"We're here," Bauer announced, pulling the van into the parking deck of an apartment building.
I swallowed hard. My heart was pounding in my ears and I was trembling. I tried to speak, but nothing would come out.
"C'mon," Tony told me, holding out his hand to me. He had already opened the door and gotten out and I hadn't even noticed.
I took his hand and got out. "Can you just give us a minute?" I asked hoarsely, looking at Jack.
He nodded, looking very solemn. "Make it quick," he told us.
I walked around the back of the SUV and Tony followed me. I looked down at the ground for a minute and then up at him. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing come out.
"Don't start saying your goodbyes," Tony insisted. "You're going to be fine. I swear." He pushed some hair out of my eyes. " I love you, Elle."
Tears rolled down my cheeks and Tony wiped them away with his thumbs. "I love you too," I whispered. "More than anything in the world. You're all I have left. Promise me you'll come back for me—promise me that you won't let him kill me."
"If he lays a finger on you, I'll slit his throat myself," Tony growled fiercely.
My chin started quivering, so I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face on his black leather jacket. He held me close for a minute or two, then took my face in his hands and kissed me passionately.
When we came back around the side of the car, Jack was waiting with a plastic zip tie. "I need to cuff your wrists," he said.
Without any objections, I held them out to him and he bound them tightly, causing the plastic cuff to cut sharply into my wrists. I winced, but still didn't say anything. What was the point? Everything that needed to be said already had been.
Tony and Jack lead me through down several flights of stairs and then into the apartment building. Just before we started down a long hallway, Jack slipped a knife into the front pocket of my jeans.
"If you feel like you need to defend yourself, use it. But otherwise, do whatever you're told too. That might keep you alive longer. Don't make him mad," Bauer advised me.
"I understand. Thanks for the advice," I managed to say, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. I was terrified and I knew it showed.
We walked down the hall and Jack knocked on the door of one of the units.
"Who is it?" I heard a foreign accent ask.
"It's Tony Almeida, Dubuku. I've got the package you requested," Tony replied, putting his hand on his gun out of habit, or maybe out of need. I wasn't sure which.
The door opened and I saw an African man standing just inside. "Come in," he told them.
Tony walked in first and Jack pushed me roughly so I'd follow him. They were playing the roles of two men who didn't care what happened to me. It scared me to see how convincing they were.