Page 89 of Deceptive Lies

“They can't have gone far,” Cole added.

Scanning the area, Cooper tried to go slow when all he wanted to dowas spin in wild circles and run and scream Willow’s name until he got a response.

There.

Over by a small outbuilding.

Movement.

Trusting his team to have his back, he took off toward the small building.

As he got closer, his heart dropped.

Hidden between a tree and the side of the building were Willow and Tarek Mahmoud. The man had her pressed against his body, using her as a human shield, with a weapon held to her temple.

July 15th

11:42 A.M

Everything was happening too fast.

Her already aching head was spinning.

All Willow needed was a moment to gather her thoughts, pull herself together, and figure out a way that they all made it out of this alive, but she didn't have that luxury.

Just as Professor Mahmoud had grabbed her, shoving a gun against her temple and telling his men to get back to praying, a commotion had broken out behind them. Like the true coward he was, the professor hadn't rushed forward to help his men, instead, he’d pulled further back into hiding, taking her along with him.

As much as she wanted to call out, because Willow knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Cooper and his brothers out there, doing what they did best, she was afraid to make any move that would put them any more at risk. They were outnumbered, and while she was confident they would still come out on top, she wasn't going to make it harder for them.

Besides, she was confident of somethingelse, too.

While Professor Mahmoud badly wanted her to die as punishment for trying to take him down, he also wanted to live.

She was his best bet at walking out alive. Although she trusted the guys to do what they knew how to do, and knew they would never allow the professor to walk out with her, Willow also knew if it came down to it, she would sacrifice her life if it meant that Professor Mahmoud also lost his.

Cooper’s voice wafted over to her before she saw him.

She heard him order someone to tell him where she was, and it took all her willpower not to call out to him.

The weapon that pressed to her temple was motivation enough to keep silent.

If she wanted this to work out the way it should, she had to play this smart, not allow her fear to make her impulsive. She was sure a moment would come, but she had to wait for it. Right now wasn't that moment.

Footsteps pounded across the ground and then a moment later she looked into those stormy gray eyes that had become her anchor.

Cooper was there.

Her world settled.

Everything was going to be okay so long as he was with her.

“It’s over, Mahmoud,” Cooper said, his weapon trained on the man cowering behind her, using her as a human shield in an attempt to save himself.

Behind Cooper, she could see all of his brothers. They all wore fierce expressions, but there was a confidence in their eyes that she could feel was lacking in the professor. They knew what they were doing, they had done this kind of thing dozens of times before. Professor Mahmoud, on the other hand, was used to convincing young men that their purpose was to fight against their country and destroy it. Something he did from the safety of his university world, this was all foreign to him and she knew he knew it, too.

“Your men are all dead,” Cooper continued, taking another step closer, his weapon never wavering. “There’s no one coming to help you. Put down the weapon and let her go.”

“If I let her go you shoot me,” Professor Mahmoud said. While his voice wobbled, the weapon pressed against her temple remained steady.

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