Chapter 13
“No!”
Trace and Coop both rushed Derek’s computer screen together.
Coop’s knees gave out. He would’ve gone down completely if not for his grip on the table’s edge.
“That’s it?” Trace swung his panicked gaze to Derek’s. “There isn’t any more?”
“I’m sorry.” Derek shook his head. “If there’s more to the video Khaled sent, it wasn’t included with this file.”
“Ah, Christ.” He raked a hand through his hair. Feeling like he was going to be sick, he forced air into his lungs as he paced the area where they were still gathered.
“Two days.” Coop raised back up and slammed his hand down onto the table, the force of the move causing the laptop to bounce across the wood. “We’ve been waiting two fucking days, andthat’sall we get? A video of those bastards slicing my sister’s throat?”
Tears streamed down the other man’s face, and it was only by the grace of God that Trace had been able to keep his own at bay.
“I don’t think they killed her,” Ryker announced with certainty.
Coop’s brows fell into a deep V. “You saw the same thing we did. You could see that fucking blade cutting into her goddamn skin!”
“Yes.” Ryker nodded. “But what that video doesn’t show is him finishing the job.”
Emma’s brother opened his mouth to argue but shut it. After a couple of seconds of thought, he asked, “You don’t think he killed her?”
The Homeland agent shook his head. “No. I don’t.”
“What makes you so sure?” Trace did his damnedest to ignore the hope blooming in his tortured heart.
“Yeah.” Coop slid him an agreeing glance before looking at Ryker again. “Why would Khaled go through all that trouble to make us think she’s dead, but then keep her alive?”
“To play with us,” Trevor answered the man’s valid question.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ryker addressed the entire group. “Winters is spot on. He kills her now, his leverage is gone. The longer he keeps this thing going, the more power he has.”
“Power for what?” Derek asked the same thing Trace was wondering.
“When I met with Karim two days ago, he not only admitted that Sadiq Khaled was working with him, he gloated about how his plan to form a new, more powerful Syria was still going to happen. The bastard thinks he can still rule from inside his fucking cell.”
“And the longer they keep this shit going”—Trevor joined in—“the more powerful he continues to look to his followers.”
Ryker’s nod left Trevor feeling both relieved and horrified.
“The longer they keep this shit going,” he repeated Trevor’s words as he met Ryker’s gaze. “Meaning, the longer they torture her?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” The other man nodded. “Derek has a program working to trace the computer from where the video originated. We find out where the asshole who sent it to us is, we find Emma.”
Running a frustrated hand down his face, Coop said, “And in the meantime, we just sit around with our thumbs up our asses while my sister goes through God knows what?”
“I know it’s fucked up,” Ryker admitted. “But it’s all we’ve got.”
Derek nodded. “I hate to even say it, but if they’d send us another video, my chances of tracing the IP address would be even better.”