Page 348 of 5+Us Makes Seven

“Isn’t that Max?”

“Yeah. I should’ve known he was behind this.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked, holding onto my arm.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get us out here.”

“I’m sorry, Cooper…”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, trying to reassure her. “You need to keep it together now, okay?”

She nodded.

“Let’s go this way,” I said, taking her hand.

We only made it a few steps before two Afghan men with AF-47’s stepped out from an alley and pointed their weapons at us. I pushed Jade to the side, sliding in front of her in case they shot.

I stared into their eyes, knowing they were hardened mercenaries and did not give a fuck about anything, let alone Jade or myself. Think fast, I told myself, weighing all the risks.

The only way out would be to overpower them, but if I tried, they would likely shoot Jade. She had no training and would be a liability if we tried to run. Our only other choice was to cooperate and hope for the best.

“You come with us,” one man barked, moving his assault weapon erratically.

“Do what he says,” I whispered to Jade. “Stay calm. We’ll get through this…”

She said nothing as the men led us to a waiting van around the corner. They put hoods over our heads. Why the hell did I agree to come back and put both of us in danger?

I had no answers to my simple questions, let alone the more difficult ones.

* * *

As soon as the hood came off, I realized they had taken Jade somewhere else.

“Where is she?” I yelled.

Unseen hands pushed my back, sending me forward, almost falling to the dirt floor.

Are we in a fucking cave?

“Settle down, Cooper,” Max said as he emerged from the darkness.

A half-dozen other men, all heavily armed, formed a circle around me.

Surrounded by strong and intimidating men, my thoughts were still solely on the safety of Jade. Where is she?

“What? You’ve got nothing to say?”

Max laughed. I glared at him.

“Where’s Jade?”

“The bitch is fine.”

I lunged toward him. He pulled out a stun-gun and hit me with at least fifty-thousand volts, sending me to the ground. As I writhed in pain, he laughed, followed by the other men.

“Where’s Jade?” I yelled as I slowly got to my feet.

“You don’t need to worry about that bitch,” Max said, staring into my eyes.