I did not know the lack of emotion could be so terrifying.
“My father is very sorry for all of this,” Sergio says, shrugging his shoulders. “If you had not been home when Daniel broke into your apartment…all of this could have been avoided. But once Mr. Basher interfered…”
“Daniel attacked me! Leo was only trying to protect me,” I scream.
Sergio levels a stern gaze at me. “We are in a basement, Domina. There are two solid wood doors between the stairs and the main floor of the house. Make as much noise as you want. No one will hear you.”
I slump back against the wall. Right now, I need information. And to conserve my strength.
“Leo Basher stopped us from killing Cortez at the rally. His warnings ensured we could not get to him today at the hotel either. So now, he will do it for us. And you, Domina, are the key to our success. Tomorrow, after Cortez is dead, my father will be declared the winner. If you do not cause trouble and do what you are told, once that happens, we will let you go.”
“I have seen your faces, Sergio. I know you have to kill me too. I am not a fool.”
He leans forward in the chair, the gun still firmly in his hand. “When my father runs this country, we will own you. As well as the National Police, the Institutional Protection Service, and the rest of the agents at the Ministry of Public Service. So we do not have to kill you. If you tellanyonewe orchestrated this entire thing, you will disappear. Along with every person you haveevercared about.”
His words sink in, and I want to cry. Scream. Force his hand so he shoots me and I do not have to be a pawn in this ugly, terrible game.
“Your father is a tyrant. Under his rule, the people of Panama will be worse off than we were fifty years ago!”
“Watch your tone, Domina,” Sergio says. “My father is a true patriot. You will see. He will return Panama to its former glory. Now, tell me what you know about Major General Austin Pritchard and the other man who flew to Panama with him.”
My mind races. Sergio knows Austin’s name. That means he has contacts at the Ministry, or there is a traitor in the Presidential Palace. My only hope—Leo’s only hope—is if sometime before tomorrow, they let me talk to him.
“You can do whatever you want to me.” I stagger to my feet, using the wall for support. My ankle buckles, but I refuse to let myself fall. “Since you seem to have so much information on Leo already, you must know there is no way he will do what you want unless he isverysure I am alive and unharmed.”
Sergio rises and advances on me. I sidestep him—or try to. My heel catches on an uneven tile, and my knees slam into the ground. He presses the barrel of the gun to my temple.
This is the end. He’s going to kill me, and I’ll never see Leo again.
But after a full minute where I do not dare move, Sergio swears under his breath. “Fucking bitch.” He shoves the gun back into the holster and kicks the chair into the hall. The door slams, the sound so loud, it hurts my ears.
But it’s thethunkof the lock that breaks me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Leo
Five hours.Domina was taken five hours ago. We questioned Omar and Isobel, Zephyr cloned Rafael’s phone, and Trevor and Austin haven’t stopped making calls since we returned to my apartment. Even with the non-stop activity, all I can do is sit on my ruined couch and stare out the patio doors.
I’ve called her phone a dozen times. Zephyr can’t ping it, so whoever has her turned it off or destroyed it.
“Leo!” Trevor shakes my shoulder, and training takes over. My fist flies toward his face, but with no depth perception, I miss. By a lot. “You’re on my last nerve. We’re trying to help you.”
“You should have left me in that goddamn black site!” I shout. “Domina might have been in police custody then, but at least she wassafe!”
Trevor snorts. “The hell she was. The National Police took her phone, refused to let her call a lawyer, and probably would have held her for weeks without charges. I know things look like shit right now, but wewillget her back. Assuming you pull your head out of your ass and help us.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “How the fuck do you think this is going to work? Zephyr lost the van less than two minutes after the tracker went dead. The traffic cameras over half the city went out. Clearly we’re not dealing with amateurs here. Domina could be anywhere right now. We don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
Austin shoves his chair so hard, it tips over and slams against the tile floor. I’ve never seen him this mad—not even when I was a complete jerk to him and Dani in Venezuela.
“Think, Leo. If these fuckwits wanted her dead, they would have killed her at the hotel. My guess? She knows something about Cortez, his security, or his movements that Muñoz thinks will give them a better chance to kill the Vice President before the polls close.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better? They’ll torture her, Austin. Until there’s nothing ofherleft. And then they’ll kill her.” I jerk to my feet, desperate for a minute of fresh air, but before I take two steps, my phone rings. The name on the screen stops me in my tracks.
Domina.
I lock eyes with Austin. He doesn’t hesitate. Before the next ring, he tosses me a cable so I can plug my mobile into his computer. “Keep them talking as long as you can.”
