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Chapter One
Twelve Years Ago
Damascus, Syria
Liam Stryker winced at the sound of fists slamming into flesh. It happened again, then again. Jaw rigid with fury, teeth clinched, Liam stayed quiet. He’d learned that shouting, saying anything at all, only spurred the bastards on. He listened in silence, suffering along with his friend. And knowing they would be coming for him next.
Dying was easy. It was living that Liam was struggling with. What made a man give up? How did he decide he’d just had enough? A part of him wanted to know, another part thought it’d be best not to have an answer. That might make it easy…might make their job more fun. They wanted him to give up, to reveal all his secrets and then just die. Damned if he’d make it easy for them.
A cell door opened and then clanged shut. The interrogation was over for the time being. A groan came from Xavier, and the agony in the sound sent a new surge of rage gushing through Liam’s bloodstream. Even though he would be next up, he was glad Xavier’s beating was over. Liam had suffered with every blow, every grunt, and every curse. That was part of their torture, too. Their captors hoped that hearing each other’s pain took a little more of their strength each time. Little did they know that such things only made them more determined to live. These people would pay…they would pay with everything.
“Hey, you okay?”
There was no answer and Liam closed his eyes in fear. Had they finally defeated one of the strongest men he knew? Xavier had been shot when they’d been taken. Liam had been conscious, but his hands had been tied and a bag had covered his head. He hadn’t been able to see the injury for himself. Xavier had told him it wasn’t bad, only a flesh wound, but how long before infection set in? How long had they been here? Felt like a year, but he figured it hadn’t been more than a week. Still, who the hell knew when your every waking hour was spent in agony?
“Hey? You hear me over there? Hang in there. We’re going to get out of here.”
“That you?”
Relief flooded Liam. The bastards hadn’t won yet. “Yeah. Still here. How you doing?”
“Been better.” He snorted out a dry, very Xavier-like chuckle. “Been worse, too.”
“You about ready to get out of this place?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Good. Been thinking…”
And with that, Liam began to tap on the wall. He’d devised the secret code when he’d first started deep-cover missions. He and Xavier had communicated with it on numerous ops. Liam hadn’t used it in a while, but Xavier would have no trouble following. Communicating wasn’t the problem. The plan was. Even as he tapped, a part of Liam knew it would likely get them killed. But if they didn’t try, they wouldn’t survive anyway. It was as simple as that.
“We can do that,” Xavier tapped. “I can—”
Liam sat up, his ears straining. “Shh. Hold that thought. Somebody’s coming.”
Laughter
, followed by curses, came closer and closer. What had gotten the monsters riled up this time? Were they already coming back for him?
“Get off me!”
No. Apparently they had a new prisoner to torture. Another American, from the sound of his accent. An extremely pissed one. Which was good. Anger kept hopelessness at bay.
The next few moments were painful as Liam listened to their questions and the brutal aftermath when the man refused to answer with anything other than curses.
Having been on the receiving end of their interrogation tactics more than once, Liam knew what the guy was feeling. Anger, pain, and a pit-deep feeling that the agony would never end.
For what seemed like an hour or more, they worked the guy over. When they finally got tired of not getting any answers, they issued a few guttural warnings that the next time they wouldn’t be so easy on him. The cell door clanged shut, and the assholes stomped away.
Liam waited a couple of minutes and then called out, “Hey, you still with us?”
When there was no answer, Liam figured they’d gone too far. “Guess they got the worst of the poor bastard,” he said to Xavier.
Before Xavier could respond, a deep voice growled, “Don’t count this poor bastard out yet.”
Relieved, Liam said, “How bad are you hurt?”
“Been better…been worse.”
Liam smiled at the similar answer Xavier had given earlier.
“What’s your name, man?”
“How do I know you’re not a plant to get something out of me?”
Reasonable question, considering the circumstances.
“You don’t.”
“Then I guess I’ll remain nameless.”
A chuckle came from Xavier’s cell. “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s only had me to talk to for weeks.”