Page 144 of Rescuing You

Leila and Jasmine were gone. He’d lost them. And, if the guards weren’t carrying those phones, he had no way to figure out where they’d been taken.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Waleed was going to kill Leila.

Or make her wish she were dead.

He squeezed her throat, cutting off her air.

The pain was unbearable. Silently, she begged Waleed to finish it. She knew where she was going. Heaven would be a place of peace. Jesus would welcome her. Michael would be waiting for her. The pain would be over.

She’d be able to breathe.

Things had been tense before. She’d huddled with her sister in the corner of the ruined apartment while the men stared out the window. Leila had no idea what they’d been looking for or what they’d seen.

At one point, she’d leaned forward toward the edge of the glass to try to get a glimpse, but Waleed had lifted his foot as if to kick her like a dog.

She’d scrambled out of his reach.

“Don’t move again.”

She settled against the wall as if she couldn’t care less.

“There,” the young driver said. “See?”

Suddenly, they’d all been so engrossed in what they saw outside that none of them paid her or Jasmine any attention.

She shifted slightly, moved her hand around on the floor to find the thing that’d jabbed her when she first sat. By the shape of it, she guessed it was a nail, maybe three inches long. The tip felt sharp, certainly sharp enough to break skin.

She shoved it into the pocket of her baggy jeans. Maybe she would get the opportunity to use it. Maybe it could help them escape.

This would be the perfect time, while the men looked out the window, except for the one who was guarding the door, arms crossed. Glaring at her as if she’d personally harmed him.

“There’s another.” The driver had narrated events as if all the men couldn’t see. “They’re like ants. Look at them. I count…four? Five?”

“There’s two more,” one of the guards said.

Leila hadn’t known to be worried. She hadn’t known what they were talking about.

She’d been stupid.

Because, suddenly, Waleed launched himself at her, yanked her to her feet by an arm. He shoved a hand against her throat.

Pressed her against the wall.

Squeezing. The pain was like nothing she’d ever experienced.

But worse was the terrifying, desperate need for air. She got just enough to stay alive. But if he squeezed any harder…

She was going to die.

And she didn’t even know why.

Waleed’s face, only centimeters from hers, contorted with rage. “Tell me everything you told them.”

Leila tried to speak, but no sound came out.

“He already knew.” Jasmine’s words were rushed, frightened. “Leila did nothing. We told him nothing. The man who took us already knew.”