Phoebe stared at the clock. Four hours twenty-two minutes. How much had he been forced to endure already? What had he been through in the hours she’d been sitting in this hotel room?

“Stop thinking about it.” Erin’s head fell back with a groan. She was sitting on the couch, the same place she’d sunk into an hour and a half before.

Theo stopped his pacing. “How is she supposed to stop thinking about it? I’m not in love with the dude and I’m thinking about it.”

Kamdar crossed one leg over another and sat back. “I am thinking of this as well. Mr. Murdoch did me great service once. I don’t like the idea that he’s being tormented in a non-sexual fashion.”

“Yeah, well you would know all about the other,” Theo muttered under his breath.

Erin brought her head up and sent Theo a glare that could freeze water. “Give the dude a break. He’s now bankrolling this whole enterprise and he put his butt on the line, too.”

Kamdar looked as innocent as a decadent royal could look. “My buttocks are strong and completely at your disposal, Miss Argent.”

Erin sighed before turning to Phoebe. “Think about nice things. Get your head out of whatever horror show is playing through it and picture something nice.”

“I’m not going to be able to think about puppies and babies right now.”

Erin’s face screwed up in distaste. “Eww. Both of those things poop. I was thinking about what’s going on behind that door. I bet they’ve ripped off his fingernails by now. Maybe waterboarded the fucker. I don’t care what the Agency says. That shit is awful. And beautiful in its own way.”

Theo shook his head, a look of horror on his face. “What is wrong with you? Were you deprived of love as a child? Did someone drop you on your head and destroy the center of your brain that controls your humanity?”

If Erin was offended, she didn’t show it. “Nah. I grew up with three brothers and a four-star general father. Ma left when I was two. Hooked up with some academic type. I was the youngest and I was raised by a barbarian horde. Hit the military when I was eighteen and haven’t looked back. Look, some chicks dig rom coms and quilting. I study torture techniques, and that’s why it’s so fucking unfair that I get left out here at the kiddie table.”

Kamdar leaned toward her. “When we return to my island, I will bring you many men to torture. I will begin with my cousin. He annoys me greatly.”

“I’m right here, asshole.” Chapal had taken up the cause as well, joining Hutch at the computers.

“Ignore him. I do. Tell me more about the things you would do to a very, very bad man,” Kamdar said, his voice low. “Go into detail.”

Theo smiled. “Yeah, Erin. Kamdar there wants you to do bad things to him. From what I hear, he kind of likes a little bite of pain.”

Well, at least Theo was happy. According to Jesse, Erin was the sub and she was pretty hard-core. The only torture she was into inflicting was on the real bad guys. Otherwise, she wanted to be on the receiving end. Apparently Theo knew it, too.

“Miss Grant?” Chapal looked up from his system. “I think we have something.”

Finally. She walked over to where Hutch and Chapal had lined up a bank of laptops. “What is it?”

Hutch pointed to his screen. “We found four locations that would work. Two small, unoccupied office buildings and two residences. One of the residences is pretty big though. It’s on the outer edges of the city by the beach.”

“Could they land a helicopter there?”

Chapal nodded. “But there is also a helipad at the two office spaces. We have to consider the fact that they sent him on. It’s possible they’ve already smuggled him out of the country and into Saudi. They could drive, though it’s a long way to Riyadh, where they live.”

The door opened and Ten stepped out. There was no way to miss the blood on his hands and shirt. He was wiping his forearms off as he looked to Phoebe. “I think he’s ready to talk if you want to have a word.”

She nodded, her heart in her throat. She was trained for this, too.

She followed Ten into the room and tried not to think about how Albertson’s shirt had been white at one time.

“Bitch,” he managed between swollen lips. “Do you know what my boss is going to do to you?”

“Nothing if he wants to continue in his current role.” Phoebe kept her voice calm and even. “I can connect the senator to a group known as The Collective. I can also prove that he sold information about our troops to a man who calls himself the Caliph. If you cooperate, I’ll ensure you’re not prosecuted for high treason. Do you understand what the United States does to traitors? Especially traitors during times of war.”

