Fourth of July (12 page)

YUSUF ABADJAR BOWED TO HIS MASTER, squinting against the brilliant light shining through a bank of windows in the penthouse dining room. Ahmed sat at the mahogany table. A variety of foods covered the wood surface.

“Salaam, Allah is great,” he murmured in Arabic. The respect he wouldn’t grant to others he showered on his brilliant leader.

“What does the woman know? Do the infidels have any idea who planted the bombs?” Ahmed sliced off a hunk of thick, warm bread.

The scent of yeast and flour made Yusuf salivate but he would not be offered anything. “The Americans are clueless. The woman is proving valuable.” It bothered Yusuf to speak those words. Although they were true, he could never put much faith in a woman.

Ahmed speared a grape with his fork and popped it into his mouth. He pointed the utensil at Yusuf. “Watch her closely. Women are not to be trusted. Joseph should have known better than to place his daughter in a key position, but the French unit has a different set of beliefs.”

“Yes, you are correct,” Yusuf said.

“Do you have word on the shipments?” Ahmed questioned. “Is everything working according to schedule?”

Yusuf shifted his weight to the ball of his right foot. “Yes. We are on the countdown, less than a week now.”

He prayed to Allah that everything would work smoothly. He pictured himself as Ahmed’s second in the new world leadership.

“Good.” Ahmed shoved his plate aside and rubbed his hands together. His eyes gleamed as if he could picture the Americans’ demise.

Yusuf shared his superior’s anticipation.

“Soon there won’t be many Americans left to worry about,” Ahmed said. “The Al-Qaeda units around the world will rise up in union. The rest of the civilized world will be terrified of our great power and I will lead our people.”

“Allah is great,” Yusuf replied, feeling the adrenaline surge through his veins. Their day of glory was forthcoming.

ALEXIS’ SHORT LEGS TRAVERSED the long miles of the Battery Kemble/Glover Archbold Trail. The eight-mile run was one of her favorites, challenging as well as scenic. It was early Monday morning, and with each step she felt the effects of last week. She couldn’t keep a pace anywhere close to her usual eight minutes-per-mile.

That may have something to do with consuming half a bag of Oreos last night
,
she thought to herself.

Her stomach had been unsettled since the attacks. The constant queasiness made it difficult to eat anything. Then the outcome of Chris’ call had left her depressed most of Sunday. Attending church was the only positive thing she did all weekend. Wallowing in sorrow Sunday night, she wolfed down the cookies for comfort.

Why do I do that to myself?

She knew once the chocolate was gone she’d only feel worse. But she always defended her addiction, sometimes chocolate helped the situation. Not last night, she groaned. Now her sluggish body would not respond to her mind’s prompts to quicken her stride.

Alexis kept moving at a snail’s pace, her cells completely devoid of the nutrients needed to propel her faster. Hearing someone approach from the opposite direction, she glanced up to study her fellow jogger. She caught sight of dark, curly hair and a broad, well-built body. The man was staring ahead as if in a trance. She recognized him instantly.

Chris. Oh, heavens. What am I going to say?

The intimate embrace they shared on Friday, followed by a completely awkward conversation on Saturday, left her at a loss for how to respond to the good-looking agent. Her legs found renewed strength as she increased her pace. She straightened her slouched form, hoping her facial expression wouldn’t relay how much the effort to appear fit cost her.

Chris’ form grew closer and closer. He hadn’t even noticed her. He must have been thinking about something intently, or worse, could he be ignoring her? As they almost passed without him glancing in her direction, Alexis could stand it no longer.

“Hey, Chris,” she called out way too loud.

“What?” Chris’ head snapped up. He looked directly at her and smiled. “Half-pint.”

They jogged past each other. Alexis’ head swiveled. He glanced back. She smiled, but kept moving.

Oh, how she wanted to stop. Stop and say what? She didn’t know how to make things less awkward between them. Her irrational attraction to him was causing plenty of tension. They didn’t need one more awkward conversation to add to the mix. She kept running, not allowing her head to pivot again and check his status. She wondered if he still watched or if she could decrease her speed.

She maintained her stride as she passed Fox Hall Road. If Chris could see her, she wanted to look good. She wished she could turn around and talk to him.

Heading into the wooded part of the trail, she began a downhill descent that propelled her forward faster. At least now the thick grove of trees would protect her from Chris’ line of sight. Her shoulders relaxed, she was grateful she didn’t need to suck in her stomach any longer.

Alexis didn’t notice another runner speeding in her direction until he was almost upon her.

“Well, hello.” A tall blond decked in Under Armour gear winked at her.

Alexis nodded but didn’t say anything. She knew it wasn’t safe to be too friendly when jogging alone.

The man pivoted and began running alongside her. Every muscle tightened. Chills danced the length of her spine. Keeping her head high, she ignored his labored breathing and a spicy cologne that was overpowering.

Just stay calm. You’ve got your phone and pepper spray.

She hoped she could defend herself, but knew he could easily pull her off the trail and what if she couldn’t call 911 in time. No one would see her. She’d be lucky if anyone could even hear her screams in the dense foliage.

I’m jumping to conclusions
. Though she found herself praying Chris had followed her.

“You sure do have a nice body,” the man said.

“Excuse me?” Alexis couldn’t resist looking at the creep. She pulled her pepper spray and phone from her pocket, gripping them both in her right hand.

