“I know you can hear me, Amber,” the voice whispered in her ear. “I know you hate me and I’ll have to live with that. But I need you here. Hawk will come for you and that will keep him from following me. I didn’t give them that high a dose, so he and his two friends can get back here in time. But just in case…I’ve made sure that you don’t feel anything. I know what it’s like to have your legs spread out while they maul you one by one and I don’t want you to feel the pain and anguish I did. I don’t have time to get more of the stuff that puts you out, but this will work just fine.”
Amber felt a jab in her arm. Tied up as she was, she had never felt so helpless. Her eyes flew open and met Lily’s dark ones, except they didn’t seem like her friend’s eyes at all. There was a far-off look in them, as if she weren’t really looking at Amber.
“Dilaver will rape you,” Lily told her matter-of-factly, “and Hawk will kill him. I’ll finally get what I want—the bastard gone. Meanwhile, I’ll be at the art show and I’ll wipe out the rest of those bastards who think they can run the world by selling weapons and women. I’ll show all the CIAs and World Health Organizations and humane watch-dogs how it’s done. They think they run everything, but they are wrong.”
Although her mouth was taped, Amber tried to say something. The sounds she managed to make were weak and took too much effort. Lily shook her head.
“You can’t do anything, Amber. No one can stop this. I have to do it. Things fall apart, you see. Even friendship. The ceremony of innocence is drowned. There is anarchy. I will destroy the slouching beast. It is my duty and my revenge.”
Amber blinked. The drug must be affecting her. Lily was murmuring some familiar lines that sounded like one of her father’s speeches when he preached. Things fall apart…yes, she remembered now. It was Yeats, her father’s favorite poet. Her brain was getting addled. She was hallucinating Lily talking like her father.
“That’s right.” Lily’s voice was growing soft and drifting. “Don’t fight the drug. Let it take you somewhere so you won’t see or feel anything. I wouldn’t wish that on you or anyone. I don’t want you to end up like Tatiana. If Hawk is too late, you won’t remember more than blurred images. No pain. Not like me, always remembering the pain. Always seeing their faces in my head. I wouldn’t want you to not let Hawk or Brad or anyone make love to you again without feeling like you’re a helpless victim. I wouldn’t do that to you. This way is better. You won’t need to constantly want to be in control of everything, even sex.
“Listen to me. Hawk is coming for you. There is hope. Don’t let me down, Amber. You and he belong to each other. Maybe I’m selfish, but I don’t want you to think of Brad. Just remember, what they do to you is nothing. Dilaver will be killed and so will every one of those bastards who hurt us and our girls. You will finally be one of us, Amber.”
Amber shook her head, but even that felt like it took too much energy. It made everything spin around, as if she were at the edge of being drunk. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant at all. Part of her mind was screaming, trying to stop what was happening, but the floating sensation was so soothing, so relaxing. She wanted to tense up. But why? It was nice not to feel anything. She knew what was coming. Dilaver. His men. And she should be…She didn’t even feel it when Lily kissed her forehead.
“Things fall apart. The blood-dimmed tide is loose. I must do this, Amber.”
“The countryside looks like the Middle Ages here,” Jazz noted. “Oxen-drawn carts and wooden wheels. Not quick enough transportation to the city. Look at those walls. Are they guarded? Once we’re inside, we have to find transportation to the target area.”
Hawk looked at his best friend. It was definitely good to stand beside him again. He had missed the easy camaraderie between them. His fake “friendship” with Dilaver only emphasized how much his friend meant to him.
Jazz was the strategist in their team, always mapping out a plan of attack, always looking for the weakest points of the enemy. With his quick foresight, he protected his team from surprises ahead of them.
“Dilaver has chosen one of his favorite kafenas for the exchange,” he told his team quietly. “Not the compound, which is fortified by an even bigger wall. What does that tell you?”
“He wants you to get to him easily,” Cucumber replied.
“These kafenas are crowded with UN soldiers,” Hawk continued.
“He’s also making sure he’s surrounded by the blue army so you can’t simply throw in grenades,” Dirk said, referring to the blue uniforms of the UN forces.
Hawk nodded. He had supplied them with details of his capture and escape.
“He wants an exchange and then he’ll have his men capture me again. This time, he has Amber.” Hawk paused, glancing away for a second before meeting his men’s eyes. “Look, this is personal to me. It’s not for glory or country or any of that stuff. My woman’s in one of those whorehouses and…and if anything happens to her, I’ll kill every fucking one of them, blue army included.”
Cucumber spat to the side. “If they’re in there doing what I think they’re doing, then they have no right to hide behind any uniform. Let’s go get them. I’m with you.”
Jazz laid a hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “We aren’t here just to help you destroy those caches, buddy. We’re here for you. We’ll go save Amber and you can take down Dilaver any way you please. Just save a little piece of action for me. He owes me something for the wallop he gave Vivi.”
