The tuk-tuk driver stopped, jumped out, and ran away, leaving them stranded in the middle of the street.
“Shit!” Malik was about to jump into the driver’s seat, when the white van came from the other direction, blocking them.
Men with weapons leaped out, rushed at them.
Malik dropped the rifle, raised his hands, his voice soft and calm, his eyes looking into hers. “Stay strong, Kristi. Don’t panic. Your job now is to surviveno matter what. Just survive. Do you hear me? You’re tagged. Cobrawillfind us.”
“O-okay.” She raised her hands, too, backpack slung over her shoulder.
How was she supposed to not panic?
Three men grabbed Malik and his duffel bag, while another grabbed Kristi, rough hands digging into her arms, dragging her to the van, shoving her inside. She crawled over to sit beside Malik, huddled against him.
“Breathe, Kristi,” he whispered.
She tried, but it didn’t stop her heart from racing or untie the knot in her stomach.
The last man jumped in and slammed the door shut, and the van began to move.
“Take his weapons and their phones, you imbeciles! Bind them!” a man in the front passenger seat shouted.
Men moved in on Malik, took his pistols, searched him for weapons and his cell phone, then ripped Kristi’s backpack from her. They found her phone and tossed it with Malik’s out onto the street. Then they bound Kristi’s and Malik’s wrists, the ropes tight.
“To the airport.” The man in the passenger seat looked over his shoulder at them. “Mr. Jones. Miss Chang. Or should I say Mr. and Mrs. Okoro? I am Samuel Kuti. I am so happy to have found you.”
“I bet you are.” Malik seemed more angry than afraid.
“You killed three of my men, Mr. Jones.”
“I’ve killednineteenof your men, Sammy.” Malik grinned. “That’s the current count, right?”
Kuti’s smile tightened. “I believe you are right.”
Why was Malik provoking him? Did he not know that it was considered impolite to call someone you didn’t know by their first name, let alone to use a nickname?
“How did you find us?”
“The clerk at the hotel called. We sent your photos to hotels and airports all around the region.”
“You’re one of these Sky King assholes?”
Fury spread over Kuti’s face. “I am not worthy to be one of them. You will speak of them with respect.”
“Not a chance.”
Kuti didn’t seem to know how to take Malik’s defiance. “You don’t know who you’re up against. By the end of this day, you will have suffered so much that you will wish you had never been born.”
“By the end of this day, Sam, you’ll be dead.”
Malik sounded so confident, so sure of himself, but Kristi had heard Kuti. Fear for Malik made her heart constrict. What would they do to him?
Cobra will come for us.
Malik had said it, and she hoped to God it was true. If they didn’t come…
Adrenaline shot through her, made it hard to breathe.
“Easy, Kristi,” Malik whispered.