Breathe in. Breathe out.
His head was full of cobwebs and pain radiated from the back of his skull. He tried to touch the spot where he knew there must be a nasty knot but when he tried to move one arm the other came as well. Eyes still closed, Eyal balled his hands into fists causing the plastic to cut into his wrists.
He opened his eyes slowly and grimaced as a wave of nausea rushed over him. He was propped, very uncomfortably, sitting up in the far back of an SUV. There was nothing he could do but breathe and hope nausea subsided quickly.
Breathe in. Breathe out, he told himself. Assess your surroundings.
The last thing he remembered was the safe house.
Yes. He remembered Khalid's men, the GPS tracker, and telling Annie to go. They had asked where Annie was but he said nothing... Even gave a little smile for good measure. He remembered being thrown in the back of an SUV...then nothing. Just blackness.
He assumed that he'd been hit in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. For how long, though? The sky outside the moving vehicle was still black. Not more than a couple hours, he thought.
He already knew his hands were bound in front of him using plastic ties. Eyal flexed his ankles and found them to be unbound. There were three other men on the vehicle; two in front and the third seated almost directly in front of him. Immediately, his mind began churning scenarios of possible escapes.
He thought of Annie, wondering if she was safe right now and wondering if she was able to follow his little red dot on her tracker.
Three years ago, he would never have let this happen - never allowed himself to be captured. Back then, they would have both been climbing down that balcony. Running for their lives. Even now, if it had been anyone but Annie, he'd have gotten out of there as fast as he could. It wasn't time that had changed him, it was her.
He kept replaying the look on her face when she realized what was happening. That shocked and confused expression. Truthfully, he hoped that would not be his last memory of her.
He'd thought of so many things to say to her; that he cared for her, wanted to protect her, never wanted to hurt her again.
He rubbed his fingers across his thigh, relieved to feel the tiny tracker just under his skin.
Annie had a choice now. She could run. Go back to her agency. They could protect her, keep her safe. In a way, that's what he hoped she would do. But he knew her too well. She'd follow that tracker on this suicide mission. Maybe it would be to save him once again, or maybe it would just be to get to Khalid, he didn't know which.
The vehicle began to slow and soon turned off the road. His senses went into overdrive. Where they at their destination? He thought he heard one of the men up front mention fuel. Of course. They would need to stop at some point and refuel. SUVs were notorious for terrible gas mileage.
He listened intently as he feigned sleep. The SUV slowed to a stop. Bright lights illuminated the heavily tinted windows. The men in the front seats opened their doors and ordered the third man to check on the prisoner as they slipped out.
He knew this would be his only chance. As the other man turned in his seat, Eyal threw his bound arms over the other man's head and pulled back, effectively locking the man's neck in the crook of his elbow and trapping him, his back against the seat.
On his knees, Eyal whispered into the man's ear. "I can break your neck in a heartbeat. Where are you taking me?" There was little chance of actual escape, but maybe he could get some information and somehow get a message to Annie.
The man cursed him in Dutch as he tried to reach for the gun he'd dropped and Eyal tightened his arm around the man's neck.
He heard the rear door open a second too late. He'd loosened his arms around the first man and was turning when a second man grabbed a handful of his hair and shoved the barrel of a gun into the tender spot in the back of his head.
The first man roared with rage, spun in his seat, and planted a right hook directly on Eyal's jaw. He could taste the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The man with the gun pulled back on Eyal's hair and flung him against the side of the SUV. He groaned as nausea welled in his stomach again.
"Well, well, Mr. Lavin. You are finally awake."
Eyal swallowed the bile in his throat and studied the man with the gun. He was of fairly average height with light hair cropped close to his scalp and had a vertical gash over his left cheek only a few days old. He was the one who'd entered the safe house first; the one who'd asked where Annie was.
Eyal chuckled.
"What's so funny," the gunman asked.
"Where did you get that gash?" Eyal asked nodding at the man.
"None of your business," he answered coldly.
"Looks to me like it came from the heel of a very expensive women's shoe," Eyal smirked.
Rage flashed in the gunman's eyes as he swung the butt of his gun directly at Eyal's temple.
Everything went black.
Oh, it's not over yet!