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Dec grabbed her arm and hauled her along with him. “Jesus,” he growled, “keep moving. What do you mean, no? You’ll be a couple of days late for your wedding, sure, but—”

“Don’t let them take me back to Qaram! Or to Tharsalonia! Please! I’m begging you, Declan. I can’t go back. I won’t go back. I—”

The world exploded.

Gunfire spat from the woods to the east.

The men of STUD One spun in that direction and began returning fire. Screams and shouts and the roar of small arms fire filled the air.

“Go,” Dec shouted. “Go. Go. Go. Get the hostages out of here. Go!”

Romano grabbed the ambassador by the arm and raced for the helicopter. Olivieri tossed the ambassador’s wife over his shoulder and did the same. Sullivan, Spanos and Maguire ran backwards so they could provide covering fire.

“Run,” Dec yelled at Annie as he fired into the trees.

She didn’t move.

“Annie! Did you hear me? Run!”

She shook her head. “I’m not going back.”

She wasn’t going back? What in hell? Was she crazy?

Maybe the world had gone crazy, because even as he tried to process that, a horseman, fuck, a horseman came galloping out of the woods

Dec took aim, shot the guy out of his saddle and spun Annie in the direction of the Black Hawk.

“Move,” he roared. “Goddammit, woman—”

“I’ll be a prisoner again.”

“What?”

“My uncle sold me to the king of Tharsalonia. I won’t go back, Declan! I’d sooner die here than go back.”

Jesus Christ, what in hell was she talking about?

Maybe he hadn’t heard her right. Between the whomp-whomp of the rotors, the roar of the Kalashnikovs and the bark of the HK MP7s…

But, yes, he must have heard her right, because she was refusing to move, turning them both into easy targets for the rounds of hot ammo flying at them. That they hadn’t been hit already was some kind of miracle.

“Sanchez!”

The shout came from the helicopter. Romano was leaning out the open door, gesturing, yelling, urging Dec and Annie to run to the bird.

“I can’t go back,” Annie sobbed. “Please. Just leave me here. Leave me. Save yourself, Declan, but leave me!”

The Black Hawk was starting to rise.

They were almost out of time.

Dec knew that in the seconds that were left he could grab Annie, dump her over his shoulder, race for the ’copter and figure out what to do with her later.

Except, there would be no later.

Their first stop would be the closest one.

Qaram.