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  Backing out of the cell he cut his dangerous eyes back toward Jamaal. Without looking back at Tessa he reached for the cell door and slammed it shut. Only when he heard Tessa’s gasp of fright did he look back at the sobbing creature on the floor. A padlock hung precariously from the once spring loaded bolt that no longer worked.

  He snapped it shut then moved toward Jamaal’s cell, glaring inside at a shadowy figure plastered against the far row of bars. Zoric smiled again at the intended victim and chuckled as he jerked on Jamaal’s padlock to make sure it was secure.

  “Could be a good night.”

  Zoric turned casually and made his way out of the containment area.

  ~ ~ ~

  When the bang of a steel door echoed down to the cells, a flood of anguished sobs racked Tessa’s body. She bowed her head over her drawn up knees and cried for several minutes before lifting her closed eyes upward.

  “Please, God! Get me out of here. I know you can deliver me. You always have. Please don’t let me die here alone and without my family. Please save me!”

  “He will be back,” Jamaal spoke softly, disturbed only slightly by the brutal treatment of this woman.

  Tessa scrambled to the cot on the far wall at the sound of a man’s voice. “Who are you?” She tried to wipe tears quickly and appear composed.

  Jamaal stepped closer where a ribbon of light from a dangling light bulb outside his cell fell across his face. “Don’t you remember? My name is Jamaal.”

  Tessa edged off the cot and took a step closer. “You’re the man from the van.” Her voice still held an element of fear.

  “Yes.”

  “You broke into my house.” she said with despair. “Why? You tried to kill me!” she nearly choked on the words.

  “No. No. Not me. I would not do such a thing. I did not know what would happen.” His voice was quick and unsure. “Believe me. I would never hurt an innocent woman like you. I only meant to scare you.”

  “Liar!” Tessa remembered the Twin Towers in New York City and how thousands of people had lost their lives because of hate in the name of Allah. “You called me a whore. You had a knife.” She made an attempt to wipe her tears away with what was left of her shirt sleeve near the shoulder.

  Jamaal took hold of the bars. “I was only frightened like you, Mrs. Scott, but…”

  “How do you know my name?” Tessa ask in shock. “Who are you? Why were you at my house? I heard them say something about a bomb. Did you plant a bomb at my house?” she said in panic.

  “Shhh! Keep your voice down. They may be listening. We are both in a lot of trouble.”

  “They aren’t listening. That mad man doesn’t want any evidence that he...” tears began to flow again. “I heard him talking to the man who killed your friends. This place is only a holding facility. We’ll be moved soon.”

  Jamaal began to pace nervously. “Not good.” He continued to pace. “I knew this was a bad idea. I should not have listened to them.”

  “Who? And who are you,” she sniffed as she stepped closer.

  “They are Lion’s Breath.”

  “Lion’s Breath. I don’t understand.”

  Quietly, he stared at something beyond and invisible to her. A disheartened sigh slowly escaped his cracked lips that had been split open by the accident, she noticed or by the brutal Captain Hunter’s calloused fists.

  “Many years ago, a hundred or more, I think, the lions roamed the deserts of our grandfathers and great grandfathers. Now they are gone, destroyed by European and North American hunters seeking trophies. Our lands from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and beyond were purged of the brave beast because the people not of us feared their power. The sound of their roars will soon be heard again,” he said with a half-smile as his eyes darted to the woman. He gazed into her eyes. “Your people will once again fear the roar of the lion. But by the time you realize his approach, you will already feel the lion’s breath. His teeth will have begun to devour your godless nation.”

  Tessa, bewildered and confused, frowned at the ramblings of the man who destroyed her home. “How long until Lion’s Breath begins?”

  “A month ago I learned of the plan.”

  “What plan?” Tessa grabbed the bars. “Maybe we can help each other. Will someone come to save you?”

  “No.” Jamaal’s voice fell in disappointment. “But if I escape I can help you too.”

  Tessa felt uneasy, knowing she shouldn’t trust anything from a man with everything to lose. “How can I help?”

