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Reluctantly he nodded. “If she’s not near, or if she is and you can’t get her attention, come back. Any trouble at all...come back.”
“Don’t worry.” She adjusted her holster, moving it to her back so she could more easily crawl on her belly if necessary.
She took the small penlight then gave him a kiss.
He pulled her against him, his lips ravishing hers, opening her mouth, bending her back as if the passion in the kiss would somehow protect her. When he let her go, they stood looking at each other as if it was the last time they’d get to do that. He pushed that thought from his mind. It wouldn’t happen. She was too skilled, too smart, and he cared for her too much.
“Be careful.”
“No worries,” she said, her lips red from his kisses.
She turned and ducked into the tunnel. He shone his light on her until she disappeared and all he wanted to do was follow her.
He was left to wait. He couldn’t leave his post. He had to remain there, waiting in case she might need him.
He paced.
* * *
THE TUNNEL NARROWED almost immediately and then opened up so that Kate was able to walk with her head down. The rock was cool and the passage narrow enough that her shoulders occasionally scraped rock. She could hear faint scratching and movement from somewhere within the tunnel and her flashlight caught sight of a black beetle that froze and then scurried away. She could see why children used this route, but a grown adult wouldn’t as at one point she was doubled over and her knees were bent.
The low ceiling and the narrowness had her fighting feelings of claustrophobia and wrestling with the idea of retreating. A minute later she came around a turn and then another going right and then left. Suddenly she could hear male laughter and saw a flicker of light. She turned off the penlight.
The smell of cigarette smoke wafted around her and was intertwined with the smell of burning wood and of what she guessed might be the smoke from a campfire. She squatted, knowing she was near the exit, and waited. If she were able to smell the cigarette smoke over the fire, then the smoker wasn’t far from her position. She waited, sniffing the air. Five minutes passed before she could smell nothing but the fire. Whoever the smoker had been, they’d either put it out or moved away. She had to take her chances and hope it was the latter.
She got down on her hands and knees and crawled the remaining distance as the tunnel twisted before she saw another flicker of light. There was a palm tree growing up against the rock, partially hiding the opening. She could see the snap of flames about fifty feet away and as she looked down there was a movement. But she couldn’t make out anything in the dark. She squatted back on her heels. As she contemplated what to do next, the night sky cleared and the moon shone bright and revealing. She looked down and met the terrified eyes of Sheikka Tahriha Al-Nassar.
Kate put her fingers to her lips and the woman nodded while avidly watching her. She pointed at Tara and then back at the tunnel where she crouched so that it was clear what she wanted her to do and where she wanted her to go, once she managed to free her. It was a backup plan, nothing else. So that if anything happened to her, as long as she was untied, Tara could still get out and to safety.
Kate looked toward the campfire and saw that there were three men. She could hear their voices and laughter and, as the flames danced, she could also see that they were sitting with their backs to her. The tricky part would be getting Tara free, for they could see in the moonlight as easily as Kate could.
She slid down the path that wound steeply from the tunnel to the hill. She kept low and used her feet to control and steer her way while remaining hidden from the men by the shrubbery growing up against the hill.
With a bump she was on her butt on level ground and the only thing that stood between her and discovery was a grassy bush and another palm tree. She looked over and Tara was watching her. Kate shook her head and the woman looked away.
She could see that Tara’s hands were tied behind her back and secured to the trunk of a palm tree. She could also see that they’d only used rope. They obviously hadn’t expected much resistance and she hadn’t expected that it would be that easy. She fished the knife she always carried out of her pocket. It couldn’t be called a pocketknife but it couldn’t be called a hunting knife, either. All she knew was that it could slide through any kind of rope with ease.
She held her breath, watching the men. They were caught up in their conversation, and none was paying attention. She’d be in the open for a minute, the time it took to get to Tara. She just needed Tara to back up against the palm tree. She waited until the woman glanced at her and she motioned to the tree. Tara moved until her back was pressed against it.
Smart, Kate thought. So far she was following every cue with ease.
Kate moved in swiftly, keeping low to the ground. Within a minute Tara was free and Kate had given her whispered directions and she was off.
Kate turned on her heels, moving to face the kidnappers; it only took a second but it was enough. As she went to follow Tara she was grabbed roughly from behind.
“What are you doing?” the male voice snarled in Arabic.
“Run!” she yelled at Tara and saw her scramble up the last few feet and disappear into the tunnel.
His grip on her arm was so tight Kate bit her lip against the pain as he twisted her around.
“Where’s the sheikka? Where is she?” he roared, his face half hidden by a shaggy beard, his eyes wild, not focusing on her as his hand bit into her arm.
Her other arm was free and with it she quietly moved to reach her gun without drawing his attention to what she was doing.
But as he looked up toward the tunnel, he yanked her arm hard, ramming it up between her shoulders and making her bite back a shriek of pain, causing her other hand to drop from where she had been inching toward her weapon.
“Get her back! Get her now!” he shrieked into her face.
“Run, Tara!” Kate screamed and it was the last thing she did as her captor’s fist connected with her jaw.
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