Page 72 of Defenders of Jawhara

Erin was surprised when she saw the other man holding a gun. She had no idea what was going on and worried that maybe they’d stumbled onto someone more dangerous than Amir. When the woman stood and brushed back her hair, Erin’s mouth dropped open. PJ.But how?

PJ attempted to circle behind Amir. They were here for her! The other man must have figured out what PJ was doing because he tried to draw Amir away from Erin and started circling to his left, drawing Amir’s attention away. Unfortunately, Amir was quick to figure out what was going on, and he turned and began running towards Erin.No!

PJ started yelling, “Get down! Miss Malone, get down! Blaine, Now!”

Erin watched, clinging tightly to the donkey’s bridle, as Amir ran straight towards her, waving the knife and screaming.

“Erin, get down on the ground. Now!” PJ screamed.

Erin dropped to the ground. As Amir ran towards her, suddenly he stopped, crumpled to the ground, and didn’t move again. Erin stared wide-eyed as blood began soaking into the sand beneath his head. She vaguely heard someone shouting her name while she stared at Amir, waiting for him to get up again. He didn’t move.

“Miss Malone!” Erin heard footsteps running towards her and she flinched. The same person spoke quietly to her. “Miss Malone? Erin?”

Erin heard her name but didn’t have the energy to lift her head just yet. “Yes,” she called out softly. Then again, a little louder, “Yes, it’s me. Is he—” Another round of dry heaves took over, and the cramping in her lower abdomen was so severe she could hardly breathe through the pain.

“Dead? Yes.”

When she felt a touch on her back, she whimpered and turned her head to the side. “Please, help me!”

“Help is on its way! Just hang on! Are you injured?”

“Cramping!”

PJ helped her remove the heavy veil, and Erin took gasping breaths of fresh air. She felt more hands on her and could hear a male assessing her condition before he picked her up.

“Tell Carlos to send the helicopter to this location. She needs to see the doctor immediately.” Talib’s voice.

Erin started crying from relief and pain and all the fear she’d pushed down so she could keep going. “Talib, is Kamal…”

“Kamal is waiting for your return. He has been very worried about you. We all have been.”

“Thank you for coming for me,” Erin said through her tears. “You always seem to be rescuing me.”

Talib laid her down in the tent, making sure she was comfortable. “It is my honor and privilege. Now, let these men fully assess your injuries while we wait for your transport to arrive.”

16

TALIB

Talib didn’t leave the tent until Brock and Tim arrived and began checking Erin over. After ensuring that the chopper was en route, he stepped outside and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Realizing there was no signal, he swore softly.

Brock must have heard him because he stepped out of the tent and handed him a sat phone. “Here, man,” the American said with a knowing look.

Giving him a nod of appreciation, Talib placed a call. “It’s Talib, Your Majesty.”

Kamal’s voice would have sounded steady to anyone who didn’t know him as well as Talib did. “I heard the helicopter take off. What news?”

“The kidnapper is dead. I apologize that you were unable to actively listen in on the mission, but things moved very quickly once we made contact with the target, and we were limited to short-range coms.”

“That doesn’t matter now. What about Erin?”

“Miss Malone is currently being treated by the American medic, and as you know, the helicopter is on its way to pick her up and return her to the palace.”

“Is she okay? I will speak with her.” Kamal fired the command at Talib as swiftly as the sniper’s bullet.

“She is in need of medical attention. If the royal physician has not already been summoned, that should be done immediately.” Talib stopped, not wanting to give voice to the possibility that Erin was losing the baby.

“Tell me, Talib,” Kamal demanded. Talib could hear him speaking to someone else, and he assumed it was to summon the doctor.

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