Nori's Delta (Delta Team Three #1) - Lori Ryan Page 0,50

down the tunnel. They needed to find Eleanor and get her out safe.

They had to. He couldn’t begin to think about any other ending than that.

“I’m coming for you, Nori,” he said under his breath as he moved. “Hang on. I’m coming.”

Chapter 28

Eleanor groaned as someone slapped her again.

She was surprised to see it was Demir. Her mind was fuzzy and she wasn’t seeing straight, but she’d expected Farid to be the one hitting her not Demir.

“Traitorous American whore. Were the talks even real or was this all your government’s distraction?”

Eleanor tried to speak but couldn’t. Besides, he was partially right. She had been sent in as a distraction. But she’d genuinely hoped she could end this without any gunfire.

What had happened to make him take her like this? And would he release her?

A sob tore from her chest at the thought that she might never get out of here. Heath would come for her. Of that she had no doubt. But would he get killed in the process?

They were in an underground tunnel. It was carved out from the rock and only caged bulbs lit the area, not doing a very good job of it.

She was tied to a chair in an alcove along the tunnel. Would they wait here? Is this where she would be held while they negotiated her release? Would they negotiate?

Her mind was quick to provide memories of terrifying videos of hostages being beheaded. She felt sick.

But they hadn’t hurt the doctors and they had been ready to release them. Surely they would negotiate for her.

But the rage in Demir’s eyes was undeniable. Whatever was happening, it was bad. He looked wild with anger. And not at all like he was thinking clearly.

Terror coursed through Eleanor and she watched as Farid and Demir’s advisors tried to pull him back from her.

He shook them off. He held a gun in one hand but he reached out and slapped her hard again. “She’s going to tell us all she knows.”

Farid was there pulling on his brother’s arm again. “We need her alive if she’s going to be any use to us. If they breach the bunker and get Asil, we need to have a bargaining chip to get him back.”

Eleanor tried to focus her mind. How far had they taken her? Would Heath be able to track her or had she been out for hours?

“I will get my son back!” Demir raged.

What was he talking about? Eleanor knew Demir had a son named Asil and another named Vadik. She hadn’t seen either at the compound and had assumed they weren’t there.

The drugs pulled at her mind, threatening to pull her under again.

Then time slowed as Farid looked at his phone, his face going white at whatever he’d read there.

“What is it?” Demir demanded, turning away from her. Eleanor’s head lolled and she tried to straighten up. To look around. That was what she should be doing, right? Looking for a way out.

She couldn’t lift her head.

The cry she heard next was guttural and raw. The sound of heartache.

It came from Demir. She opened her eyes in time to see him spin as he raised his gun.

Time slowed and she knew there was no getting away from this. There was no way for her to stop what was about to happen. Still, her instincts screamed at her to move. To try to live. To do all she could to get out of the way of those bullets.

She shoved herself to the side, trying to throw herself over and out of his way. It didn’t work. She felt the chair tip but she was too late.

He shot her. Once, twice. Pain seared her stomach. It spread. It was everywhere and all encompassing. And it drowned her, swamping her in pain so strong she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.

There was shouting and running and then all was quiet as she struggled to suck air into her lungs, struggled against the agony that overwhelmed her. She gasped for air, but her body was losing the battle to stay conscious.

She tried to focus on Heath. On the thought of him coming for her. It broke her heart to know he would find her like this. That he was too late. It would gut him and she hated that.

The pain was too much and she gave in as blackness engulfed her again.

Chapter 29

Heath heard gunshots ahead of them in the tunnel and felt his heart freeze in its tracks in his chest. They were