Page 35 of Wired Courage

A rapidly moving bare brown foot passed by her vantage point, coinciding with a creak from above. Sophie twisted the cable to follow the pair of feet, and leaned it back to track upward.

She was looking at a petite woman dressed in a calf length, bright pink skirt and white leggings. A long black braid hung down the back of her blouse.

The audio came in suddenly, and too loud. “Here. Let me take her a moment,” in rapid Thai.

The woman turned. Sophie clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

She was looking at her beloved aunt Malee, her namesake!

And cradled in her aunt’s arms, wrapped in a soft cream-colored blanket, was her daughter. Though Sophie had not spent long with her precious Momi, she instantly recognized her baby’s profile topped by lush black curls.

This could still be a trap. Pim Wat could have sent the baby here to stay with her aunt, to be cared for.

But where was Armita?

Sophie had her answer as her aunt walked forward, putting the baby to her shoulder, and murmuring a lullaby to the fretful infant as she patted her back.

Armita sat on a padded bench against the wall. Her former nanny was dressed in simple black as was her wont. The flickering glow of an oil lamp lit against the gloom of the closed shutters lit her face.

Armita looked tired. Dark circles ringed her eyes and a scratch marked her cheek. She seemed sad too—disheartened.Perhaps she was about to give up on Sophie.

Sophie calmed herself with difficulty.

She forced herself to manipulate the camera, turning it three hundred and sixty degrees to survey the entire room, checking for anyone else in the space.

The two women appeared to be alone.

Sophie’s heart leapt with joy.

This wasn’t a setup after all!Armita had risked her life to get Momi away from Pim Wat and bring her to a safe place, so they could be reunited.

Sophie pulled in the surveillance camera. Shut down the laptop. Repacked everything into her nylon bag, her hands trembling with excitement.

In a moment, she would be holding her child.

Sophie picked up the nylon bag and did one more visual sweep of the grounds, looking for a sentry or any other sign of hostiles—but there was none.

Just the two women she loved and trusted, and her baby crying fitfully and refusing to be comforted.Crying for her mama.

Sophie’s whole body hummed with the need to get to her child. Some things were just elemental, biological, beyond understanding with the mind. Motherhood was one of those.

Hurrying on soft feet, Sophie climbed the stairs to the inner door that led to the kitchen, an open room off of the living area. She was not surprised when the door was locked, but she was undeterred. She took out her lock picks, and in moments, had the simple mechanism disabled. Sophie pressed down on the lever, opened the door—and found herself staring into the double barrels of a Remington twelve-gauge.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Day Twenty-Seven

Pim Wat stared out the bubbled glass window of the helicopter as it lifted off the stronghold’s landing and storage area.

She really hated helicopter travel—too loud for her sensitive hearing. Since there was no anticipated need for a comm link, she had put in silicone earplugs and wore sound-deadening earmuffs on top of them. Those measures still weren’t enough to screen out the loud, whirling roar of the blades overhead as they got underway.

Pim Wat had woken up that morning, sated but dissatisfied from her night of passion with the Master.

He had forbidden her any further contact with the prisoners, reiterating that he had a plan and he would let her know if help was needed.

She was dismissed.Discounted. Even though the Master had reassured her of his love for her, she felt the sapping grief of her losses—and the restlessness of having no outlet for her frustration. She was a cat denied her mouse, and she knew it.

Perhaps shopping and distraction would help. She was overdue for a visit with her dear sister, Malee. Every time Pim Wat left after visiting that boring, poky house right next to the one she used to live in, Pim Wat felt better about her choices: she was an exotic phoenix who flew free with a lover who was a dragon among men. Malee was a mere chicken, with a tiny coop and a rooster who was seldom home.

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