It was all a big bluff, but she meant to make that case. Chelsea was pulling documents together, going through payments and looking into the senator’s accounts.

Albertson’s eyes got wide and she knew she had him. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“But you know something.”

He finally nodded.

Whatever Ten had done had softened him up. “Right now, what I need to know is where the Caliph is.”

“You’re talking about Hani al Fareed. He’s a crazy motherfucker. He’s insane and he broke our deal. If what Smith says is true, you have to know we didn’t know that fucker was going to take Murdoch. Murdoch was supposed to be dead. When we figured out he wasn’t, he was supposed to go home. The senator pulled some strings and the Agency was supposed to call you fuckers home. It’s your fault. You didn’t follow orders.”

She ignored all the problems with his argument because only one thing mattered. “Where would al Fareed go?”

“He’s got a place on the beach, but it’s heavily fortified. I’ve been there. It’s got armed guards all around. I can’t go to jail.” His eyes were glassy when he looked up.

“What’s he on?”

Ten’s face was a complete blank. “A little something the boys in R&D cooked up. First I gave him a shit ton of pain and then I gave him something to take it away because we’re friends, right? Aren’t we friends, Dale?”

The man in the chair nodded. “Good friends. Don’t want to go to jail. If I tell the lady everything, I won’t die here.”

Ten turned back. “The drugs have the added effect of wiping his short-term memory. He’s going to wake up outside the hotel with zero memory of how he got there. Hutch took care of the cameras so our asses are covered.”

Her stomach turned and she understood why Ten wouldn’t let her be involved past the actual questioning. This was psychological torture, the very thing that had been done to Jesse. The thing he might be going through now. It was necessary, but it was ugly and she wondered if her brother dreamed about it. A dream where he was the monster.

“What do you know about al Fareed’s travel plans?” Phoebe asked.

“He flies. He’s like a bird. Private jet.”

Simon stood and walked to the door. “I’ll have Hutch look into it.”

Albertson’s head drooped as though he couldn’t hold it up a moment longer. “You were supposed to go away. Go home. Go home.”

She stepped away and spoke to her brother in a low voice. “We don’t have the firepower to take on a compound.”

“We just have to make it seem like we do. In this case, illusion is more important than reality. We need to do what they did. Distract. We need some chaos. I’m more worried about the authorities being called in. We’re not on firm ground here,” Ten said. “We have to move fast and get him out of there and then we have to split up. We can’t go through the airport. They’ll look for us there. We need quick transport out of this country.”

They would be on the run and because the CIA wouldn’t acknowledge their presence in the country, they would be on their own. They would split up, and she was a little worried she might not see her brother again.

“Jesse would want you to be safe. Maybe you should go to Loa Mali with Kamdar’s people and wait for us there.”

The king had already agreed to give them sanctuary. Of course, he’d actually clapped his hands and pronounced the whole thing a party, but it was really sanctuary. But Ten wasn’t getting rid of her until they absolutely had to break up the team. “Jesse can’t always get what he wants. I’m not leaving this country without him. So we better get ready.”

“Hey, Hutch has something and I was talking to Kamdar about the exit plan. We’ve got everything ready, but he thinks we need to move soon. I agree. The Agency knows where we are. They’ll send someone soon,” Erin said from the doorway. Her eyes lit up. “Oh, he’s so fucked up. Did you break his nose? Can I break some of his fingers?”

Albertson moaned and started crying.

“How did you get past Eve?” Ten asked with a shake of his head.

“Didn’t have to,” Erin replied. “Got past Kai. He likes a little psycho in his chicks, if you know what I mean. And I’m serious. Hutch caught the chopper on a couple of cameras. He’s almost certain it was headed for the beach.”

Then that was where they were going.

* * * *

Jesse let his head fall forward as they took him out of the shackles and began to drag him across the floor. Blood soaked his back. He wasn’t sure how long they’d gone on. Twenty lashes? Fifty? He’d lost count, lost all sense of time. He was fairly certain they’d left him hanging by the shackles for a while.

He thought they would drop him onto the cot, but they kept going. He forced his head up, his heart threatening to pound through his rib cage. Where were they taking him?

