She feigned a calm she didn’t feel, her pulse racing. “Is that so?”
“Every person has a fate, and it is time to accept yours. We cannot let you go because you know our faces. You will stay with us as our nurse and my concubine.”
She placed the medications in his palm, almost shaking with rage and fear. “I don’t believe in fate. People get to decide how they will live. I am fine staying with you as a nurse for a while, but I will be no man’s concubine. I am married and will stay faithful to my husband.”
Jidda took the pills, swallowed them. “You will never see him again, so he is no longer your husband.”
“Heislooking for me.” If only that were true… “The US government will try to find me, too. It would be best for you all if you drove me back to Kinu and let me go or asked for a ransom. My employer has insurance and will pay. You can make money.”
“It has already been decided.” He was clearly a man used to being obeyed.
Kristi scooted farther out of reach, pushed a smile onto her face. “My husbandwillfind me, Jidda. When he does, he willkillany man who has touched me. Thatwill becomeyourfate.”
Jidda’s face screwed up with anger. “With one word, I could turn you over to my men. By the time they are finished, there would be as little of you left as there is of that duiker.”
“Who would help you then?” She stood, towering over him. “No, Jidda, I will be your nurse. I will take care of you and your men. But no man here will touch me—not even you.”
She turned her back on him and walked out into the daylight, heart hammering behind her breastbone.
How long would she be able to keep up this verbal game of chess?
Right now, Jidda still needed her, but in another week, he’d be on his feet and almost done with the antibiotics. She would no longer be able to walk away from him or put herself beyond his reach. Her hold over him would be gone.
If only she knew SEAL Team Six was on its way…
Jidda shouted something from inside the hut, his voice angry. Obi ran to answer him, ducking inside the door, then turning to Kristi.
“He wants you, miss.”
Kristi drew another deep breath, steeled herself. “I’m coming.”
* * *
Malik and Davidpored over a map after breakfast and discussed strategy. “We’ll take this dirt road west from Kinu and head toward the Mariga River here. We can use the drone to do a systematic search of the forest near the river. With the drone’s two spare batteries, we’ll have about six hours of search time.”
That enabled them to cover an area of about sixty miles each day. If the bastards who’d taken her were anywhere near Kinu, they would find them—unless something spooked them into moving.
“What if we acquired a portable solar generator? You have cash. We could recharge in the field and camp in the vehicle.”
Malik grinned. “Is car camping luxurious enough for you?”
David chuckled. “I like roughing it from time to time.”
“Sounds good to me.” Malik got out the cash, while David gave instructions to one of his bodyguards, who left in search of the generator.
Malik studied the map once more. “If we find them, we’ll get their location to the NPF and to Shields, so she can get the intel to the State Department.”
“We should also notify my contacts at the army’s First Division headquarters here in Kaduna. They can mobilize faster than anyone else.”
“I’m going prepared for a long-term recon mission. Once we find her, I don’t want to give them the chance to slip away.”
David frowned. “Are you certain you can handle that? Can you stay there, watching while they beat her, torture her, maybe even rape her without charging in and getting yourself killed?”
Malik’s chest constricted at the thought. “You know I can’t.”
“You see, my friend? It is better to keep an eye on them using the drone than to put yourself in that situation. If you die, she dies.”
They packed up their gear once again and were ready to go by the time the bodyguard returned with the solar generator.