CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Her arms ached from being tied to the chair and her shoulder was on fire. Her cheek throbbed where her captor had hit her. “Please stop.”
“You will die today, whore.” Spittle hit her cheek and she flinched.
She struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists, her breathing rapid and out of control. “No.”
“Allahu Akbar,” his minions echoed.
No!A sob tore through her. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Where was her rescue? Where were the good guys?
She whimpered as she watched the blade rise over her head. She squeezed her eyes closed.
Pleasegod, pleasegod, pleasegod.
An explosion rocked the building, sending dust and small chunks of mud plaster raining down on them.
Emma coughed from the dust filling the room.Thank you, god.She heard thepop pop popof gunfire and knew he was going to come through the door and kill her captors. She just had to be patient.
The door burst open. One of the captors fell as he was shot. Jordan strode through the door, his gun at the ready. He raised his weapon and took aim at the captor with the machete, but then he stopped.
He looked at her, lowered his gun, turned, and walked away from her.
“Jordan!” She pulled at the ropes cutting against her wrists, suddenly tied in front of her. “Jordan! Please! I’m sorry!”
The dust and smoke swallowed him as he walked away.
The machete glinted as it rose over her head and she screamed.
“Emme! Emme!”
Her father’s voice yanked her from her dream and she gasped as she opened her eyes. Blinking against the bright light of her bedside table, she turned her head.
He pushed her hair away from her face. “It was a dream, baby girl.”
She nodded into the pillow as a sob wracked her body. She’d had them for the past thirteen nights. Ever since she’d asked Jordan about his promotion…and he’d never called her back.
“Talk to me, Emme. You called out Jordan’s name.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“You still haven’t heard from him?”
She shook her head. He muttered under his breath and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “What?”
“Nothing worth repeating. Do you want to tell me about your dreams?”
Shaking her head, she rolled so she was facing him. “I know why I’m having them, Dad.”
“Do you?
She sighed. “I dream about when I was kidnapped, right before I was rescued. When I was—” How was she supposed to tell her dad how close she came to dying?
“I read Titan’s report, Emme. I know what happened.”
“Oh.” That explains why he never asked about it. In a way she was grateful — she could talk about it without having to retell the events. “So you know it was close. When I opened my eyes, Jordan was standing in front of me calling me Emme Lou Who and asking if I was ready to go home.” She picked at the sheet next to her hand. “In my dream he turns around and walks away. Leaves me where I am.”
She chanced a peek at her dad. “You know it’s just a dream, right?” he asked.