  Jamaal moved toward the bars. “You can give me the key you took from the man in black.”

  “What?” Tessa’s eyes widened in confusion as she started to step away from the bars. Before she could move further from the man, Jamaal reached through and grabbed her by the hair, jerking her against the cold hard surface.

  He ran his hand down her back until his hand rested on her pants pocket. Tessa squirmed at his invasive touch. She pushed at his bare chest as his hand slipped inside the pocket and withdrew the key she’d stolen from Zoric when she’d jammed her knee into his groin. That split second had been long enough to slip her fingers into his shirt pocket. It had practically fallen into her hand as he’d bent over with pain. She’d watched him put it there just before he’d led her to the cell.

  Jamaal released her and backed away from the bars. “I am sorry, Mrs. Scott. I need this more than you, although I appreciate the effort you made on my behalf.”

  Tessa watched as Jamaal reached through the bars. Lifting the pad lock with one hand he inserted the key with the other. “You can’t leave me here for that monster! Please!”

  The sound of the lock opening echoed softly in the room of cells. Jamaal moved to Tessa’s cell and lifted the lock. Tessa hurried to the door. He looked at her sadly and smiled. “You are an American whore. You deserve the treatment waiting for you, Mrs. Scott.” He turned and started to run.

  “No! Wait! Please!” Tessa screamed. “Don’t leave me here! I beg you!” She waited to hear the slamming of the steel door but Jamaal had carefully closed it behind him. Tessa knew his escape would be easy from that point. There were no guards because no hope of escape had been possible.

  Tessa sat down on the cot resigned to waiting for what would come next. How had she gotten herself into this mess? Nothing had ever prepared her for such a scenario. Yet here she was on the doorstep of disaster, her family so far away, her home in ruins most likely, and a dirty bomb set to go off in Sacramento.

  A silent prayer for strength was offered just as the sound of a steel door opening and hurried footsteps reached her ears. Tessa remained on the cot, hands folded patiently in her lap. Closer. More than one person. Who would it be? Zoric? Captain Hunter?

  “Mrs. Scott?” Tessa looked up to see Zoric unlocking the door for Captain Chase Hunter. He rushed in and towered over her. Her eyes darted between the two men before settling on Zoric. Slowly she stood, pulled back her shoulders and jerked her chin up in pride. Chase lifted his hand up in a high-five gesture. Tessa smiled and slapped his palm with her own high-five.

  “You did it!” he smiled proudly. “Good job!”

  “I pushed the tracking device into his chest when he took the key. He never suspected.”

  “And he won’t. It molds against the skin, thinner than a band aid.” Chase turned to Zoric and continued to smile. “She’s a little spit fire don’t you think?”

  Zoric stepped forward and saw the sudden smile vanish from Tessa’s face. He frowned and laid a hand on his heart.

  “Mrs. Scott,” he lowered his eyes for just a split second. “The innocent should never have to go through the fear I forced on you. I beg your forgiveness, Mrs. Scott. I am sorry that I had to mistreat you.” He dared to take another step toward her. “I promise if anyone ever, from this moment on, tries to harm you or your family they will deal with me.”

  Tessa eyed him carefully. She closed the distance between them and stuck out her hand. “Forgiven.” Zoric slipped his lar
ge bony hand around hers and they shook. As he started to release her hand Tessa tightened her grip. “But we’re not even,” she warned.

  Zoric raised his eyebrows in bewilderment as she withdrew her hand.

  “Understood,” he said cautiously.

  Chase flashed a disarming smile at Tessa and laid his hand on her elbow. “Ready to go home?”

  Just as she started out the cell Tessa caught a glance between Zoric and Chase that made her think life wasn’t going to go back to normal just yet.

  Chapter 8

  T he kitchen in the Scott house still smoldered from the small fire caused by over baked cookies. Water pooled on the granite counter tops and on the recently installed wood floors. They were ruined now, Tessa realized as she took in her once beautiful home. Water pinged softly as it dripped from the upper cabinets into the stainless steel sink where her rolling pins rested like burnt matchsticks.