“You heard me.” He ran his tongue along his full upper lip. “You look great.” His green eyes filled with lust as he leered at her.

“I’m sure my
husband
would agree with you.” Alexis’ heart thudded against her rib cage.

“Husband?” the man cackled. “You think the fact you’re married is gonna stop me?”

Alexis sprinted away from the disgusting man.

Please let me get away,
she prayed.
If I can make it to Battery Kemble Park, the path widens into a field. He wouldn’t dare hurt me there. It would be too visible. I’ll be safe if I can just make it that far.

Running with every ounce of power she could dredge up, she ignored the weakness in her limbs. Her legs flew across the path. His ragged breath and thundering footsteps approached. He was closing the distance.

Oh, please protect me, Heavenly Father. Help me escape.

Her legs pumped, faster, faster. She could see the opening in the trees, not fifty yards away. She could make it. She’d be okay. She let herself breathe again.

Long fingers encircled her wrist, dragging her down, wrenching her from safety.

“No,” Alexis screamed. She pulled against his grip, using her body weight to get away from him.

He was much stronger than her. He halted her forward momentum, flipping her around to face him.

Alexis trembled in fear as they both panted for air. He had such a tight grip on her hand. She dropped her phone back into her pocket and yanked the pepper spray up. He batted it from her hand and it went flying into the bushes.

“Let go of me.” She struggled to free her arm from his grasp.

Help me, Lord. Don’t let him hurt me.

“Calm down. It’s not like I’m going to hurt you or anything.”

“You aren’t going to hurt me?” She prayed it was true, but nothing about this man inspired trust.

He shook his head. “Nah.”

“Then let go,” she demanded.

His grip tightened. “I can’t let you run away again. Relax. I just want to talk to you. I wanted to get your number so I could take you to dinner sometime and then...well, who knows?” He grinned like a cat that had already devoured the canary. “I think you’ll like me.”

Glaring at him, Alexis tried to free her hand from his vise-like grip. “I already told you I’m married. What part of that don’t you understand?”

“I date lots of married ladies.” He trailed the fingers of his free hand up her arm and across her collarbone. It felt like a brown recluse spider creeping on her skin.

Alexis slapped him across the cheek. Her hand ached from the impact. The slap was still ringing in the air when the animal grabbed her by the hair. Face red with fury, he forced her into his sweaty chest.

“That wasn’t called for,” he whispered from between clenched teeth.

He yanked on her head, wrenching locks from her tender scalp. Alexis winced.

“Now I’m not gonna be so nice. You had your chance for romance, but I guess we’re gonna do it the rough way.” One arm wrapped around her stomach, the other stayed dug into her hair. He dragged her off the trail and into the thick woods.

Branches and undergrowth pulled at the exposed skin on her legs, face, and arms. Alexis thrashed about fighting, struggling. She couldn’t think what to do, how to stop him. The pain in her scalp was excruciating. The fear in her heart was worse.

How could she get free? Was anyone close enough to help her? She thought of Chris, but he would be over a mile away by now. She pulled her cell phone out but couldn’t type in the passcode correctly before it slipped from her clammy grasp.

“Help!” she cried out, hoping someone was in the vicinity. The man halted and backhanded her viciously.

“Shut up or I’ll make this much worse on you.”

The sweet scent of pine trees couldn’t compete with the stench of his cologne. Keeping one hand intertwined in her short hair, he drew her face toward his. His overly whitened teeth caught glints of sunlight through the poplar leaves as he grinned.

Alexis shuddered in fear and revulsion. She twisted and kicked, using all her energy to avoid his leering mouth and wandering hands. She jabbed her forefinger into the softness of his eye. He cursed, shaking her head like a baby’s rattle. Grabbing her hand, he thrust it behind her back and twisted. Alexis screamed.

“Get your hands off the lady.” The voice was dangerously low. It stopped the monster in his tracks.

“This is none of your business,” her captor claimed.

Alexis wished she could see who was trying to help her, but the attacker was gripping her hair tightly, not allowing her to move her head. She thought she recognized the voice. She prayed with every fiber of her being it was the voice she longed for.

The man flipped her around to face the new threat. She finally caught a full breath as she saw the approaching figure.

“Chris.”

He sprinted over undergrowth, dodging trees as he closed the gap between them. “Release her now,” Chris demanded.

“Or what?” The man yanked on her head.

Alexis cried out in pain. Chris’ eyes darkened. He flew in their direction.

“Or this.” Chris didn’t pause as he reached them. He hit the man squarely in the chin with a hard right jab.

The man threw Alexis to the ground, throwing up his arms to protect himself.

Chris followed the jab with a solid uppercut to the man’s abdomen.

The scumbag fell hard to the earth, trying to catch his breath. Chris bent low. He whispered something, the only words Alexis caught were, “I’ll kill you for touching her,” and “I hope you like prison.”

The assailant found renewed vigor at the mention of prison. He kicked Chris in the chest. Chris staggered backward from the unexpected assault. The man jumped to his feet, fleeing through the dense branches and undergrowth.

Chris jerked his cell phone from his shorts pocket and dialed quickly. “This is Agent Chris Harmer with the FBI. I need to report an assault.”

Alexis stood and waited as he described the perpetrator, the attack, their location, and several different spots where the man could emerge from the woods. Dropping the phone back in his shorts, he looked at her. “They should be able to find him.”