Kidnapped by a SEAL - Makenna Jameison Page 0,6

compound yesterday, she knew it surrounded the entire place.

Eyeing the wall, she wondered if she could jump up and haul herself over. Where would she even go if she escaped? She didn’t have a weapon or food. She had no supplies. She didn’t know where she was.

“We’re going to have to hide in the old supply building,” the teenager said. “They’ll be sweeping this area when they come back around. We’ve only got a few minutes.”

Emily nodded, confused as she tried to get her whereabouts.

They heard voices talking in the distance, and the girl grabbed Emily’s arm. “Come on, before they see us!”

Emily stepped down from the concrete slab at the back door and hurried behind the teenager, crouching down behind some barrels. They paused for a beat and then stayed low to the ground as they snuck to another building at the edge of the compound. The moonlight was just enough to make out where they were going, and Emily held her breath as the girl opened the door to a small building. They both snuck inside just as they began to hear voices again.

Both women stood still, Emily’s heart thumping in her chest, as they listened to the footsteps that went by only twenty or thirty feet away. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she tried to steady her breathing, and she could sense the teenager hovering nearby.

She was so frightened she was certain they could hear every shaky breath that she took, but another minute passed, and nothing happened.

No one called out for them, and the footsteps eventually faded as the guards continued on their patrol. They were safe for the moment, possibly even until morning when they discovered she was gone.

Then all hell would break loose.

Emily knew she couldn’t stay hidden here that long. It didn’t matter where they were in relation to base—she had to get out of this compound tonight. She might have only a few hours until they checked the room they’d been holding her in, and she needed to escape and get as far away as possible.

“I think they’re gone,” the girl said in a low voice. “We’ll have to try to get over the wall, but let’s wait a few minutes until after they circle around again.”

“Who are you?” Emily whispered in the darkness. “What are you even doing here?”

“My father sent me here a month ago as some sort of payment,” the girl said angrily. “He was indebted to the guy in charge. I saw them bringing you in a couple of days ago. My sixteenth birthday is next week, and then I’m supposed to be his wife.” She spat on the ground in disgust.

Emily’s mouth dropped open in shock. “And they just let you roam free here?”

“Sort of. I’m supposed to be learning from the other wives. That was part of their agreement—they’d wait until I turned sixteen for our sham of a marriage, but I had to do what they said and learn. They were all busy taking care of their kids tonight though, and I stole some of the bread they made from the kitchen.”

“And no one saw you coming in to where I was being held?”

“No. The guards don’t really pay us much attention. There’re other women for them somewhere, I’m sure, but the wives are all his. No one would dare touch one of us. No one will notice I’m gone until morning.”

Emily shuddered. “But how do you speak English so fluently? Did you grow up in the States?”

“Yes. We traveled back and forth, but my father decided to rejoin his brother in Afghanistan. He brought us all back here and then just handed me off. I need to get out of here—there’s nothing for me in this country.”

“You’ll come with me back to base,” Emily said. “We can help you.”

She heard a rustling, which she assumed was the girl shaking her head. “No, I have to find my sister. But I know where an American camp is. I’ll show you the way you should go. After we climb over the wall and escape this compound, we have to part ways.”

Emily frowned. She didn’t like the idea of letting a teenager run off alone into the night, but what was she supposed to do? Clearly the girl had thought up this whole escape plan. If Emily made it back to base, maybe she could find a way to help her.

“Do you know what time it is?” Emily asked.

“Eleven, maybe twelve? I was alone in