Page 67 of No Man Left Behind

She rounded the spruce trees and kept moving. A man held Owen at knifepoint. With a khyber. She’d seen those knives frequently in Suraih but hadn’t seen one since. The long, thin blades had originally been created for penetrating chain mail, but they were popular with many of the soldiers overseas. They were used in assassinations, and too many videos of people having their throats slashed. “Let him go. He’s done nothing to harm you.”

The man didn’t look familiar, but his eyes flared with hate as he looked her over. He stood taller than her but not as tall as Marcus and his friends. His skin was a few shades darker than her own. And he made her skin crawl.

“I’ll trade him for you.” Then he cursed at her in Pashto, calling her all kinds of vile names. Was this somehow connected to her work in Suraih? She’d been back in the States for years. Why now?

In Pashto, she answered. “Done.” Elina moved forward until she stood close. To point the knife at her, the man would have to swing it away from Owen.

She swallowed hard and kept her eyes on the man’s, trying to read his intent. All she saw was hate.

She kept her hands up and stood a yard away, ignoring the shouts of the people behind her. Owen’s safety came first. “Let him go.”

“Maybe I should slice him open first.”

Thankfully, they continued to speak in Pashto, not English. Ignoring the fear, she forced herself to reply. “You’re not angry at him. He’s a child. Do I know you?”

As she’d hoped, the man’s attention turned fully on her. Hate radiated off of him as he swung the knife in her direction. Owen proved how smart he was when he took off the moment the knife moved off of him. She kept her complete attention on the man.

“You ruined my life, you worthless bitch.”

She frowned. “I don’t even know you. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

He spat at her, but she avoided it. When she stepped backward, he lunged forward and waved the knife in her face. “Don’t move. I’d like to carve you up into little pieces, starting with your face.”

Her body shook at that threat. She knew Marcus was there somewhere, but he wasn’t faster than a knife.

“Why? What did I do to you?”

He lunged with the knife, and she avoided it, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her close. The lunge had been a feint, and she’d fallen for it.

He moved backward and dragged her with him. She kicked and fought until he wrapped his arm around her and put the knife directly against her throat. “Move and die. This time, you’re not messing everything up.”

What did that mean?

He backed them up until they rounded the next curve. She couldn’t get too far from the group. He had to know there were people with her. Had to know they weren’t just going to let him drag her away without a fight.

“It’s your fault I was stripped of my rank. Your fault I was sent to this horrid place and forced to work with foul Westerners. The shame will be eliminated when I bring home your head. And his.”

Everything in Elina froze. Everything. Her heart, her head, her body. He had to mean Marcus.

This man must be connected to Suraih but she didn’t remember him from the village. He’d probably been one of the insurgents who’d tried to destroy the school that day. Part of the attack that had killed Shaggy and almost cost Marcus his life.

Had he been part of the group who’d kidnapped her, too? She’d often wondered if it had been the same group at work. She’d never learned what had happened to the other villagers. No one had been able to share information with her once she’d woken in that German hospital. Had he killed them, too?

The man kept muttering as he yanked at her and tried to pull her into the woods.

She wished she and Marcus had talked through the scenarios. They’d worked on her self-defense skills, but having a knife at her throat had zapped her courage.

“You ruined me. If it wasn’t for you, Faadir would have named me a lieutenant. Maybe even his second. Instead, I’m consigned to this evil place and forced to be a distributor. This will redeem me. This will make him see my worth.”

The man was full of rage and hatred. He wasn’t going to listen to reason. She had to get away. Where was Marcus? What was his plan?

On cue, Marcus rounded a large spruce tree with his gun up, and his eyes lasered in on the man holding her. “Let her go. It’s over.”

The man’s evil cackle could have landed him a Hollywood villain role.

He waved the knife at Marcus but had it back on her neck before Elina could react. She’d be ready for the next time. “Now I’ve got you both. You get to pay. You’ll watch her die first, and then I’ll gut you. I’ll take both your heads back, and I’ll be Faadir’s second.”

The inane thought that he’d have a hard time getting heads through customs ran through her head, and she knew she was on the verge of hysteria. Deep breaths. Picture him as a comic strip villain. How would they defeat him? Good always defeated evil, especially in her strips.

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