Page 96 of Elusive Promise

"I'll call 911," Parisa replied, but before she could do so, her phone rang. It was Damon.

"What the hell?" Damon shouted. "You have Jasmine?"

"Yes. We're at 427 Allen Street, Queens. I followed Anika to Jasmine. Westley knew all along he was a decoy. Sara Pillai and Isaac Naru were here when we arrived. Unfortunately, they got away. I shot Isaac. I don't know how badly he's injured, since he managed to run away, but he may need to find an urgent care facility."

"Got it."

"Sara is on foot, I think. She's wearing a NY Yankees sweatshirt, jeans, and a matching baseball cap." She paused, hearing Damon relay the information to someone in the car.

He came back on the line. "Alerts are going out right now. The local cops will be at your location soon, along with an ambulance. Is Jasmine hurt?"

"I don't think so, but she needs to go to the hospital and get checked out. One more thing—Jared is here with me, Damon. Make sure the cops know we're armed."

"Understood."

"And Damon, there are bomb-making materials in the house."

"We'll be there in ten minutes," he said tersely.

She put the phone into her pocket and gave Anika and Jasmine a reassuring look. "Help is on its way."

Jared pulled out a pocketknife and cut the tie off Jasmine's hands.

Jasmine made a grimace as she moved her arms. Her face was pale, dark shadows under her very wide eyes, a few bruises across her jaw. She'd been through hell, but thank God she was alive.

"Did they hurt you?" Anika asked her sister.

"Not—not really," Jasmine said, tears coming down her face. "But I—I thought they were going to kill me."

"You're going to be okay," Parisa reassured her.

"I've never been so scared. I thought I was going to die."

"Who took you out of the consulate?" Jared asked.

"Two men," she said, her eyes pained. "They said Ben set me up. Is that true?"

"Was one of those men the guy who was in the house with you?" Jared continued.

"No. Isaac came later."

"You know him?" Jared asked.

"No. But I heard Sara call him Isaac. I remembered her from school in Bezikstan. I used to tutor her and some of her friends." Jasmine sucked in a breath. "I asked her why she was doing this, and she said she didn't have a choice. I begged her to help me, but she said they'd kill her if she went against them, that Isaac was obsessed with Brothers of the Earth throwing over the Bezikstan government, making sure everyone in the world knows their righteous cause. I guess the diamond will fund their efforts."

Jared squatted in front of Jasmine. "Did you hear any other names? Did they talk about what they were planning? Did anyone else come to the house?"

"Sometimes I heard male voices. Once, they were arguing, but I don't know what about. Other times, it seemed really quiet. They kept me in a closet most of the time. They'd open the door to give me food or water or let me use the bathroom a couple times a day. I never saw anything but the bedroom, the bathroom and the closet." Jasmine shuddered. "I didn't think I was ever getting out of there."

Anika squeezed Jasmine, then gave them a ferociously protective glare. "Stop asking her so many questions. She's traumatized."

"We need to find the kidnappers before they hurt anyone else, before they set off a bomb somewhere in the city," Jared said grimly. "Jasmine, you said they brought you food. What was it?"

"Uh, it was Indian food."

"Did it always come from the same restaurant?"

"Roti," she said. "The wrappers said Roti."

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