Hawk recalled how hard Dilaver had punched Vivi, which reinforced his urgency to get to Amber. “I’m very familiar with all the back alleys and pathways in Velesta,” he said. “During the months here, I had thought of destroying these whorehouses before I finished up, so I’ve explored a lot in the dark, waiting for this moment. I have C-4 and wires ready in certain weak spots. All I need is to activate the fuse and every fucking one of the walls will fall down like cards. We start doing this at the same time except for the target area.”
“Surprise attack,” Jazz said, nodding. “Everyone would panic inside. Each of us will go to different points and will keep in contact through intercom and wire.”
“Estimated time thirty minutes,” Hawk said. He showed them the map he had drawn. “I’ll use a word when I give Dilaver the decoy. Pick one.”
“Kaboom?” Mink suggested helpfully.
“Make it a phrase to be sure,” Jazz said. “How about ‘It’s over’?”
It’s over. “Yeah,” Hawk agreed.
“Let’s party! We’re going to have what the Americans call a freebie. A very special freebie. Some of you might even know her and I’m going to be the first to show you how to have a good time with a blond bitch. Bring her.”
“Hey, it’s the café lady!”
Amber felt light as a bird. The voices didn’t frighten her. She recognized one of them but couldn’t quite place it. She didn’t care, although she knew she should. Something bad was going to happen to her, but it was all right. She wasn’t afraid.
“Hey, Dilaver, that’s our boss’s woman you’re doing, man. We can’t let you do this.”
“You’re going to have to. Look around you. You’re all surrounded by my men. And what’s more, you’re going to watch and report back to that son of a bitch what happens to people that raid my places.”
“Fuck this, I’m here for a good time, not to watch you rape a woman.”
A shot rang out. “There, you’re no longer watching. Gentlemen, you’re young. Got to toughen up a little. This woman is nothing. There will be more of her kind. After I show you what she’s got underneath those clothes, after you hear her moan from my taking her right here on our favorite whore table, you can all take turns. Who’s going to complain? Look.”
Amber tried to focus. Something was happening.
“You’re all gathering around, aren’t you? Come on, get closer. Come and watch. See? Lovely breasts. And you can all have her for free tonight. Let me get to the pants now. Don’t you want those long legs spread for each one of you? Amber, can you hear me? You’re going to feel something big and hard inside you.”
It was as if she were floating above somewhere watching herself on the table. She should struggle. But she just lay there. She focused on Dilaver’s hand pulling at the zipper on his pants. She wanted to kick him in the groin, but she couldn’t remember how to move her legs. And she didn’t feel a thing. Shouldn’t she scream, like that girl she had seen not so long ago? Then she thought she heard more shots.
“Well, if it isn’t another one of Amber’s men. Good to see you again, Hawk McMillan. How do you like my hand on your girlfriend’s breast?”
Hawk! Hawk would come and save her. Didn’t Lily say that? Hawk was here. Amber moved her head, trying to see, but there were arms and legs and blue stuff in the way.
“Let her go.”
That was Hawk’s voice. She would know it anywhere. She strained upward.
“Oh, look, she heard her lover. Come get her, lover boy. She’s lying here all lovely, waiting for you. Or me, ha! She can’t move very well, though. The other bitch delivered her full of drugs, something I hadn’t agreed to. Should have known I couldn’t trust a woman. These pants have got to go, what do you say?”
“Make another move and I’ll detonate this and everything here will be gone.”
“Sacrificing yourself for a woman? What kind of warrior is that? Aunt Greta said you’re probably a Navy SEAL. You know what? This is for your killing two of my best men. I’m going to fuck your woman and kill her in front of you. Here, let me hold her head up and you can see her pretty face one last time. Take him, men. Shoot his legs.”
Amber still couldn’t see what was happening. Gunshots reverberated around her. “Nooooooo!” she managed, struggling against whatever that was holding her down. He was here for her. And suddenly panic rose in her and everything seemed to speed up, even her heartbeat. Hawk was in danger. “No!”
It took every ounce of her energy. She turned her head. And bit down hard.
She didn’t even know what exactly she was biting on, but Dilaver’s howl sliced through her consciousness like a wakeup call. Her head was shaken back and forth, but she refused to let go. Another hand grasped her throat, cutting off her air.
There were more shots. She could hear men shouting. Gunshots. She didn’t care about them. She concentrated on Dilaver instead. He had hurt Hawk and he was going to pay.
Hawk had been told fury could fuel a human bomb ticking and he would always remember the moment of explosion. That was all he could recall for debriefing, even months later. The moment he laid eyes on Amber on that table, everything important ceased to exist except to get to the man standing there, his filthy hands mauling her.
He had hated that table worse than anything else in the kafena. There were so many times he had to walk by it, following Dilaver out, and not look at the girls left there after a “free” night. Sometimes, when he did look at an empty table, he would still see glimpses of faces and hear the screams. And there had been nothing he could do then.
Not now.
Not this time.
It didn’t seem possible, but somehow he reached Dilaver across the expanse of the room without getting shot. Maybe some of the UN soldiers present had their conscience pricked at seeing a woman they knew laid out there on the table for them. Maybe someone up there was protecting him. He got to the big Slav as he was bending over Amber, screaming, trying to shake her off. A part of his mind registered that her mouth was clamped on some part of Dilaver’s hand.