He was certain they hadn’t left Dubai. He could still hear the ocean and he’d heard someone talking about the conference. They were still close, and if they were close then Phoebe and Si would be looking for him. They would have a chance, but if he got moved to another country… It had taken them months to find him before, and the Caliph would be smarter this time.

No. Al Fareed. His name was Hani al Fareed and Jesse wasn’t going to give him that power anymore. Like fucking Voldemort.

Phoebe would be proud of him.

Power. There was power in knowledge, in intelligence. He was supposed to do that. Gather intelligence. He’d forgotten it the first time. He’d given in to pain and despair, but he was more than just a grunt. He looked down at the floor. Polished marble. Expensive. He was in a residence. There were closed doors to his left and a half wall to his right. Upstairs. At least two floors. He would have to look out that window to figure out how far up he was.

They walked past a guard who stood by the stairwell, an AK-47 over his shoulder. He was lazy, leaning against the wall and not paying a lick of attention to anything but his phone. Jesse’s bodyguards muttered about it under their breaths, complaining that the guards here in Dubai were slacking.

He could use that.

“You need to get this one cleaned up and ready for transport. The boss will be in here soon. We’re leaving for the airport after his speech at the conference, so you need to keep this shit calm for the next few hours,” the larger of the two men said, this time in English.

He was dragged into a much bigger room, this one painted white. Antiseptic hit his nostrils and he had another shitty moment.

There had been a doctor. How could he have forgotten? There was always a trip to the “clinic” after the sessions. Couldn’t have the dog dying, now could they? The Cal…al Fareed would join him and the fucker would talk.

So much damn talking. Jesse was pretty sure he preferred the whip to having to listen to that fucker talk about how screwed up Western society was.

“Ah, Mr. Murdoch. Lovely to see you again.” The doctor was a skinny fellow with a receding hairline. He spoke English with a British accent, but Jesse thought he remembered hearing the man was from Pakistan. “It’s been a while since I had a subject. Our Caliph has been playing by the rules since he lost you. Put him on the bed. Facedown. I need to clean those wounds.”

Jesse groaned as they shoved him onto the medical bed. It was taller than a normal cot and twice as uncomfortable. His body ached, but he knew what was coming would be so much worse.

Could he do it? Could he run if he had the chance? He wouldn’t let them kill him. He had far too much to live for. This wasn’t some insane suicide mission. He would take the pain if he had to, endure the humiliation, but if he had a shot, he would take that, too.

The doctor seemed to be preparing some sort of tray, likely filled with shit that would make him howl. “I was surprised you would even place yourself on the same continent as the Caliph. You seemed a bit smarter of a lad.”

Jesse groaned and pretended to try to move his head. He let it fall back down, a conscious show of weakness. Let them think he couldn’t move, but already he felt adrenaline starting to pump through his system. He’d heard the door close, but not the snick of a lock. He was alone with the doctor.

“And you’ve lost some of your will.” The doctor clucked like a sad mother hen as he brought the tray over. Jesse could see it sitting almost within grasp of his left hand. There were a few bottles on it, some bandages, and what looked like tape. He caught the gleam of something metal. Scissors for the tape. And naturally there was a hypodermic needle. Narcotics. They loved their narcotics. He couldn’t let them inject him. He would be helpless when they came, unable to signal to his team.

“No,” he said without lifting his head. “The will is still there. It’s the body that’s weak. I’m out of practice being beaten half to death.”

“I suspect our leader will get you right back into practice. You were always his favorite, you know. He’s risked a lot to get you back.”

Awesome. The one place he was teacher’s pet. “Where is he going to take me?”

“He has a home in Riyadh. I suspect we’ll go there in order to keep up appearances.” He slipped a blood pressure cuff around Jesse’s limp arm and went through the motions. “His business partners will be a tad upset if they discover what he’s done, so he’ll try to keep it under wraps. He’ll go through with his speech and behave as though nothing has happened. Once we’re certain the heat has died down, as you Americans say, then we will move you to our training compound.”

“So he’s training terrorists now?” The cuff slipped off his arm.

