Shallow Remains of a Betrayal

Prologue

Somewhere in Syria

Footsteps echoed down the hallway outside her prison cell. Maddy’s heart rocketed into her throat.

They’d come back.

An icy wave of terror crashed over her. She swallowed, her breath choppy and shallow in the cold, stygian darkness.

Oh God, what were they going to do to her now? They’d already interrogated her. She’d told them over and over that she didn’t know anything. That she couldn’t give them the intel they wanted about some joint coalition op happening near Damascus.

She jumped when the door slammed against the wall with a loud thud. Couldn’t see anything through the blindfold they’d put on her, the loss of sight adding to her disorientation.

People shuffled into the cell. Multiple male voices spoke around her in Arabic, too fast for her to catch more than a word or two.

Her swollen fingers gripped the rope that bound her wrists behind her to the metal chair, long since gone numb from cold and lack of circulation. The fear ratcheted higher with each agonizing second until it threatened to choke her.

A rough hand seized her hair and wrenched her head back. “You think you can keep the answers from us?” the man said in heavily accented English. The same one who had interrogated her before.

She didn’t dare move. No point in trying to fight. There was no escape. She was bound and helpless, unable to defend herself or stop any of this.

It didn’t matter what she said. Even if she gave them what they wanted, they’d still kill her. “I already t-told you, I don’t kn-now.” Her voice shook as hard as the rest of her. The anticipation of more fear and pain congealed in the pit of her stomach.

Cruel fingers gripped her hair tighter. Pulled until she hissed in a breath at the pain across her scalp, down her neck. “You don’t think we can make you talk?”

The enjoyment in that deceptively silken voice sent another chill down her spine.

She shook her head. Or tried to against the brutal hold on her hair. She was just a civilian IT contractor. Wasn’t trained to handle anything like this. “I’m not m-military—”

A harsh command in Arabic cut her off. Then a wet cloth landed on her face.

It stuck to every inch of it like a second skin. Blocked her nose and mouth. Cut off her air.

She thrashed in a futile effort to dislodge it, fought to break free as panic engulfed her.

Then water ran nearby.

No!

She went rigid as horror sliced through her. The wet cloth blocked her airway. Smothered her.

Guttural, animalistic sounds tore from her throat as they held her there. Trapped in an agony of suspense as she waited for them to half-drown her over and over—

The door burst open behind her. She jerked when an explosion ripped through the air.

The hand in her hair let go. She flung her head from side to side in a desperate attempt to dislodge the wet cloth.

Shouts echoed through the room.

She flung her head forward. The cloth fell off.

She sucked in a tortured breath. Flinched as rapid gunshots rang out. Braced for a bullet to tear through her.

Then…a terrible, deafening silence. So loud it echoed in her ears.

“Clear,” a voice called out.

She stiffened.

English. No accent.

Before she could process that, a firm hand closed on her shoulder. “Maddy, it’s me.”

The low voice was urgent. Familiar.

Blaine? She didn’t trust her ears.

“It’s okay now, you’re safe. I’ve got you.” He started to untie her wrists.

“Hurry,” a flat male voice said from behind her. “We need to move.”

Her numb arms fell to her sides the instant her hands were free. Someone tugged the blindfold off.

She squinted down at the man crouched in front of her in the dim light, afraid to believe her eyes.

But no. Blaine was there. Dressed in tactical gear as he undid the rope around her ankles.

Behind him, the bodies of the men who had taken her captive lay strewn across the floor, pools of blood spreading over the concrete.

She sucked in a shaky breath. Choked back a sob as a hot rush of tears scalded her eyes. “B-Blaine…”

He looked up at her. Gave her a reassuring smile, but his hazel eyes burned with rage. “Yeah, Mads, I’ve got you.”

He scooped her up in his arms and stood. Held her against his chest as he strode for the door. “Now let’s get you the hell out of here.”