Hawk curled an arm over Dilaver’s beefy throat from behind and snapped his head back. The snarling man immediately released Amber to pry Hawk’s arm from his throat.
“It’s over, pig,” Hawk said into Dilaver’s ear. “My turn to show you how to have fun.”
The Slav was strong, pulling at Hawk’s arm as he jammed his elbow into his injured ribs. Hawk felt the pain but forced himself to apply more pressure.
The roar of multiple C-4 being set off added to the confusion around the table. There were shouts as people fell to the ground, covering their heads in fear. Screaming girls ran out from the back. Hawk felt the ground shake from so many explosions around the city. His SEAL brothers were doing what they did best.
“I’ve wired every one of your places in Velesta and they are coming down tonight,” Hawk said as he swung a punch into Dilaver’s face. He punctuated each blow. “Every. One. Of. Them. Gone.”
Dilaver wasn’t going down easily. He matched Hawk’s blows with several of his own. He had gotten free of Amber, blood splattering all over as he went for Hawk’s throat, pushing his thumbs inward.
Hawk let out a roar and rammed his body against Dilaver, pushing forward until the other man hit one of the supporting beams in the room. The blood made everything slippery and the hold on his throat loosened. Dilaver landed a vicious fist on the side of his face. Hawk straightened up and resumed punching at his target like he did to his punching bag in his room, going for the face and neck area. He cut upward into the groin. He head-butted him. Dilaver roared and struck out one last time. Hawk smashed a fist into his face so hard, the other man’s head whipped backward and hit the beam with a loud crack. Even then he continued pounding as Dilaver slid down the beam.
He was still beating and kicking when someone pulled him off. It was Jazz, holding him from behind, cuffing him from the underarms.
“It’s over, buddy, hey, it’s okay, he’s done.”
Hawk finally stopped. He looked down at Dilaver. He had just killed a man with his own bare hands. “Let go,” he said. “I’m fine. Where’s Amber?”
Jazz released him and he turned to the table, stumbling over debris and bodies. He caught sight of her blond hair.
“Amber! Amber!” He turned her over. There was blood all over her chin and the front of her shirt. Her eyes were open. He pulled his precious package into his arms, hugging her tightly. “Where are you hurt?”
“I’m…okay. I think I bit off part of Dilaver’s thumb. Hawk…Lily…oh God, Hawk—”
“Shhh…it’s going to be okay. I know, I know,” Hawk told her, wiping her face and mouth with his sleeve. She wasn’t hurt so far as he could see, thank God. He lifted her and started to head out toward the entrance. “We’ll talk as soon as we get you taken care of. Jazz, we’re snatching a vehicle and going to the hospital. Call headquarters. They can land something at the UN base or wherever, I don’t give a fuck. Get them to transport her out of here!”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
“You came for me, Hot Stuff.”
Hawk looked down. “Of course I did. Don’t you know I love you yet?”
She smiled weakly. “I love you, too. Don’t leave me alone at the hospital, Hawk. I don’t think I can stand being without you.”
“I’ll never let you go,” he told her.
Lily looked at the buzzing cell phone on the passenger car seat. It lay there beside the small explosive device. She picked it up to check the ID. Brad. She frowned. Not who she was expecting. He shouldn’t be calling her. Dropping it back on the seat, she ignored the sound and continued driving. The cell kept buzzing. She glanced at it several times as the minutes continued. Finally, she reached for it again. Why would a man who should hate her call? Just to tell her he despised her?
“Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?” she asked levelly, keeping her eyes on the mountain road.
“Surprised I’m not dead?” His familiar voice was low.
“I called your housekeeper to make sure she showed up early, you know. I couldn’t let you die.”
“I know what you’re doing, Lily. You can’t do this. I know what you are.”
“What am I?” she asked calmly.
“You’re a CIA sleeper. They used your anger and hatred and programmed you. They channeled all your emotions into looking for a sister you don’t have so you could have a purpose in life, and then they put a trigger in that they could set off when the time’s right. All those cell calls you have been taking…don’t let them use you, Lily!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t have a sister. It’s you all along! You know this! Stop lying to yourself, Lily.”
Lily frowned. “Llallana,” she corrected. No one was to know about her sister’s identity or—“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.”
Brad’s voice was very sad. “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned. What comes next, Lily? Say it and be free.”
He had changed the order of the code. She obeyed. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
Her consciousness zapped her like electricity. Lily blinked, trying to understand. That line had never been spoken. She was not to say it until she was told to. Something unlocked inside, like an old creaking drawer, and she was drawn to it. There was something waiting for her in there. Open it. Open it. She pulled at the image in her head. The cell phone fell from her hand as she continued driving, staring into the darkness.
She thought she heard someone calling her name. But it was too late. She had to stop what she was doing. There was only one way to obey and disobey. Detonate here. Now.
She veered off the road and drove a short ways away. She braked to a stop as she came close to a cliff. Darkness out there. Like the darkness in her heart.
She deserved what was coming to her. She released the brake.