  Holding back the tears, Tessa wandered into the other rooms of her life as a firefighter nearly the size of the Captain Hunter brushed past her to engage him in a quiet conversation. The captain’s eyes darted toward Tessa then turned back to the firefighter and nodded knowingly before taking his leave.

  Her grandmother’s dishes shot to pieces inside the once beautiful antique china cabinet, she’d bought on eBay for an insanely cheap price, looked like pieces of Swiss cheese. Toppled chairs, damaged walls, and years of memories shattered throughout the main floor of the Scott home, avalanched an emotional wall of helplessness onto Tessa so suddenly, she didn’t realize her body trembled violently. A dam of tears burst from her eyes as she covered her mouth to keep from screaming.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Mrs. Scott?” It was Chase Hunter. He handed her a bottle of water. It was doubtful there had been any whole glasses left in the house so he’d sent someone out to his Hummer to retrieve this slight distraction. “We’ll make this right, Mrs. Scott. I promise.”

  Tessa looked up at Chase as she sipped the water bottle she held with one hand and brushed silent tears aside with the other. She nodded and glanced around the room again. She lifted a Pottery Barn catalog from the floor and chuckled through an escaped sob.

  “I was going to make all this,” she waved the book around the room slowly, “into something right out of Pottery Barn before Robert and the kids got back.” After taking one more sip of water, she capped the bottle and smiled bravely up at Captain Hunter. “Kind of has that lived in look now, don’t ya think?”

  “Shabby chic maybe.” Chase Hunter returned the smile, drinking in the fluid blue eyes that fought back further tears. When she laughed at his comment he found himself laughing as well. He didn’t know why. The sound of her voice just seemed to demand it.

  Out of the corner of his eye he noticed several Enigma personnel staring at him. His look quickly went fiercely dark as he nodded for them to return to work.

  One stood firm, her thin black eyebrows raised in disbelief. Like the others, she’d never heard Chase laugh. His threatening pinched brow and narrowed eyes failed to intimidate her. She moved her dark brown fingers across a hand held computer screen about the size of a notepad. Taking a step forward, a piece of glass crunched beneath her small black patent heels.

  “I’m not nearly finished, Captain Hunter. My crew needs a few more hours.” Her light brown eyes stayed focused on the computer screen.

  “Hello,” Tessa said softly. “I’m Tessa Scott.”

  The short woman raised her eyes to Chase then Tessa as if asking permission to speak. With one hand, she pulled on the black jacket of her suit then tucked part of her white blouse a little more securely into the waistband of her skirt. Her black hair, tightly bound into a bun, glistened with hair gel. She reached up and touched her bare earlobes before answering. “Mrs. Scott…”

  “Please call me Tessa.”

  “Very well. Tessa, I’m Claudia.”

  She offered nothing more. Chase watched Tessa realize something was off about her. The African American woman’s eyes turned back to her screen where she punched something in quickly, then leveled her gaze on Captain Hunter.

  Chase nodded toward Claudia and smiled politely at Tessa. “Claudia is our librarian. I’m afraid we couldn’t get along without her.” His tone sounded gentle and caring, something Tessa realized he could turn on and off like a faucet. The charm he exuded worked on the truck driver earlier in the day. Tessa couldn’t tell if the compliment affected Claudia or not. “Take as long as you need, Claudia. I’m sure your team will be as efficient as ever.”

  “What is she doing, Captain Hunter?” Tessa felt the soldier’s hand on her arm gently push her away from the librarian. “Is this for insurance purposes? I think I have the name of our agent…” Tessa walked to the kitchen in search of her little phone book she kept with important numbers. His hand guided her carefully toward the stairs.

  “That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Scott. We’ll take care of everything.”

  “Oh.” Tessa turned to face the unnerving Captain Hunter. “I would like to change clothes and pack a bag for a few days before I get started on this mess. I’ll stay in town at a motel.”

  “Do I have your word that you’ll not try and escape, send girlfriends a message or call Robert?” His voice and expression clearly sent a warning. “Because my patience is wearing a little thin.” The tight smile on his lips spoke volumes.

