Cody's Return: An Adventure Series by Stephen Mertz

Author:Stephen Mertz [Mertz, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781685490607
Publisher: Rough Edges Press
Published: 2022-03-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Pinpricks of light shone through the cross-weave of burlap threads.

Aisha told herself that at least she could see light. The hood’s coarse fibers itched irritably against the bruises she’d sustained during her abduction. There was no other word for it. The confusion of the attack at the Thelma Justice conference was a fresh storm roiling through her mind. Having witnessed the assault on the woman who’d accosted her and still reeling from the attack in the meeting room, she’d run for her life.

Who was the woman who approached her as she was leaving the scene of slaughter? She’d identified herself as working for the US government. But who was she? Aisha’s mind was not clear enough to think about that now.

She ran, yes. But they cornered her within a few paces. They pounced upon her. They? Who were they? So many questions! The slaying of those Furies was proof enough that this was all about her, the Princess, and how they would stop at nothing.

She’d tried to fight them off like a spirit possessed, which in fact was exactly the case. Her mind, her spirit, her soul had been appreciating every breath of freedom since eluding her guard detail in England, especially since touching down in America—the Land of the Free—and being so graciously received under the auspices of Thelma Justice. Aisha had vowed to herself that she would fight to her death before ever submitting again to life in captivity.

And yet here she was, seated on a metal folding chair, its back pressing uncomfortably against her biceps, stretching her arms in numbing agony. Her wrists strained against the handcuffs that linked her wrists together.

With a crowd of onlookers everywhere about them, her abductors overpowered her in plain sight. Fast, well-executed teamwork, not thugs but a skilled paramilitary unit allowing no chance for onlookers to intercede. The security force had been drawn to the aftermath of violence in Meeting Room 12-B. Aisha had felt the prick of a needle and then lost consciousness.

She recovered consciousness feeling groggy, as if she’d awakened and was trying to recall final thoughts before falling asleep. She couldn’t see much, wearing the burlap hood, but she could feel and hear. She felt closeness. She was in a small room. The air was warm. She detected her own scent and was glad she was wearing perfume. And close by . . . someone breathing; a shallow, normal, steady breathing, not excited or lascivious but constant. Nerve-wracking.

“Please,” she said. “Remove this hood. And may I have a drink of water please?”

She was answered with a splash of water at the burlap that covered her head. She gasped. Droplets seeped through the burlap to trickle down her throat. She coughed, struggling to retain her regular breathing.

A man said in Arabic, “Is that enough water for you, Princess?”

She recognized that voice. It was her brother’s right-hand man. His laugh was nasty, cruel. The laugh ended abruptly when a second man spoke, also in Arabic.

“Careful, Yusef,” a stern familiar voice reprimanded.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.