Betrayals (Black Cipher Files series Book 2) Read Free Page A

me with a worried expression.
    As if he recognized me, he reared back. Then, he grabbed me, whispered harshly. I only caught every other word, he spoke so quickly.
    “Fariya...sacrifice...don’t let...catch...go, go....”
    I nodded, thinking him demented as I pretended to be Fariya and trying to pull away, until the content of his rambling penetrated.
    His eyes were tortured. “Go...before...find...here.”
    Realization dawned. He knew who I was. Which meant Fariya had told someone of her plan.
    He knew who I was. And he was telling me to go before they found me.
    A sonorous bang, bang, bang, ripped through the morning chatter. Male shouts pierced the air.
    A cry rose from the center of the compound.
    “ Amreekees .”
    Soldiers. American soldiers were here.

THREE
    Americans. Soldiers. Here.
    For a moment, my spirit soared. I could be out of here and on military transport home in a matter of hours.
    Back in my townhouse in Alexandria, back in my cramped little cubicle in Georgetown, back in Jordan’s arms.
    Jordan.
    My heart beat faster. Maybe we still had a shot.
    Our last words, right before I was captured, had been stilted, awkward. But Fariya’s love for her family highlighted the emptiness of my personal life. I needed to let go of my fears and take a chance with him.
    First I had to get the hell out of here.
    My impulse was to scale the wall and sprint for the ground convoy trucks. I picked up my pace, making a beeline for the unguarded side wall.
    A sunburst of joy spread through me. I could go home.
    The sudden rattle of metal detectors as the Special Forces guys searched the compound for weapons grated on my ears. Then, the bark and growl of the dogs and the commands from the Spec Warrior leader drowned out the annoying noise. The additional sounds and distractions made my escape easier.
    As I climbed to the top of the wall one-handed, I protected my arm as best I could. I straddled the two-foot-wide wall, hugged the flat top to keep my profile low, and canted my head to listen as the soldiers raided the compound.
    They were calling to each other in some sort of code, but I wasn’t close enough to hear actual words. The general mood seemed to be relaxed, the villagers ignoring the soldiers, except for the kids begging for pencils and pens.
    The fact that they were here so soon after my escape nagged at me. What were the odds that they would be inspecting this compound, on this day, at this time?
    I dropped down on the other side of the wall and fell off-balance. The muffled landing stung my sore feet as if I’d pressed thousands of tiny shards of glass into my soles. I bent into a crouch, the sling with the rifle banged against my back and jabbed into a semi-healed bruise over my kidney. White spots danced in my eyes. I held still, desperately trying to clear my vision.
    The rough wool of the burkha abraded the cigarette burns on my arms. The frantic words of the old man beat in my ears, pounding at my thoughts. Fariya, sacrifice .
    Something was not right.
    The paranoia I’d experienced and disregarded right before my capture came raging back. If these soldiers had been in the area, why hadn’t they come to get me out of prison? In those two long weeks, why hadn’t the CIA facilitated my release?
    Two weeks.
    Two fucking weeks.
    I eased the Glock out of the homemade sling and clutched the weapon in my right hand, thankful my left arm was broken, not my right.
    I couldn’t shoot for shit with my left hand.
    I needed to find a place to conceal myself until after the Americans were done in the compound. If I could make the run to the poppy fields, I could hide there. Assuming they weren’t here to plow them under. The plows must be coming since the village showed signs of American aid.
    I crept along, hugging the side of the wall. When I got to the corner, I lay down flat in the sand, my cheek on the ground, my head facing the wall and edged forward inch by inch.
    After a quick visual inspection, I saw