The doctor made a note on the chart. “Soldiers. They are soldiers in our war, and yes, we are building our army. You’ll be our little mascot, I think. You Westerners love mascots.”

He would be the Caliph’s grand experiment. He would be tortured and brainwashed until one day he forgot who he was and where he came from and became nothing but a weapon for them to use. “I think I’ll have to get away before that happens.”

The doctor picked up a bottle. “I doubt that. This is going to hurt quite a bit.”

Pure hellfire rained on his back and Jesse let out a shout. Alcohol. The bastard poured alcohol on his open wounds. The pain nearly made him faint. He saw the edges of his peripheral vision begin to fade.

That was it. Play possum. Look weak.

He let his whole body go limp and knew the next few moments would be some of the worst of his life, but he would get through them. When the second assault came, he somehow managed to stay still.

He heard the door open, heard that horrible voice again. “He is well?”

The doctor sighed. “He passed out. I suppose the pain was too much.”

It was hell to keep his eyes closed. It went against every instinct he possessed. He needed to see, needed to fight. But he remained still.

Patience. Breathe in. Breathe out. Wait for the moment.

He heard Big Tag’s voice and then Simon’s.

Have faith. Wait for your team. We won’t let you down.

But mostly he heard her voice.

I love you.

He beat the panic back by concentrating on those voices. Slowly, the fire across his skin settled to a low but manageable ache.

“Your brother can’t be happy with you,” the doctor said. “I’m going to need to stitch a couple of these.”

“Do what you need to do. I want him healthy.” Jesse felt the man move, place his hand on Jesse’s ankle. It made his skin crawl. “When I break him, he will be my masterpiece, my proof that righteous will bends all to the truth.”

Now he was going to vomit. Asshole. His greatest enemy was right there. He could kill the Caliph, but would probably die in the process. At one point in time, he would have done it. It would have been worth it. He would have traded his life for even one shot at revenge, but that time had passed. He would trade all the revenge in the world for one shot at a life with Phoebe.

“As for my brother, I believe his usefulness is coming to an end. He’s too close to the truth, and he would undo everything I’ve done. I caught him in my office. I think he suspects I’m working with the senator.”

That was interesting. He needed to hold on to that little tidbit.

“You should dose him before you continue,” al Fareed said. “I wouldn’t want him to damage himself. That’s my job.”

The doctor sighed. “Fine, but I have my own experiments. I want a couple of my own subjects. Are you sure you can’t capture his friends? I saw the red-haired woman. I would love to spend some time taking the arrogance out of her.”

Erin. He was a bastard because he was relieved they weren’t talking about Phoebe, but he would be damned if he would let them take Erin either. He couldn’t watch another team member die.

He heard the door open. “They’re gone. Their plane took off a few hours ago. The Agency themselves verified it. He’s alone. I have no doubt that Smith fellow will look, but this time I’ll be ready for him. I’ll send him back to the States in pieces. Perhaps I’ll send parts of him to newspapers. That would create some chaos. I think I’ll start with the New York Times.” He laughed, a truly nasty sound. “It’s going to be a new world. With Ibrahim gone, I won’t need to hide any longer. Get him ready to go. I want to leave as soon as possible.”

The door closed and once again he did not hear a lock.

They were getting complacent.

“So your friends have all abandoned you. Poor boy. And you don’t need painkillers. He’s being too indulgent with you.”

Pain flared as the doctor started to sew the places where the whip had opened his flesh. This time Jesse welcomed it. He even gave the fucker a good groan.

He opened his eyes. The scissors were there, waiting to be used. They weren’t terrifically sharp, but they would do.

He heard the sound of something rattling floors below.

The doctor stopped and turned to the door.

Jesse moved, forcing his body to work. He ignored the pain, ignored the fear. He focused. The scissors were in his hand and in one smooth move, he planted them in the doctor’s neck. He never gave the man a chance to scream. With aching arms, he held the doctor tight until the scissors had done their job and he went limp.

Think. Think. Adrenaline rushed through him, making it easier to focus. The doctor had a gun. Jesse pulled it from the holster on his waist. He couldn’t make too much noise, but he would use it if he had to.