  Tessa held up two fingers. “Scouts honor!” Before he could comment Tessa bounded up the stairs. Suddenly she stopped and turned back to look down at the him who had been admiring her backside. “Do I have water?”

  Chase looked over at the librarian for confirmation. He then nodded up at Tessa without expression. “Be quick about it, Mrs. Scott.”

  “Tessa. Call me Tessa.”

  Once again he nodded and turned away to speak quietly with the librarian.

  Captain Hunter moved from room to room looking for clues as to why the terrorists thought the bomb would be here. Distracted by toys, mementos, a photo of Tessa and her husband in a loving embrace at a Chinese restaurant, forced Chase to tug at his own ghosts that remained buried most of the time. Concentration wavered as he shook off the feeling of regret that threatened his focus.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering his missionary parents helping others, his older sister singing like an angel in the church choir. Another breath. His grandfather on the Qualla Reservation teaching him to hunt and fish entered his thoughts, followed by the memories of his first kiss, his first love, his first….

  “Captain?” It was the librarian. His eyes narrowed angrily as they landed on the small black woman who still stared at her computer screen. She wasn’t very good at visual clues to people’s mood. Being diagnosed with a mild form of autism, Claudia carefully compartmentalized every scrap of information discovered on a wide range of topics and persons of interest. She managed to win a special place on the Enigma team with this gift. Due to her inability to interrupt Chase’s moods, Claudia usually acquired the job of bringing news he might not want to hear.

  “You better look at this.” She turned the screen around and lifted it up so he could clearly read the information.

  He did so without touching the computer. Claudia didn’t appreciate anyone touching her baby. His eyes scanned the information as his arms folded across his broad chest. When he finished he looked sharply at the librarian. “I’ll download everything to your hand held, Captain. There’s more. She’s been busy. I’ve never heard you laugh before,” she added as a look of confusion met Chase’s hard glare at his phone.

  “Thank you, Claudia. Continue.” Ignoring the comment he turned to leave, then stopped. “Gather up all the computers, games, etc. before…”

  “Already packed, Captain.” Claudia tried to smile. She wasn’t very good at chit chat. “I’ll be sure Vernon has a look at everything.”

  “Well done!” he snapped, knowing she would appreciate the praise in her own way.

  He left her and started
up the stairs. Tessa was taking too long. Taking the stairs two at a time, Chase quickly moved toward the master bedroom. He’d been in there earlier in the day when he’d pretended to be a plumber. The image of the white and ivory décor jogged his memory as he remembered the tranquil, uncluttered room that Tessa shared with her lawyer husband.

  Just as he grasped the doorknob, the door flung open and Tessa barreled into his chest, causing her to stumble backwards. Chase did not offer to catch her as he drank in the sight before him.

  Tessa had transformed herself into the image of the girl next door. Her still wet hair pulled up into a ponytail, made her soft pale features look much younger than he’d noticed earlier. Dressed in a plain white blouse and blue jeans, that was rolled up into a cuff above the ankle made Tessa look anything but dangerous as her bio had suggested.

  Catching her breath, Tessa smiled innocently at the frowning captain. “Think I’d run off?” When he didn’t respond Tessa followed his line of sight, taking in the room, evaluating some obscure information he must think relevant to the day’s activities. “Are you trying to figure me out?” A grin toyed with her mouth. “What’s to figure out? My life parallels paint drying. Oh. And I was able to get a message off after all,” she teased.

  Chase’s eyes quickly returned to Tessa like a laser. His forehead furrowed with anger. “How did you do that?”

  Tessa sat down on the edge of the bed and began putting on the tennis shoes she’d held in her hand. They were new so the bright white seemed to glow. She finished tying the strings and looked up to see that Chase had moved closer, this time with a menacing glare aimed at her. “I keep carrier pigeons in the bathroom. Your team hadn’t been up here to find them so I took advantage of my one opportunity to reach my contacts at CNN. You’re in trouble now.” Tessa sighed and bounced up with a teasing smile.