waited for even the softest of footsteps.
When dawn lit the sky, she felt warm, silent tears sliding down her cheek.
Had she somehow missed it? Had they come like Santa, stealthy and silent, but then didn’t find her and left?
Impossible.
She hadn’t slept for even a minute. She hadn’t missed a telltale sound. If they’d been here, she’d know.
And they’d have searched every room for her.
Was it possible the tracker hadn’t worked? Had the battery died?
Or had the US military decided she wasn’t worth saving? Why save a woman who rejected their first rescue?
She rubbed the spot on her arm once again. Maybe she’d missed the tracker’s location yesterday. Maybe it was just now going off.
But deep down, she knew that there were only two options, both of them bad.
Either the tracker had failed or the SEALs weren’t coming. She’d destroyed an archaeological site and given up information a great man had died to protect.
All for nothing.
Her work would fund terrorism, and more children would die.
Chapter Sixteen
The metallic taste of fear sat in the back of Diana’s throat as she carefully unpacked the artifacts, cleaned them, then set them on a table to display for a monster’s inspection and approval.
She swiped at tears as she worked, her inability to stop them telling her that after six weeks of captivity, six weeks of doing the unthinkable, she’d finally broken.
She could not stop crying.
These weren’t the gut-wrenching sobs of grief that had consumed her after waking in the hospital knowing Salim was gone. No. These were the slow trickle of tears of lost hope, of knowing she’d broken Fahd’s trust for nothing.
She would die here, possibly—probably—today.
Bassam and Jamal worked alongside her. Jamal gave her curious looks. The unending tears were impossible to miss.
Her thoughts on the brothers had swayed back and forth over the last weeks. Bassam wasn’t necessarily kinder than his brother, but he understood the system better. He was willing to play the brute in front of others, but when it was just the three of them, he knew Diana would work better if she didn’t live in constant fear.
