Page 45 of Zero Hour

Focus, Burke.

“Do you think it is?” she asked.

“Definitely a possibility. Why else would he underline it three times?”

“Maybe he’s meeting someone important on Saturday?”

“Could be.” But his instincts screamed that this was when it was going to happen.

Theday.

“Saturday is three days away,” she said.

“Which doesn’t leave us much time. Did you say there were other papers in his study?”

“Yes, scattered on his desk, but they were also in Arabic, and I doubt Amir would leave anything crucial out in the open.”

Still, it would have been useful to see them.

“I don’t think I can get back in,” she said hesitantly. “He locks his office. It was only open because of the anxiety attack. He hadn’t had time to secure it.”

“Why do you care so much about Amir?” Pat asked.

“I don’t.”

“You looked after him.”

“I treat him the way I’d treat any patient.”

“But he isn’t just any patient. He’s keeping you prisoner. He’s threatened your son. So why are you so . . . considerate with him?”

Her throat bobbed with a swallow. “Because if I stop being useful to him, I’m dead.”

She bit her lip. Again. And again, his gaze snagged on it.

Fuck.He needed to get a grip.

“Okay,” he said, his voice rougher than he intended. “I get it. I was worried you might be developing feelings for him.”

“Absolutely not.” She looked genuinely horrified. “He’s a terrorist. He killed my husband—indirectly or not, he’s responsible. Why would I have feelings for him?”

Pat shrugged. “It’s been known to happen.”

“You’re talking about Stockholm Syndrome?”

He nodded. Of course she’d know all about it being a shrink.

She gave a sharp shake of her head. “That’s not what’s happening here. The only thing keeping me there is Ryan.” Her voice dropped. “As long as they don’t hurt him, that’s all I care about.”

Pat leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “Nothing will happen to your son. We have eyes on him as of last night. He’s safe.”

She exhaled shakily. “Thank you, Patrick. I mean that. It helps to know I’m not alone in this.” There was something about the way she said his name that got to him. Like it meant something.

“Jasmine, we need to know what the target is.” He forced his mind back to the note. “If Saturday is the day, we don’t have much time.”

“I’ll keep my ears open, but they don’t talk in front of me. They either go outside or lock themselves in Amir’s study.”

“It’s a shame we can’t plant a bug in there.”

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