The hypodermic needle was much quieter, though it could only be used once.

He glanced out the window. Too far up. He couldn’t jump and there wasn’t enough roof to land on. But he could see the ocean. If he was on the ocean, he couldn’t be far from others. Al Fareed had said he was going to the conference. That meant they were still in Dubai, and it was a well-populated city. He had a shot.

First, he had to get out. He had to find a way to communicate with his team.

There was another bang and the floor seemed to shake. Jesse flattened against the wall, holding back a groan as his back hit. The door flew open and the guard strode in. His eyes immediately went to the doctor’s body, and that gave Jesse the shot he needed. Two steps and he plunged the needle into the man’s neck. The guard turned, but his movements were already slowing. He hit his knees and then his body fell beside the doctor’s.

And Jesse had another gun. It looked like he would be making some noise on his way out, but he wasn’t the only one.

He opened the door as quietly as he could. Gunfire. No way to mistake the sound. It peppered the air around him in short volleys and then he could hear someone shouting.

Chaos. It was a soldier’s enemy but an operative’s friend.

He took a deep breath and stepped out. He looked back at the stairs. They were his best bet. He flicked the safety off both guns and made his way.

Pain flared as he felt a bullet hit his left shoulder. He went down on one knee, pivoted, and took his own shot. The second guard. He was approaching, but stopped suddenly and looked down at the hole forming in his chest. He shouted out, but Jesse was already on the move again.

He stopped at the top of the stairs and surveyed the battle that was going on below. The front doors had been blasted through and hung limply on their sides. Two men lay on the marble below, though they twitched and moved. Smoke was beginning to dissipate, but it looked like someone had chucked a grenade or two through the door.

Or C-4. Erin. She liked to play with explosives and she wouldn’t hesitate to try to rescue him.

“Are you coming or not?”

Jesse looked down and Simon strode through the wrecked door, his gaze on the stairs. Though he was wearing all black, including a black cap covering his hair, Jesse would know Si anywhere. Theo was behind him, watching Si’s back. The sweetest sense of relief pierced him. Months he’d lain in a cell, every day a pure torture, losing piece after piece of himself and he hadn’t even dreamed of rescue.

He hadn’t doubted it for a moment this time.

He wouldn’t dream about it again. The Caliph had utterly lost his power over Jesse Murdoch.

Jesse took the steps two at a time. “Where’s Phoebe?”

“She’s with Ten. They came in the back,” Simon explained. “Erin is causing as much chaos as she can, and Hutch took over the security system. He’s relaying everything he can to us.”

Jesse heard the sound of a window breaking and then the house shook again. Yes, Erin was likely enjoying her work.

Simon stopped, obviously listening to something Jesse couldn’t hear. “We’ve got incoming.”

Three men rounded the corner of the big house.

Jesse dropped to one knee and took aim, popping off three quick shots. Theo took out the one on the left.

“I have no idea how you’re standing much less firing a weapon.” Simon reached out a hand, helping him up before touching his ear. “We have the package. Fall back.” Simon nodded toward the open doors. “I think it’s safe to go out the front. Erin’s watching and we took out the guards at the gates. Do you know where he is?”

He didn’t need Si to say anything more. “No. He left me about ten minutes ago. He was heading to the conference.”

Simon frowned. “Then he likely took the helicopter. Damn it.”

“Don’t. It’s fine. We know who he is and I know who he’s working with. We’ll have to be happy with that.” Jesse followed them outside.

“I won’t be happy until he’s dead, Jesse. What the hell did he do to your back?” Simon kept moving.

Theo took Jesse’s six. “Whipped him good, and not the way big brother does it. Damn.”

“It’s fine. We need to get out of here.” He needed to get Phoebe out of here. “Where is the extraction point?”

Simon touched his earpiece again as he looked back before moving on. He frowned fiercely. “What do you mean? How the hell did that happen?”

They turned the corner and Jesse realized how wrong he’d been. The Caliph had plenty of power over him.

The Caliph stood next to his helicopter, the blades just beginning to rotate. Jesse nearly stopped breathing when he realized that Phoebe was beside him, a gun pointed at her head.