Page 128 of Rescuing You

No. No, no, no.

Leila bent over her, desperate for a sign of life.

And was yanked away by brutal hands.

The van’s doors slammed.

And they were moving.

Leaving the airport. Freedom. Safety.

Michael.

Leaving them all behind.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“Michael! Michael!”

The words came from a million miles away.

Millions and millions of miles from the oblivion where he’d landed, in darkness and peace.

“Michael!”

He pushed his way back, back toward the voice. Toward a reality that had just exploded.

“I need an ambulance!”

Michael forced his eyes open, but the world was a blur.

“Thank God, thank God! Bro, come on. Are you with me?”

“Are they… Do you have them? The women? Are they safe?”

“What women?”

What women?

What was happening?

He was lying on his back, Derrick leaning over him, his face hard to make out even in the dim overcast day. But his voice was clear, terrified.

Michael tried to push himself up. “Help me.”

“Stay down until the ambulance gets here.”

“No.” He struggled, pushing a hand against rough asphalt.

“All right, all right.” Derrick lifted his shoulder. “Who were those guys?”

“Guards. Terrorists.”

“Why did you have terrorists in your car?”

Huh?

Michael was confused.